Collective Working-Memory Effect

Theory

The collective working-memory effect was suggested based on cognitive load theory suggesting that group learning could be more effective than individual learning if the complexity of the material to be learned was high. Sharing the load of processing complex material among the group participants and their working-memories enables more effective processing and easier comprehension of the material to be learned. This assumption was experimentally confirmed, suggesting that

“... for high-complexity tasks, group members would learn in a more efficient way than individual learners, while for low-complexity tasks, individual learning would be more efficient.”1) Kirschner, Femke, Fred Paas, and Paul A Kirschner. Task complexity as a driver for collaborative learning efficiency: The collective working‐memory effect. Applied Cognitive Psychology 25, no. 4: 615-624, 2011.

Practice

Research results