Task complexity and cognitive load in simulation‐based education: A randomised trial

作者：Marie‐Laurence Tremblay, Jan‐Joost Rethans, Diana Dolmans · 发表于：Medical Education · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1111/medu.14941 · 被引用次数：30 · 研究领域：Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes、Simulation-Based Education in Healthcare、Educational Games and Gamification

INTRODUCTION: When designing simulation for novices, educators aim to design tasks and environments that are complex enough to promote learning but not too complex to compromise task performance and cause cognitive overload. This study aimed to determine the impact of modulating task and environment complexity on novices' performance and cognitive load during simulation. METHODS: Second-year pharmacy students (N = 162) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions (2 × 2 factorial design) in simulation: simple task in simple environment, complex task in simple environment, simple task in complex environment and complex task in complex environment. Using video recordings, two raters assessed students' performance during the simulation. We measured intrinsic cognitive load (ICL) and extraneous cognitive load (ECL) with questionnaires after the task and tested knowledge after task and debriefing. RESULTS: Mean performance scores in simple environment were 28.2/32 (SD = 3.8) for simple task and 25.8/32 (SD = 4.2) for complex task. In complex environment, mean performance scores were 24.6/32 (SD = 5.2) for simple task and 25.6/32 (SD = 5.3) for complex task. We found significant interaction effects between task and environment complexity for performance. In simple environment, mean ICL scores were 4.2/10 (SD = 2.2) for simple task and 5.7/10 (SD = 1.5) for complex task. In complex environment, mean ICL scores were 4.9/10 (SD = 1.8) for simple task and 5.1/10 (SD = 1.9) for comp...