22 October 2024, Written By Trish Mahon (Provisional Psychologist)
In the 21st century, reading, writing and comprehending words is essential for functioning in our ever-evolving world. Some individuals, however, find this challenging (Snowling et al., 2020). Dyslexia is classified as a specific learning disorder that is neurological in nature (Snowling et al., 2020). With dyslexia, the capacity for individuals to accurately encode and decode words with automaticity is impeded (Snowling et al., 2020). Approximately, 1 in 10 Australians are impacted by dyslexia with the primary age group consisting of 6-12 years old (Kaisar, 2020).
Research demonstrates that implementing early intervention with young people who have dyslexia can be effective in yielding improved literacy outcomes in reading, writing and spelling (Kaisar, 2020). Underlying this implementation, it is integral for educators to deliver literacy instructions in a conducive and intentional manner, maximising task persistence. This prompts the question “How do we reduce cognitive load for students with dyslexia?”
Cognitive Overload
Cognitive load theory was coined in 1988 by John Sweller, an Australian educational psychologist (Sweller, 1988). Sweller (1988) asserted that there is a limit to the quantity of information individuals can store and manipulate in their working memory. Young people already undergo various physical and neurological developmental changes (Espin et al., 2019). Simultaneously, students with dyslexia are also challenged to develop phonemic awareness and process multiple instructions (Espin et al., 2019).
Research has shown that providing more than one instruction at a time to students with dyslexia, runs the risk of confusion and reduces task persistence as students become cognitively overloaded (Miciak & Fletcher, 2020). Sweller (1988) proposed that for information to be successfully retained and manipulated into long-term memory, cognitively conducive instructions must be given. Literacy instructions provided to students with dyslexia must be intentionally framed to avoid double-barrelled or compound instructions (Sweller, 1988).
Intentional Literacy Instruction
Intentional literacy instruction is an evidence-based approach that parents and educators can employ to mitigate cognitive overload in young people with dyslexia (Miciak & Fletcher, 2020). As stated, for literacy instruction to be intentional, avoiding compound/double-barrelled instructions is essential.
For example, a double-barrelled/compound question or instruction is “Can you say each sound of the word and then underline each sound?” With this question students with dyslexia may remember only the first or last question/instruction but not both. Psychologists refer to this action as the recency and primacy bias (Obidziński & Nieznański, 2022). These biases are prominent in students with dyslexia due to their difficulty in manipulating information into long-term memory (Obidziński & Nieznański, 2022).
A conducive instruction/question would be “What is the first sound in this word?” Single step instructions such as this could ensure students with dyslexia do not get confused thus, persisting in tasks. This area of educational psychology has accumulated detailed exploration, and no doubt in time, further insights on mitigating cognitive overload will elucidate intentional instruction.
References
Espin, L., García, I., Sánchez, M. D. P., Román, F & Salvador, A. (2019) Effects of psychosocial stress on the hormonal and affective response in children with dyslexia. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 15, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2019.03.001
Kaiser, S. (2020). Developmental dyslexia detection using machine learning techniques: A survey. ICT Express, 6(3), 181-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icte.2020.05.006
Miciak, J., & Fletcher, J. M. (2020). The critical role of instructional response for identifying dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Journal of learning disabilities, 53(5), 343–353. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219420906801
Obidziński, M., & Nieznański, M. (2022). Context and target recollection for words and pictures in young adults with developmental dyslexia. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 993384. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.993384
Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257-285. https://doi.org/10.1016/0364-0213(88)90023-7
Snowling, M. J., Hulme, C., & Nation, K. (2020). Defining and understanding dyslexia: past, present and future. Oxford Review of Education, 46(4), 501–513. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2020.1765756