Cognitive clutter and better understanding barriers to learning

Andrew is in biology, struggling to understand the task he is supposed to be doing.

He tried to listen to his teacher’s explanation, but he struggled to remember what photosynthesis meant. So, he lost track of the explanation halfway through and now the diagram on the board has been replaced by a timer.

He’s looking at the worksheet. It has questions at the bottom, lots of text to read and some diagrams. Andrew doesn’t know where to look first and feels like giving up.

In common classroom scenarios like this, many students may struggle. However, Andrew may be facing additional hurdles that some of his peers are not. Studies in the world of cognitive science can offer some useful insights to better understand the barriers that pupils may be facing.