Revisiting the debate on germane cognitive load versus germane resources

ABSTRACT The debate on germane load versus germane resources has drawn attention from researchers and practitioners. This work examined whether germane load should be considered an independent source of cognitive load or germane resources in working memory. To do so, the relationship between the types of cognitive load, performance and working memory was examined. Experiment 1 revealed germane load was not a significant predictor for performance outcomes, nor was there an additive relationship between germane load and intrinsic load while intrinsic load had a significant negative association with the outcomes. It was thus hypothesised that the mental activity germane to learning may be related to the cognitive resources in working memory instead of conceptualising it as an independent cognitive load. A follow-up study (Experiment 2) was performed which investigated the relationship between intrinsic load and working memory resources. Results show learners with more working memory resources could handle high intrinsic load, while still having resources available for learning, suggesting the effortful mental activity may be determined by the germane resources in working memory rather than germane load. The work provides preliminary evidence for a framework in cognitive load theory showing learners’ effortful mental activity in learning is related to germane resources, not defined by germane cognitive load.