Over the decades, studies on cognitive science and how it affects learning have come up with the cognitive theory and the knowledge construction view. These two theories complement each other in that they are the most comprehensive explanation and bases of how learning works. Based on these postulates and together with other learning theories, there are three assumptions that have to be kept in mind for the design of material in instructional settings, as well as in e-learning courses.

These three assumptions or theories are: the dual-coding (or dual-channel) theory, the limited capacity theory, and the active processing theory.

Dual Coding theory

Originally proposed by Allan Paivio in the 1970’s, the Dual Coding theory has gained widespread attention and application in the field of education. This theory suggests that the human mind has two distinct mental codes (or channels) for processing or coding information, namely, the auditory channel and the visual channel. The auditory channel is specialized for processing language and verbally-presented information in a variety of forms, while the visual or nonverbal channel deals with mental images, pictures, graphics and nonlinguistic information. Paivio theorized that these two channels work separately from each other, but are interrelated, thus being able to function independently, simultaneously or interconnectedly. Frequently, both channels are used together, thus, learning material should take advantage of activating both channels. Human cognition is possible mainly because of the activity from and between these two channels.

Limited Capacity assumption

The theory of limited capacity is based on various theories, among them are Baddeley and Hitch’s (1974) Working Memory theory and Sweller’s (1991) Cognitive Load theory. These two theories discussed how the human mind can hold only a limited amount of information at one point in working or short-term memory. Based on this, the Limited Capacity assumption proposes that learners can process only a number of chunks of information in each channel at one time. For example, while being presented with a narration or a series of pictures, the verbal/ auditory channel can only process a few phrases, while the visual channel can only hold and handle a few images at a time. This implies that learning materials should present contents that are divided into sections and presented bit by bit to ensure that the learner is able to process a section before moving on to the next part.

Active processing

Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (1997) proposed the assumption of Active Processing, in which he describes that “humans actively engage in cognitive processing in order to construct a coherent mental representation of their experiences.” This assumption puts forth that, for learning to occur, an active process of selecting, organizing and integrating information has to take place. In order to integrate new knowledge, the learner has to organize and construct a mental representation of the data and relate it to his prior knowledge. Once this new information has been integrated, the information can then be meaningful for the learner.

Examples of active cognitive processes are paying attention to new information, organizing new information into comprehensible groups of data, and interrelating new knowledge with prior knowledge.

The EHA’s e-learning courses ensure that these three assumptions are taken into consideration in the design of each module, thereby enhancing knowledge integration and facilitating effective learning.