A Comparison of Two Mental Workload Instruments in Multimedia Instruction

Abstract

Cognitive Load Theory focuses on several assessment techniques to assess overall cognitive load, including its three-subclasses, and its relationship to learning. Methods include psychophysical and secondary task techniques, along with task performance and self-report. The current study looks to review two popular self-report measures (NASA Task Load indeX, and a short subjective instrument) and identify not only if they are consistent with one another, but also to discover whether both are equally sensitive across changes in levels of cognitive load subclasses. The two subclasses looked at in this study are intrinsic load, which is related to element interactivity, and extraneous load, which is influenced by the instructional design itself. Results from this study indicate that the NASA-Task Load index, as a weighted multi-dimensional rating scale, differs in measurement of the demands faced by learners in a PC-based, multimedia-learning environment from the more traditional, single-questions short subjective instrument.

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