Faculty and administrators often assume that adding more videos, resources, and activities equals better engagement.
But from an instructional design standpoint, that’s not always true. Every extra click, animation, and instruction increases what’s called extraneous cognitive load — the mental effort students spend on figuring out the course, not learning from it.
Here’s what happens when cognitive load is too high:
- Students lose their sense of direction (“Where am I supposed to start?”)
- Working memory is overwhelmed before actual learning begins
- Motivation drops, especially for first-generation and adult learners who already juggle competing cognitive demands
The most successful online courses actually simplify the student experience.
A good rule of thumb: every element on the page should serve one of two purposes — to teach or to guide. Nothing else.
This is where experienced instructional design strategy comes in — understanding when to add interaction and when to subtract friction.
When that load gets too high, even strong students disengage. They start to lose their sense of direction (“Where do I go next?”), and working memory is spent on navigation instead of comprehension.
In short: more isn’t better — clarity is.
The best-designed courses are cognitively efficient. Every element serves one of two purposes: to teach or to guide. Nothing else.
This is why my team and I at Babb Education focus on helping universities and faculty apply learning science — things like cognitive load theory, chunking, and signaling — to create courses that truly support how the brain learns.
If you’d like to talk about how your institution can apply these principles, send me a message or visit www.babbeducation.com — I love sharing practical, research-backed and experience informed strategies with higher ed leaders.
Dani Babb, PhD
