Neurodiversity and cognitive load in online learning: A focus group study

Abstract

It is widely accepted that cognitive load plays a crucial role in online learning. However, despite neurodevelopmental conditions being the largest category of qualifying disabilities in education, and the rise of online learning, there is little understanding of the factors impacting cognitive load in online learning for neurodivergent students and how these factors differ from those affecting neurotypical students. This study used qualitative comparison groups with neurotypical and neurodivergent students to examine their experiences of cognitive load in online learning. A sample of 26 university students (14 neurotypical and 12 neurodivergent) participated in focus group discussions. While neurodivergent students reported many similar experiences of cognitive load in online learning compared to their neurotypical peers—such as confusion in navigating the content and technical issues—some difficulties were more present for neurodivergent students—such as transcripts including mistakes and inaccessible content presentation—creating additional barriers in effectively engaging with the educational content. The results suggest that neurotypical and neurodivergent students experience similar challenges, albeit to differing degrees of intensity, and that more research is needed to explore the relationship between neurodiversity and cognitive load in online learning.

Neurodiversity Positively Predicts Perceived Extraneous Load in Online Learning: A Quantitative Research Study

“…Our main finding is that neurodivergent students reported significantly more extraneous cognitive load (ECL) in online learning than neurotypical students, which partly supports hypothesis H1. This result corroborates the findings of a previously conducted focus group study, where the qualitative analysis suggested higher perceived ECL for neurodivergent students in online learning [53].…”

“…The few studies that did include neurodivergent participants found that attention, linguistic complexity, and content redundancy may impact cognitive load in online learning for this population [52]. Furthermore, a focus group study found that neurodivergent students face specific challenges in managing their cognitive load during online learning, particularly in domains such as listening, writing, and decision making [53]. However, no large-scale quantitative study has to our knowledge investigated the relationship between neurodiversity and cognitive load in online learning.…”