We all live in the information age and are bombarded daily with countless pieces of information, especially in everyday working life. And then there is also the annual training course. To keep your learners from being overwhelmed by too many impressions, you should pay attention to a few things.
Who doesn't know it: In the hectic day-to-day work routine, there is often not enough time for important tasks, and then a training measure is also due. If it is mandated by the employer, this can cause dissatisfaction among some employees and create additional stress. A good way to integrate training into everyday life is digital offerings such as e-learning. It is particularly important to keep the strain and cognitive load during training as low as possible.
First things first: What does Cognitive Load actually mean?
Cognitive load (in German: cognitive burden) is a term from psychology that refers to the learning process and the processing of learning content. More specifically, the Cognitive Load Theory describes the amount of mental resources needed for a learning process. But don't worry, this won't get too scientific here!
We all have limited capacities, regardless of the topic. When our resources are exhausted, we can no longer work and think productively - and that applies to the learning process as well. Three types of load interact here and can influence learning success: intrinsic load, extraneous load, and germane load.
Intrinsic Load
As the term intrinsic already suggests, intrinsic load refers to the burden that arises from within. This type of load concerns the learning material and the individual elements of your training course. How high the intrinsic load is depends on the preferred learning format and on the learners' prior knowledge. In general: the higher the subject-specific prior knowledge, the lower the intrinsic load. This form of load has a learning-inhibiting effect on learners.
Example: Your learning content itself is already very complex because it deals with data protection. Your participants have to engage with the topic, but they have had little prior contact with it so far. Their prior knowledge is therefore rather low and the amount of information is large. There is a risk of information overload. To keep intrinsic load as low as possible, you should first explain all relevant terms. After that, your learners can recognize larger connections and continue to work their way into the topic.
Extraneous Load
Extraneous load, or learning-irrelevant cognitive load, refers primarily to the presentation of learning content - in other words: How is your e-learning or training structured? This type of load is mainly about external conditions rather than the content itself. Depending on the form of presentation, a learning item can be easier or harder to understand. This is especially true when certain prior knowledge already exists. Or, on the contrary, when certain elements in a course cause confusion or distraction. This type of load is also learning-inhibiting.
Example: So that your learners can focus on the topic of data protection, the framework conditions must also be right. Minimize unnecessary distractions that serve only to make your course look nicer, and focus entirely on the content. Design your content to be as clear as possible and avoid unnecessary elements and repetitions.
Germane Load
The last type of load refers to the learner themselves and describes the actual understanding of the learning content. Germane load supports learning and should therefore be increased. The higher the germane load, the better the actual learning performance. This learning-related load describes, among other things, the effort the learner must make to understand learning content, connections, and processes. Learners actively work with your content, independently establish connections, and solve problems they encounter in the learning process.
Example: In the case of data protection, this could be a fictional scenario in which learners have to decide what to do themselves. This allows them to apply the theoretical content and implement it in a complex situation.
What do we learn from this? Package learning content in a way that creates as little distraction as possible and reduces cognitive load. Supporting elements such as graphics or videos should fit the learning content so that the relevant cognitive load increases and learners can actively apply your learning content.
Cognitive Load in e-learning: What HR professionals should pay attention to
To help your learners focus fully on your training, you can take the following points into account to keep cognitive load low.
1. Pay attention to learners' processing capacity
To keep intrinsic load as low as possible, you should rely on small learning units in the style of microlearning:
Design one learning item per topic; it is better to split them up one time too many than too few.
Add a summary or review at the end of each learning unit.
Ideally, you should place these in the overall context so that learners can establish connections between information on their own.
Make sure your learners can easily access your learning content to keep possible barriers low.
2. Take your participants' prior knowledge into account
To promote the learners' germane load, you should include their level of experience and prior knowledge in the planning:
Before starting your training, ask about the participants' level of knowledge and adapt the learning content accordingly.
If you are sure that the participants have the prior knowledge, you should omit repetitions of the basics.
3. Design your learning content to suit your target audience
Learners should be at the center of training design; this applies to more than just choosing the topic:
Ensure a consistent structure in your training so that your learners can find their way around your course.
To help complex relationships be recognized more quickly, learning content that builds on previous content should be placed as close together as possible.
To maintain motivation and attention, you should choose varied methods and alternate between image, text, and video.
4. Reduce learning content without any discernible added value
When designing training, extraneous load is often neglected, after all, those responsible want their courses to be as appealing as possible - but that can be distracting:
Get to the point with your learning content and use clear language with short sentences.
Avoid unnecessary duplication and leave out visual gimmicks that serve only to dress up your course.
As you can see, there are various ways to minimize learners' cognitive load. In summary: take learners' capacity to absorb information into account, design your learning content to suit their needs, consider their prior knowledge, and remove all content without added value.
Conclusion
Cognitive load in e-learning is effectively reduced when content is clearly structured, didactically sound, and consistently aligned with learners' capacity to absorb information.
Digital training can challenge, but it should not overwhelm. Those who divide learning content into manageable units, avoid unnecessary distractions, and take the target group's prior knowledge into account create the foundation for lasting learning success.
What matters is not the amount of information, but how it is presented. A clear structure, understandable language, and well-thought-out learning paths help participants focus on what matters and actively process content. This creates a learning process that motivates, anchors knowledge for the long term, and has a real impact in everyday work.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
What does Cognitive Load mean in connection with e-learning?
Cognitive load describes the mental burden that arises during learning. In e-learning, among other things, the complexity of the content, the design of the course, and the participants' prior knowledge influence how easily or difficultly information can be processed.
Why can too many design elements worsen learning success?
Unnecessary animations, repetitions, or visual effects distract from the actual learning content. This increases learning-irrelevant cognitive load and makes it harder for participants to focus on the essential information.
How does microlearning help reduce cognitive load?
Small, clearly defined learning units relieve the working memory and make it easier to process new information. Participants can absorb content step by step, repeat it, and place it more easily into existing knowledge.
Why should prior knowledge be considered when planning digital training?
If learning content does not match the participants' level of knowledge, it quickly leads to overload or underchallenge. Taking prior knowledge into account helps make learning content more understandable and avoids unnecessary cognitive load.
Updated on 05/08/2026
