Learning Portfolio 3 – (Week 12)
June 4, 2009Performance Load
Summary:
“The greater the effort to accomplish a task, the less likely the task will be accomplished successfully.” (Lidwell, Holden, Butler. pg. 148. 2003) This quote opens up the door to much more meaning than what is iniatially stated. Performance load is the amount of physical and mental energy that is necessary when completing an activity. The greater the load, the mor elikely it is that there will be mistakes, and the greater chance that they will not succeed. The more pressure put on an individual to succeed, puts added and unnecessary stress onto the person (often students) which is likely to result in failure rather than accomplishment
There are two types of loads : Cognitive and also Kinematic.
Congnitive load is the mental activity and the amount that is necessary for success. This is generally in memory, inititial perception, and problem solving. (Lidwell, Holden, Butler. Pg. 148. 2003)
Kinematic is the physical activity used to succeed in activities. The amount of steps or movement and also the force used to accomplish something, for example, an assignment or essay. (Lidwell, Holden, Butler. pg. 148. 2003)
http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/chippersfield/index.htm
This link allows you to see a student with a high cognitive load. This student is being taught algebra, but because of the mental stress being put on him, his performance is slipping, and he is gradually working towards a fail. Unless the teacher becomes aeware that this activity is becoming to mentally strenuous for the student, the young boy will fall behind in his work, and will not be properly taught or understand algebra. (Chipperfield, 2004)
REFERENCES:
Lidwell, W., Holden, K., Butler, J. (2003). Performance Load in Universal Principles of Design (pg 148-149). Massachusetts:Rockport.
Agile Testing – Performance Load (2005) Retrieved on 25 May, 2009, from http://agiletesting.blogspot.com/2005/02/performance-vs-load-vs-stress-testing.html
Chipperfield, B. (2004). Cognitive Load Theory. Retrieved on 30 May, 2009 from http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/chippersfield/index.htm
Sun, D.C. (1995). Study of the Kinematic and Load Sharing Properties of Wormgearing with non-symmetric tooth profiles. National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Technical Information Services, Distributor.
Chunking Principles. Retrieved on the 31 May, 2009, From http://www.chambers.com.au/glossary/chunk.htm
Chase, W.G., Simon, H.A. (1973). Perception in Chess. Cognitive Psychology, 4, 55-81
CHUNKING
Chunking information allows the mind to memorise large amounts of information with many different sources or meanings. Chunking is where the mind absorbs lots of information that not only relates to one topic, but can hold information from a vast amount of topics and subjects. Chunking is often makes use of the short term memory are of the brain and holds large amounts of information in this area.
Herbert Simons, an American Psychologist explores the principle of chunking and in his research he explains chunking as being a more efficient use of short-term memory by recoding information. (Simons, 1973)
Chunking is a principle that applies to the effecdtive communication of information between human beings. The principle of chunking is that the information should be presented in small yet ‘digestible’ units. (Chambers)
In relation to design and visual communication, the mind allows pieces of the images to be held in the short term memory which allows the student or individual to access the information when it is necessary. Images often hold much more meaning than what words can say or describe and often can be elaborated on easily once they are clearly embedded in the memory.
ACTIVITY
Calculators are now used to help with the stress of the cognitive load. They allow the brain to with hold from storing so much information and allow the calculator to adopt the role of “memory”.
Cars hold a physical performance load as they produce speed and also are an everyday product use to help humans move around.
The GPS Navigator allows the mind to relax when travelling, whilst technology leads the way to the destination. They are used to navigate to a certain destination and allow the driver to concentrate on his or her driving skills instead of stressing about how they will find where they are going.
