Building with the Brain: Applying Cognitive Load Theory to Teaching with Technology

A new study in cognitive science asks what makes human learning distinctive now that AI can compose ideas, produce novelty, and learn rapidly. The answer points to something teachers have always known: Human minds build knowledge through constrained, structured, sequential experience. Cognitive load theory gives educators a precise framework for working with that architecture rather than against it. This talk translates decades of cognitive science into practical moves for classroom instruction and technology selection, showing what it looks like to design and choose learning experiences that genuinely work with how the brain learns.