Could you be doing these small things that actually make it harder for your learners? This article is the start of a series and introduces cognitive load theory plus the start of a list of things we may be doing that actually adds to the cognitive load of our learners. Some types of cognitive load can be managed If you've ever had a learner exclaim "my brain hurts!" - or even said this yourself as a student - it's likely we've got a case of cognitive overload on our hands. C