Segmentation Principles

The segmentation principle works by breaking information down into manageable segments. There are times when learners must engage in so much essential processing that their cognitive systems are overwhelmed (Clark & Mayer, 2011). When the material is complex it will not work to leave out some elements or steps in the explanation, this would take away from the accuracy of the lesson. By using segmentation principle and breaking the lesson into manageable segments the cognitive process does not become overwhelmed. “In short, when an unfamiliar learner receives a continuous presentation containing a lot of interrelated concepts, the likely result is that the cognitive system becomes overloaded” (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p. 210). Using the segmentation principle allows the learner to engage essential processing without overloading the cognitive system.



“A good way to gauge the complexity of a lesson is to tally the number of elements (or concepts) and the number of interactions among them” (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p. 207).

Clark & Mayer (2011) give the following example:



How a bicycle tire pump woks that has the script: “When the handle is pulled up, the piston moves up, the inlet valve opens, and the outlet valve closes, and the air enters the cylinder. When the handle is pushed down, the piston moves down, the piston moves down, the inlet valve closes, the outlet valve opens, and air exits form the cylinder though the hose.”



This is a simple lesson that requires two segments – one showing what happens when the handle is pulled up and one showing what happens when the handle is pushed down.