The Vicious Cycle of Context Overload

Why jumping the gun on complexity leads to compounding struggle.

Want to get notified about new posts? Join the mailing list and follow on X/Twitter.

One of the least efficient ways to have a learner spin up on new math/coding skills is to embed them in a clunky real-world context right from the get-go.

It creates a vicious cycle where learners

1. struggle with the problem due to the additional complexity,

2. take so long to solve it that there’s time pressure to move on to new material,

3. struggle even more with the new material because they didn’t get enough reps in to master the previous skill,

and then back to step 1.

It’s a lot more efficient to strip the skill down to the simplest possible context, have the student get some reps in, and gradually increase the complexity of the context.

When you get that scaffolding right, the learner gets way more reps in the same amount of time. Each rep is completed reasonably quickly because the context complexity is matched to the learner’s skill level.

Want to get notified about new posts? Join the mailing list and follow on X/Twitter.