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4. Add two varied examples and one close non-example, and ask for the reason it does or
does not apply.
5. Use a diagnostic question after each part, with an explanation of why the options are right

or wrong.
6. Ask the learner to re-explain in their own words, or represent it with a drawing or an

example from their life.
7. Test transfer with a new case that differs on the surface while keeping the same structure.
8. Review accuracy, terminology, language, and cultural context before use.

6.2.2 Cognitive Load and Scaffolding: Supporting Thinking, Not Removing It
The concept of cognitive load helps calibrate the role of AI in explanation. Intrinsic load

relates to the difficulty of the idea itself and should not be removed entirely; some effort is
necessary to build understanding. Extraneous load arises from confusing instructions,

ambiguous phrasing, or a badly organized file, and this is what a tool can reduce powerfully.
Germane load is the effort that builds the mental schema, such as comparing, justifying, and
self-explaining. Cognitive load theory was set out by Sweller [15]; the three-way distinction
used here belongs to the work that developed the theory after it.

The goal is therefore not to make everything immediately easy, but to remove the unhelpful
obstacles while preserving the effort that creates learning. When a tool gives the complete
solution early, it may reduce extraneous and intrinsic load together, but it can also steal the

germane load. When it starts with a question, a hint, or a partial example, it eases the path
without standing in for the learner.

Scaffolding is a teaching approach that provides temporary, structured support to a learner
and withdraws it gradually as their performance and independence grow. That support

begins by directing the learner’s attention through a question or a simple hint, then moves
to a partial example or the execution of the first step of the task, and may reach a complete
model where needed. As the learner acquires the skill, the support is withdrawn: the hints

diminish, the space for choice widens, and the learner moves from relying on guidance to
performing and explaining independently.

The mark of quality here is that by the end of the activity the learner can perform a step they
could not perform at its start. If they depend on the tool to the same degree every time, the

support has probably become a permanent substitute rather than training.

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