Adaptive diagrams: A research agenda to explore how learners can manipulate online diagrams to self-manage cognitive load

This chapter presents an emerging research agenda focused on empowering learners to apply well-known instructional design principles, reserved mainly for application by instructional designers, to the design of diagrams to support their learning. Significant advances have been made in terms of developing design principles that can be applied to the design of diagrams to facilitate the efficient learning of diagrammatic information. However, little is known about how these design principles can be applied by learners themselves. In a technologically rich environment where learners can access a range of online diagrammatic information, we argue that it is imperative that learners' are equipped with strategies on how to physically manipulate digital diagrams in ways that optimise their learning. This can be considered an example of human-centric visualisation. The chapter explains the theoretical basis for our research, presents two empirical studies and concludes with a discussion of our ideas to build on our current work as a future research agenda.