With the introduction of concepts such as scaffolding and the zone of proximal development, the groundwork for instructional design and cognitivism is set. By utilizing scaffolding and Bruner's spiral curriculum, a designer or teacher can look to build off of the prior knowledge of the student; either from knowing the standardized knowledge required, prerequisite classes, or building new knowledge entirely. As learned from cognitivism, material should be appropriate to the student's development and the instructor should look to maximize the education by providing the proper support to their students to assist them best.

Cognitivism in higher education does provide a number of strengths. Bruner's spiral curriculum within higher education can be incredibly beneficial, as coursework becomes more difficult and requires more the further you go, building on and repeating basic concepts can help the learner grasp the more difficult ones. Additionally, Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development can help the instructor know and understand the need to develop support for the learners to assist them in reaching their potential. By placing an emphasis on the internal, the learner is asked to be active in their education as well, which by the time of higher education is required of the student due to the difficulty of the material. 

Cognitivism does have limitations though, chiefly cognitive load. At the higher education level, it is important for instructors to manage this load in their instruction to keep students from tuning out. With the degree of difficulty reaching higher and higher, it becomes easier for the student to disengage and become frustrated with the material or class. This can be managed by the instructor; however, it can be mismanaged and hamper learning and success.

Learning can occur in situations that occur outside of a classroom or company office. We are presented with information on a daily basis and can learn from the unlikeliest of sources. The internet has only aided in the incredible number of learning opportunities, ranging from new language acquisition opportunities, learning auto mechanics to fix issues and save money, or even business advice that often would require a full blown college level course. I have a massive sweet tooth and have always found baking to be something that helps me to relax and unwind, so I am going to review a blog post from Tessa Arias of Handle the Heat where she provides instruction on how to bake her TikTok viral Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies. 

Tessa's post goes into detail on her recipe, allowing for more detail to be gathered in the more blog style beginning that cooks/bakers have used online for years now, or allowing for just the step by step recipe at the bottom. Throughout her explanation of the steps in the blog portion, Tessa provides links to information she has previously posted explaining further details; such as about chilling cookie dough or not, sugar's role in baking, and an explanation on butter choice. It is this detail that Tessa does extremely well with this recipe, and others; all of the decisions are well thought out and tested, with evidence typically linked somewhere.

With all of the details in the recipe, it can be easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of information when you are just starting out baking. You were on the internet looking for a good cookie and instead have a handful of extra links to read in addition to a time consuming recipe. Tessa's recipe might at first present cognitive load issues, but it is one that is resolved by the see recipe button and previous experience with online recipes. Tessa does well with her instruction, and believing that anyone can make this recipe with her detailed instructions in the actual post providing the necessary support, hinting at the zone of proximal development. Her recipe is also detailed specifically, listing the ingredients in the order that they will be used and providing as much detail as she can for more advanced techniques (such as browning butter). Tessa additionally provides a quick video of the basic steps for comparison. 

While this recipe does present cognitive load issues, and I would assume there is retention problems as some will be turned off by the amount of words prior to the recipe, Tessa does provide a novice baker with more than appropriate resources to be successful and learn more details than may be necessary for this recipe. A person that is interested in becoming a better baker, or better cook in general, can learn specifically about the choices at multiple steps rather than just being told to do step a, b, and c, but they additionally have the option to click the "see recipe" option and skip these explanations for the simpler recipe. I do think that the "see recipe" option and use of links rather than spending another thousand words on explanations are the best solutions for the cognitive load potential, especially considering how the norm for most recipes online now is to be preceeded by a blog post or story.