What is
Chunking?
Why chunk
content?
How to
Chunk?

Breaking up Bite-size
content
pieces
Easy to
Shorter Manage
What is
Chunking?
Easier to
remember

Organise
What is
Chunking?
Organising and grouping various
pieces of information together
Process
Memorise the chunks instead of
the individual information working memory hold a limited
amount of data at the same time.
Retrieve
Easy retrieval of the information
(short-term memory)
Cues
These chunks also act as cues,
allowing for easy recollection of
information.
Chunking is a strategy used to
improve memory performance.

Our Memory
Before we learn
further, let’s
understand these 2
terms.
Short-term
Memory
Working
Memory

What is Short-term Memory?
Stores
sounds,
images and
words
images
Hello
Premier
Brain Ice
Cream
Stores
information for
about 20 - 30
seconds.
After this, information is either
committed to long term
memory, or lost all together.

Short-term Memory Characteristics
The 3 Main
Characteristics
Brief Duration
Last up to 20 seconds.
7 ± 2 Chunks
Its capacity is limited to 7 ±2 chunks of
independent information (Miller’s Law)
Weakening
Reasons for weakening of memory,
include (medication, sleep deprivation
or a head injury )

This is how our
brain process the
information
received.
Working Memory
Learning is the process of acquiring new information in your working memory and integrating it
with existing knowledge in your long-term memory. Once it’s in long-term memory you can
recall it and apply the knowledge to the real world.

Working Memory
So, chunking the
content helps our brain
to process new
information more easier
and faster.

OK, now we
learn how to
chunk The
Content
HAIYA!!!

But, why chunk
content?
It helps you present
information in a way
that makes it easy for
your audience to
understand and
remember.

3 Chunking Strategies
1
Classify and prioritize the e-Learning course’s
content
• Remove irrelevant or unnecessary information
2
Efficiently group your e-Learning course’s content
• Separate your e-Learning course’s content in modules and
then divide them into sections.
3
Organize your information
• Content should have a rational flow, starting from basic and
broad concepts and then progressively advance into more
complex ideas. Each concept should contain the right
amount of information.

Learning is acquiring new, or modifying and
reinforcing, existing knowledge, behaviors, skills,
values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing
different types of information. The ability to learn is
possessed by humans, animals and some machines.
Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.
Learning is not compulsory; it is contextual. It does not
happen all at once, but builds upon and is shaped by
what we already know. To that end, learning may be
viewed as a process, rather than a collection of factual
and procedural knowledge. Learning produces changes
in the organism and the changes produced are
relatively permanent
How to Chunk
Content?

1
Start by listing topics covered by
your learning outcomes.
2
Group the topics into similar items.
3
Give a topic name to each group.

Example: Content Chunking
Step 1 List all topics covered by your learning outcomes.
Topic 1: item A
Topic 2: item B
Topic 3: item C
Topic 4: item D
Topic 5: item E
Topic 6: item F
Topic 7: item G
Topic 8: item H
Topic 9: item J

Example: Content Chunking
Step 2 Group the topics into similar items
Topic 1: item A
Topic 2: item B
Topic 3: item C
Topic 4: item D
Topic 5: item E
Topic 6: item F
Topic 7: item G
Topic 8: item H
Topic 9: item J

Example: Content Chunking
Step 3 Give a topic name to each group
Topic 1: item A
Topic 2: item B
Topic 3: item C
Topic 4: item D
Topic 5: item E
Topic 6: item F
Topic 7: item G
Topic 8: item H
Topic 9: item J
Basic of x
Types of y
Process of z
Process of w

The following bulleted list has too many chunks presented at once:
System concept descriptions provide:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The missions, features, capabilities and functions of the system
Major system components and interactions
Operational environment including manual procedures required
Operational modes such as production, backup and maintenance
Interfaces with other systems
Required performance characteristics such as response time, throughput
and data volumes
Quality attributes such as availability, reliability and usability
Other considerations such as security, audit, safety and failure modes in
emergency situations
Deployment considerations such as acquisition of business data to
support the system including data cleansing and loading
The classes of users that will interact with the system
Requirements for support of the system such as maintenance
organization and help desk.

Example 1 (Bullet Style)
System concept descriptions provide:
Functional Requirements
• The missions, features, capabilities and functions of the system
• Major system components and interactions
• Operational environment including manual procedures required
• Operational modes such as production, backup and maintenance
• Interfaces with other systems
Non-functional Requirements
• Required performance characteristics such as response time, throughput and
data volumes
• Quality attributes such as availability, reliability and usability
• Other considerations such as security, audit, safety and failure modes in
emergency situations
Deployment and Operational Requirements
• Deployment considerations such as acquisition of business data to support the
system including data cleansing and loading
• The classes of users that will interact with the system
• Requirements for support of the system such as maintenance organization and
help desk.

Example 2 (Diagram)
System concept descriptions provide:
Functional
Requirements
The missions, features,
capabilities and functions of
the system
Major system components
and interactions
Operational environment
including manual
procedures required
Operational modes such as
production, backup and
maintenance
Interfaces with other
systems
Non-functional
Requirements
Deployment and
Operational
Requirements
Required performance
characteristics such as
response time, throughput
and data volumes
Deployment considerations
such as acquisition of
business data to support
the system including data
cleansing and loading
Quality attributes such as
availability, reliability and
usability
The classes of users that
will interact with the
system
Other considerations such
as security, audit, safety
and failure modes in
emergency situations
Requirements for support
of the system such as
maintenance organization
and help desk.

Activity
2
5
6
3
9
8
7
4
1
Try to memorize the
following "code symbols" in
20 seconds

How about now?
It is easier right?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
By grouping the symbols into a meaningful, memorable pattern, we reduce
the number of individual things you have to memorise.

Summary
Yeah! It has
Improved my
memory
performance!

References
1
3 Chunking Strategies
http://elearningindustry.com/3-chunking-strategiesthat-every-instructional-designer-should-know
2
Chunking Psychology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunking_%28psychol
ogy%29
3
Effective Memory Strategy
https://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/howcan-i-use-chunking-as-an-effective-memorystrategy-in-the-classroom/
4
4 Tips for Content Chunking
http://elearningindustry.com/4-tips-for-contentchunking-in-e-learning

Fareeza Marican Abu Backer Maricar
Senior Learning Designer
E-mail : fareeza_marican@imu.edu.my
Slides : www.slideshare.net/FareezaM
Twitter: http://twitter.com/fareeza81
IMU : http://www.imu.edu.my