Chunking is breaking learning down into bite-size pieces, as a way of managing cognitive load by making sure that information is presented in a way that doesn’t overload working memory.
Working memory can hold and manipulate only about 4 ‘chunks’ of information at a time. As we build complex schemas or mental models, each of those chunks can represent more extensive and complex networks of information.
Therefore, it’s vital to make sure that you chunk information in a way that matches your learners’ current level of knowledge and understanding – otherwise, what you may consider to be a single chunk could actually be interpreted by a learner as multiple chunks, overloading their working memory and causing important information to be lost.