Teaching · Special Education

Make the task about the skill, not about remembering the task.

Mark ten design checks for one assignment or page. The checklist scores the memory load and puts the three changes that save the most at the top.

Check an assignmentWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Special Education toolkit, $99 for 100 items.

The memory demand check

One check per assignment and date. The example is made up.

Loading the form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Teaching · Special Education$5 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A memory-friendly score, the three changes that save the most with a fix for each, the rest in order and notes for digital versions.
Who it is for
Teachers, special education teachers, instructional designers and curriculum writers.
Format
Browser checklist. One saved check per assignment and date; printed with the changes or as a blank checklist; CSV; export and import a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Special Education toolkit ($99) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Special Education space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about an order, access or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.
out of the head, onto the page
Drawn for this page. Every fact a student must hold in mind is one less they can think with; put it on the page instead.

How to use it

  1. Start a check with a code for the assignment.
  2. Count the steps a student follows.
  3. Mark each design check yes, partly or no.
  4. Make the three changes at the top first.
  5. Copy the check to a new date after revising and compare.

Check an assignment

Why these checks

Working memory is small

Students can hold only a few new pieces of information in mind at once. Directions, vocabulary and earlier answers all compete with the thinking the task is for. Putting them on the page frees that space for everyone, and matters most for students with attention, learning or memory difficulties.

How the order is set

Directions that disappear and information carried between screens cost the most, so they rise to the top; a no counts double a partly.

What this is not

A readability or accessibility audit. Pair it with the screen reader and contrast checks for digital work.

Sources

  1. Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Paas, F. (2019). Cognitive architecture and instructional design: 20 years later. Educational Psychology Review, 31, 261–292.
  2. W3C (2021). Making Content Usable for People with Cognitive and Learning Disabilities (W3C Group Note): objectives on memory and clear processes.
  3. W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2: 3.3.7 Redundant Entry and 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum).
  4. CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2: options for comprehension and executive functions.

The example assignment is made up. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.