Background and Objective: Considering cognitive load theory education strategies can lead to effective education.  The purpose of this research was to study the impact of educational strategies of Cognitive Load Theory on extraneous cognitive load and learning in physiology course.

Materials and Methods: In this study, a pretest-posttest design with a control group was used. Population of study consisted of all students at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences who were studying physiology as an elective course in their second academic year 93-94. A convenience sampling was used to select 40 individuals and they randomly were assigned to two experimental and control groups (two groups of 20N). Research instruments were questionnaire of extraneous cognitive load and achievement test (pre-test and post-test with reliability of 89% and 87%, and their validity were approved by experts). The independent T-test and SPSS software were used in analyzing data.

Results: Results indicated a decrease in extraneous cognitive load and an increase in learning in the experimental group students in Physiology course, compared to the control group.

Conclusion: Due to the impact of cognitive load theory instructional strategies on extraneous cognitive load and learning, using these strategies can lead to effective learning. Therefore, it is recommended to consider and apply these strategies in education.