A Study on the Effectiveness of Tool Box Meeting Educational Materials Based on Information Quantity

This study analyzed the effects of various educational materials used in Tool Box Meetings conducted prior to work at construction sites on educational effectiveness. Specifically, the study examined the impact of changes in information quantity, linguistic explanation, and the number of educational materials on the cognitive load of construction workers. The study involved 345 construction workers. Group A utilized visual materials with higher information quantity compared to Group B. Group B, in turn, used visual materials that simplified the information to match linguistic explanations provided for Group A’s materials. Group C conducted the education meeting by reducing the number of educational materials from 13 to 8 after using Group B’s materials. Cognitive load, based on recall counts and recall rates, was then analyzed. In Group A, the use of visual educational materials with high information quantity was associated with reduced learning effectiveness, likely due to increased cognitive load. Meanwhile, in Group B, using educational materials that simplified information to match linguistic explanations resulted in an increase in recall counts and recall rates. In Group C, reducing the number of educational materials resulted in no difference in recall counts compared to Group B; however, there was an increase in the overall recall rate. Based on these research findings, it was concluded that utilizing visually simplified materials aligned with linguistic explanations and considering the cognitive load of workers to establish an appropriate number of educational materials are effective approaches in Tool Box Meeting education.