The current research aimed to identify the impact of two styles of delivering adaptive instructional levels (fixed-flexible), in light of the phenomenon of the reverse effect of experience in a smart learning environment on cognitive load and the development of database programming skills among computer science students. The research sample consisted of (60) students in third-year students in the Computer Science Teacher Program at the Faculty of Specific Education, Zagazig University. They were divided into two equal experimental groups. The research included two experimental treatments: the first used fixed adaptive instructional levels, and the second used flexible adaptive instructional levels. The research tools included an achievement test to measure cognitive aspects; an observation card to measure skill performance; and a cognitive load scale. The results showed statistically significant differences between the average scores of the students in the two experimental groups in reducing students' cognitive load. This was attributed to the primary effect of the different styles of delivering adaptive instruction levels (fixed-flexible), in favor of the second experimental group (which was taught using flexible adaptive instruction levels). Meanwhile, the first experimental group achieved better results than the second experimental group in both the cognitive and skill aspects of database programming skills. The study recommended the need to focus on designing smart environments based on flexible adaptive instruction levels if the goal is to reduce students' cognitive load.