Comments on recent trends in cognitive load theory discussed in the papers in this special issue. Considers the external management of cognitive load through means of optimal instruction and the internal management of cognitive load by learners' metacognitive and self-regulative competence. (SLD)

Reviews two books that are representative of the substantive books aimed at those who wish to design effective distance learning. Together these books provide a reasonably complete perspective on how to design effective distance learning. They have many strengths, and few weaknesses. (SLD)

Some comments are provided about challenges facing the "instructional theory community," and specific remarks are made about papers presented at a session on expectations about instructional theory at the 1998 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (Session 2). An area of particular interest is that of…

Some reflections are made on the historical context of instructional theory, and comments are presented on some papers from a session of the American Educational Research Association's 1998 annual meeting. A number of current innovations in instructional theory can actually be found among topics that have been discussed at various times in the…

A historical perspective is provided of instructional theories, and some comments are presented on five papers from a session of the 1998 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). There is a large array of contemporary instructional design theories and models, and the number of theories is increasing. Some ways of…

Classroom second language instruction can be characterized as one of the following: focus-on-formS, focus-on-meaning, or focus-on-form. The book titled "Focus on Form in Classroom Second Language Acquisition" (Doughty & Williams, 1998) argues for the desirability of focus-on-form over focus-on-formS and focus-on-meaning, discussing the efficacy…

Reviews a book that thoroughly synthesizes information about the education of students who, although placed in regular English-speaking classrooms, do not have a thorough command of English. Based upon the 11 themes that guide the chapters, a coherent framework is developed for teachers working with language minority students. (TD)