Commentary from the point of view of an applied psychologist considers the findings of five papers in this special issue on cognitive development, exploring how the contributions of each study or analysis could be used in real instruction. Some areas on which to focus applied research are discussed. (SLD)

A conceptual review of self-regulated learning (SRL) is offered, focusing on SRL as an activity that can be taught. Motivational self-regulation is considered as part of the SRL model, and an intervention aimed at putting the theories of SRL into practice is described. (SLD)