Constructivist instructional approaches have gained significant popularity in education as educators seek to create more engaging and effective learning environments. However, the effectiveness of these approaches in promoting student learning remains a subject of debate. This systematic review aims to synthesise existing evaluation-based research…

Reviews the major methods of investigation used in cerebral hemispheric research, considers some of the important conceptual issues confronting contemporary cerebral laterality research, examines the possible role of interhemispheric cooperation in complex cognitive activities, and discusses implications for instructional research and development.…

Reviews instructional design research and theory and relates it to the design of computer-based instructional materials. Instructional design guidelines are offered to aid software developers in making design decisions on three macrolevel and four microlevel of instruction. (Author/LRW)

Discusses the problem of designing educational systems for the aged to maximize their potential for success. Suggests that complex changes in working memory occur with advanced age; by understanding the nature of these changes, educational materials can be designed which properly refresh memory and guide comprehension. (JAC)

Discussion of instructional systems development (ISD) focuses on recent developments in cognitive task analysis and describes the Integrated Task Analysis Model, a framework for integrating cognitive and behavioral task analysis methods within the ISD model. Three components of expertise are analyzed: skills, knowledge, and mental models. (96…

Focusing on the psychological processing of audiovisual materials by learners, this chapter presents and analyzes recent research on human perception, its relation to memory, and how perception is best represented in an information processing model. Topics discussed include pictorial and verbal memory, information system capacity, filtering and…

This paper discusses the implications of Lucy Suchman's conclusion that a theory of situated action--i.e., the actual sense that specific users make out of specific Xeroxing events--is truer to the lived experience of Xerox users than a cognitive account of the user's plans--e.g., the hierarchy of subprocedures for how Xerox machines should be…

Teachers can improve their practice by listening to, reflecting on, and making sense of practice. Sensemaking strategies include: deductive thinking; inductive thinking; and transductive thinking. (CB)

Critiques Aptitude-Treatment Interactions (ATI) as a major theoretical foundation for individualized instruction and argues that Content-Treatment Analysis (CTI), which assumes that no one learning treatment is appropriate for all subject content, is more appropriate. It is concluded that CTI should be given a greater role in instructional…

This review of the current status of the human information processing model presents the Stahl Perceptual Information Processing and Operations Model (SPInPrOM) as a model of how thinking, memory, and the processing of information take place within the individual learner. A related system, the Domain of Cognition, is presented as an alternative to…

In order for educators to plan for thinking skills in the curriculum, what is meant by thinking must first be determined. Drawing from current research, this report provides working definitions of thinking skills and practical models to explain the working relationships among different levels and different kinds of thought processes. These…

Research on teacher planning, teachers' interactive decision making, and the relation between teachers' decisions and student outcomes is summarized. A cognitive psychological framework for analyzing teacher thinking is presented and applied to existing research on teacher planning and decision making. (DB)

This chapter considers the professional status of instructional developers, the skills they need, and how those skills should be taught. Three differing approaches are discussed and critiqued: the specific skills approach; an approach which advocates the addition of "higher level" skills to the list of specific skills; and an "underlying skills"…

The history of the relation between achievement tests and curriculum programs is reviewed, and it is concluded that content specialists are best qualified as sources of curricular goals to specify content, kinds of attainment, and standards. The specification of instructional intents is also considered from the perspective of modern cognition…

Examines the similarities and differences between instructional theory and learning theory. Suggests that a unified theory of both instructional theory and learning theory needs to exist so that all aspects of human behavior within the instructional situation can be placed in perspective. (Author)