Advances In Instructional Psychology

Investigators have moved back and forth between design efforts and basic studies in cognition to improve both application and fundamental knowledge. This volume's theme is this interaction between practice and science with the opportunity for reflecting on findings in order to understand them and suggesting improved forms of application and their underlying explanation. This is seen in various arenas including theory-based computer-assisted instruction for teaching mathematics, the design of communities of learning in elementary schools, teaching in the context of problem-solving situations and reasoning with models, self-explanation as a highly effective learning activity, conceptual change in medical training and health education, and workplace training in electronic troubleshooting. The results of extensive long-term experience and analysis in each of these areas are insightfully reported by the well-known contributors to this volume. Special features of this fifth edition include: * The work of eminent cognitive scientists in the design and evaluation of educational and training environments to increase current understanding of learning and development, as this understanding is applied to innovative instructional programs and teaching methods. * A description of learning theory and principles as well as implications and examples on research and development on educational application. * A presentation on the 10-year change in perspective on research and development in problem solving environments that invite inquiry about academic information and skills in the context of instruction of elementary school children. * An innovative approach to math and science instruction in which teaching is oriented around constructing, evaluating, and revising models. * An examination of the process of self-explaining, which involves explaining to one's self in an attempt to make sense of a new situation. * A description of a long-term program of cognitive task analysis and instructional design on problem solving in the operation of complex equipment. * An investigation on the acquisition of clinical reasoning skills and the understanding of biomedical concepts in both professional medicine and the health practices of the lay population.

The contributors to this volume address reasoning and problem solving as fundamental to learning and teaching and to modern literacy. The research on expertise and the development of competence makes it clear that structures of knowledge and cognitive process should be tightly linked throughout education to attain high levels of ability. The longstanding pedagogical assumption that the attainment of useful knowledge proceeds from lower level learning based on the practice of fundamental skills that demand little thought, to higher level competence in which problem solving finally plays an increasing role, is no longer tenable. It is now clear that thinking is not an outcome of basic learning, but is part of the basic acquisition of knowledge and skill. In learning to read, for example, decoding the printed word and understanding simple texts is an act of problem solving, requiring inference and elaboration by the reader. The prevalence of reasoning with information at all levels makes the details of its involvement a fundamental influence on learning and instruction -- a recurring theme in each of the chapters. A rich variety of topics is addressed including: *an analysis of the components of teaching competence *the evolution of a learner's mathematical understanding *the use of causal models for generating scientific explanations *the facilitation of meaningful learning through text illustrations *the competence of children in argumentative interaction that results in conceptual change.

The contributors to this volume address reasoning and problem solving as fundamental to learning and teaching and to modern literacy. The research on expertise and the development of competence makes it clear that structures of knowledge and cognitive process should be tightly linked throughout education to attain high levels of ability. The longstanding pedagogical assumption that the attainment of useful knowledge proceeds from lower level learning based on the practice of fundamental skills that demand little thought, to higher level competence in which problem solving finally plays an increasing role, is no longer tenable. It is now clear that thinking is not an outcome of basic learning, but is part of the basic acquisition of knowledge and skill. In learning to read, for example, decoding the printed word and understanding simple texts is an act of problem solving, requiring inference and elaboration by the reader. The prevalence of reasoning with information at all levels makes the details of its involvement a fundamental influence on learning and instruction -- a recurring theme in each of the chapters. A rich variety of topics is addressed including: *an analysis of the components of teaching competence *the evolution of a learner's mathematical understanding *the use of causal models for generating scientific explanations *the facilitation of meaningful learning through text illustrations *the competence of children in argumentative interaction that results in conceptual change.

Investigators have moved back and forth between design efforts and basic studies in cognition to improve both application and fundamental knowledge. This volume's theme is this interaction between practice and science with the opportunity for reflecting on findings in order to understand them and suggesting improved forms of application and their underlying explanation. This is seen in various arenas including theory-based computer-assisted instruction for teaching mathematics, the design of communities of learning in elementary schools, teaching in the context of problem-solving situations and reasoning with models, self-explanation as a highly effective learning activity, conceptual change in medical training and health education, and workplace training in electronic troubleshooting. The results of extensive long-term experience and analysis in each of these areas are insightfully reported by the well-known contributors to this volume. Special features of this fifth edition include: * The work of eminent cognitive scientists in the design and evaluation of educational and training environments to increase current understanding of learning and development, as this understanding is applied to innovative instructional programs and teaching methods. * A description of learning theory and principles as well as implications and examples on research and development on educational application. * A presentation on the 10-year change in perspective on research and development in problem solving environments that invite inquiry about academic information and skills in the context of instruction of elementary school children. * An innovative approach to math and science instruction in which teaching is oriented around constructing, evaluating, and revising models. * An examination of the process of self-explaining, which involves explaining to one's self in an attempt to make sense of a new situation. * A description of a long-term program of cognitive task analysis and instructional design on problem solving in the operation of complex equipment. * An investigation on the acquisition of clinical reasoning skills and the understanding of biomedical concepts in both professional medicine and the health practices of the lay population.

Covering the latest advanced in the field, this brief, easy-to-read introduction to educational psychology focuses on learning and teaching in subject areas and on helping students develop specific cognitive processes that are required to accomplish real academic tasks. Shows how psychological theories and research influence the development of better instructional practices and how real instructional problems influence the development of better psychological theories and research. Deals with the educational psychology of five major subject areas -- reading fluency, reading comprehension, writing, mathematics, and science. Includes three to six major cognitive processes involved in mastering the subject area in each chapter. Analyzes the types of knowledge that are needed to perform academic tasks in the domain in several chapters. Provides concrete examples and connections between cognitive research and practical educational problems. Covers the core advances in educational psychology. For educators at all levels.

Cognitive load theory uses our knowledge of how people learn, think and solve problems to design instruction. In turn, instructional design is the central activity of classroom teachers, of curriculum designers, and of publishers of textbooks and educational materials, including digital information. Characteristically, the theory is used to generate hypotheses that are tested using randomized controlled trials. Cognitive load theory rests on a base of hundreds of randomized controlled trials testing many thousands of primary and secondary school children as well as adults. That research has been conducted by many research groups from around the world and has resulted in a wide range of novel instructional procedures that have been tested for effectiveness. Advances in Cognitive Load Theory, in describing current research, continues in this tradition. Exploring a wide range of instructional issues dealt with by the theory, it covers all general curriculum areas critical to educational and training institutions and outlines recent extensions to other psycho-educational constructs including motivation and engagement. With contributions from the leading figures from around the world, this book provides a one-stop-shop for the latest in cognitive load theory research and guidelines for how the findings can be applied in practice.