In the right hands, learning objectives are great tools for clarifying thinking, breaking down learning into component parts, creating a logical order to learning, and demonstrating that a learning intervention is successful. Mostly, however, they have become cliches. With the industry's tendency to use them as pro forma media bites, they tend to…

Discusses the cognitive approach to instructional design (ID) and how ID practitioners can design training differently. Highlights include how learning occurs; categories of learning; a model that summarizes the components of a well-designed lesson; a framework for ID based on cognitive psychology; and a table to use as a job aid for designing…