Discussion of macrostructural processing of multiple text passages focuses on three experiments with college students that examined the effects of various textual and situational factors on macrostructural construction and organization. Concludes that the comprehension of hypertext involves higher levels of cognitive processing which ensure the…

When mathematics is used to help people cope with real-life situations, a three-stage intellectual process is involved. An operational instrument for assessing how a person moves from the first to the second and third stage is proposed. (Author)

Discusses situated cognition as a movement from epistemology, considers the construction of mental models, and describes a study of twelfth graders that investigated the significance of a conceptual model provided at the beginning of the learning process. Results show that mental models are constructed in dependence on the learning situation.…

The categories of models associated with the seven perspectives are designated as combinatorial models, sampling models, cybernetic models, game models, critical thinking models, ordinary language analysis models, and dynamic structural models. (DAG)

The review demonstrates that studies of the role of instructional sequencing provide an important test of the assimilation-to-schema theory, and that many apparent inconsistencies in the literature may be better understood by an analysis of the internal assimilation process. (Author)

Paper describes an approach to the problem of how particular pre-existing systems of cognitive structures in individuals could be brought to bear on the design and evaluation of an instructional unit. (Author)

Reports on a study of human problem-solving behavior in which a technique called First-Order Cognitive Analysis was employed to analyze the tasks involved in certain accounting processes such as bookkeeping. A reference list, an appendix outlining the problem employed in the study, and an appendix on the task analysis are attached. (JL)

Discusses the use of expert systems for the development of instructional design and recommends instead the cognitive approach of an instructional design workbench. Distinctions between expert systems and advisory systems are examined, the problem-solving process of instructional design is described, and design requirements for an instructional…

This empirical study of Finnish University students reports on cognitive activities when hypertext readers construct interpretations, appreciate multiple perspectives and become able to manipulate the knowledge-construction process itself. Discusses knowledge acquisition, cognitive flexibility theory, reading strategies, individual differences,…

Describes two exploratory studies of undergraduate and postgraduate students concerning the difficulties of learning to perform HTA (hierarchical task analysis) and how those difficulties might be overcome through proper training. Errors occurred with respect to all HTA criteria, suggesting that carrying out HTR itself is a complex cognitive task.…

Describes a replication study that explored differences between intermediate experts and novices mastering recurrent demands using a computer-based simulation. Functionality of mental models, declarative knowledge, acceptance of the learning environment, and intrinsic motivation to learn are discussed, and results that show no advantage for…

Paper presents a two-fold operational partition of the structures involved in characterizing instructional knowledge. (Author)

Reviews prior research on learning from instruction, presents an illustrative analysis of one relatively well studied area of research, and proposes a procedure that probabilistically increases control over theoretically significant cognitive causes of instructional effects. A 30-item reference list accompanies the text. (Author/JL)

Outlines a proposed model for understanding the human information processing system, which is conceptualized in terms of three interrelated major elements--executive, working, and long-term memory--with emphasis on the structure of long-term memory. Thirty-one references are listed. (MBR)

The proposed three-step strategy for research on human information processing--concept hierarchy analysis, analysis of example sets to teach relations among concepts, and analysis of problem sets to build a progressively larger schema for the problem space--may lead to practical procedures for instructional design and task analysis. Sixty-four…