The literature on learning research pertaining to the internal processing operations of the learner was reviewed. The current thinking of learning theorists regarding the nature and importance of these processes in learning and retention is described, and their significance for instructional technology is examined. Verbalization, imagery, and organization engaged in by the learner during periods of rehearsal and self-initiated recall have been shown by theorists to have surprisingly strong positive effects on learning and retention. These internal processing operations, as well as the habit of selective attention, are worthy of immediate consideration by the instructional technologist. Two courses of action are suggested: programmatic research on these processes in the context of meaningful material, using appropriate "learning induction mechanisms," and reorientation of the goals and methods of instructional technology to give greater emphasis to "learning to learn." (Author/MT)