In discussions about how to best foster principle-based cognitive skills, there are typically two points of dissent among researchers in the field of learning and instruction: First, should information be provided, as typical of direct instruction, or should this information be generated by the students, as typical of guided discovery or inquiry learning? Second, which type of learning activities should be emphasized, for example, hands-on activities or mental activities? It is argued that neither the question about the effectiveness of different learning methods nor that about the type of learner activities should be central issues. Instead, it is argued that (1) the learners' attention should be directed to the central concepts and principles of the learning domain and (2) that different learning methods can accomplish such focused processing of central concepts and principles.