Designing Instruction That Supports Cognitive Learning Processes.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of current cognitive learning processes, including a summary of research that supports the use of specific instructional methods to foster those processes. We have developed examples in athletic training education to help illustrate these methods where appropriate. DATA SOURCES: Sources used to compile this information included knowledge base and oral and didactic presentations. DATA SYNTHESIS: Research in educational psychology within the past 15 years has provided many principles for designing instruction that mediates the cognitive processes of learning. These include attention, management of cognitive load, rehearsal in working memory, and retrieval of new knowledge from long-term memory. By organizing instruction in the context of tasks performed by athletic trainers, transfer of learning and learner motivation are enhanced. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS: Scientific evidence supports instructional methods that can be incorporated into lesson design and improve learning by managing cognitive load in working memory, stimulating encoding into long-term memory, and supporting transfer of learning.