Abstract
Prior research on learning from instruction has used a three-stage model of effects. The model posits that (1) an instructional stimulus cues the learner to use particular cognitive processes to operate on content, (2) these operations are executed, and (3) the result facilitates learning. While theories focus on all three stages, experiments have provided only indirect evidence about how well each is accomplished and rarely have controlled directly all three key sources of variance. An illustrative analysis of learning from instruction is presented, and a procedure is proposed that probabilistically increases control over the theoretically significant cognitive causes of instructional effects.
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Winne, P.H. Minimizing the black box problem to enhance the validity of theories about instructional effects. Instr Sci 11, 13–28 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00120978
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00120978