Chapter 1: Cognitive Psychology and Educational Practice

"Over the past quarter-century, no development in the social sciences has been more radical than the revolution—often referred to as the information processing revolution—in our way of understanding the processes of human thinking" (Simon, 1980a, p. 76). In this review I will examine the background for this remarkable statement, and will explore the educational implications of our new knowledge about the human mind. As befits a "re-view," I begin with a quick scan of the historical paths that lead to present-day cognitive psychology. Next I present what I see as major facets of our current conceptions of human cognition, concentrating first on the architecture of the mind, and second on mental activity. I then turn to education—what do we mean by the educated mind, and how does the school foster intellectual growth? This section moves next to a consideration of some promising applications of cognitive theory and research for the improvement of educational practice. This review is more an essay than a compendium. I have sought to represent major trends in cognitive psychology, while emphasizing works that seem most promising for educational practice. The conception of education presented in this chapter is not all encompassing, but is designed to match concepts and issues central in the thinking of cognitive psychologists. The paper is unabashedly theoretical, and some of the ideas are admittedly conjectural. My aim is to "accentuate the positive." The spotty character of our research knowledge, the apparent complexity of many behavioral and social phenomena, the practical barriers in the way of

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