Enhancing learner processing for effective problem solving

Across the country, there is a call for instructional innovations that will increase the practical problem solving ability of college graduates. To meet this need, instructors are inundated with prescriptions on how to change teaching, the classroom, and assessments. To effectively employ these innovations, instructors need knowledge of more than just how to change instruction; instructors also need to understand the learning processes of the students in the classroom. In this paper, three of the most powerful principles of learning are presented in an effort to help classroom instructors better understand not only the "how" of instructional innovation but also the "why." The three principles, student attention, knowledge organization, and problem solving processes, are covered in separate sections of this paper. In each section, the principle is explained and specific links to instructional practice are provided. The paper closes with an explanation of how the three principles operate jointly and how these should be understood in relation to other instructional recommendations.