Cognitive science is a combination of cognitive psychology (the study of the mind) and computer science (the study of computers). Cognitive science is a new area of educational research which has the potential to significantly improve instructional methods. Five broad, general principles, emanating from the cognitive research literature, are discussed in this article: making thinking and learning easier, building on what students already know, facilitating information processing, facilitating "deep thinking," and making thinking processes explicit.
MDS-433 / June 1992