ABSTRACT
This chapter defines the concept of learning and introduces several ideas which help to explain how learning and problem-solving occurs. It describes a number of instructional programmes which have used information processing as their theoretical foundation and outlines the major concepts used in Process-Based Instruction. Human learning is concerned generally with acquiring knowledge and skills. In other words, researchers were trying to understand how learning and problem-solving occurred and in confirming and refuting their beliefs by experimentation. Strategies Program for Effective Learning/Thinking (SPELT) emphasizes the use of teacher-selected, teacher-directed strategies. As in Deshler's SIA, there appears to be little instructional flexibility in the first phase of SPELT for student-oriented learning and problem-solving and little consideration given to individual differences in student learning and problem-solving. Learning how to learn about tasks and solve problems is one of the fundamental objectives of education, although it is rare for children to receive systematic instruction.
