ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the theme that cognitive theories have made significant contributions to a number of cognitive models of the learner, and of learning events, important to educational applications in general and to educational psychological research in particular. They set the stage for implying needed future research directions in educational psychology. The chapter focuses on a direction where extended conceptualizations and research directions are needed rather than to review areas of research where considerable literature is already available. The era of transition from behavioral to cognitive psychology was clearly marked during the decade of the '60s. As a psychologist deeply immersed in experimental investigations and theories of memory, Norman, too, has commented on the need for ecological validity from the viewpoint of the school. The classes of variables that affect learning within this model are the learner characteristics, the learner's activities, the teacher's activities and knowledge, and the means of evaluation.
