ABSTRACT
Two beliefs widely shared among the contributors to this volume are that (a) theoretical and empirical advances in cognitive and developmental psychology can provide a solid basis for improved instructional practice; and (b) the challenge of instructional innovation can raise new questions for basic cognitive research. Evidence supporting the first belief—mplicit in the large dose of cognitive and developmental psychology contained in most degree programs in education—comes from the type of chapters in this and related volumes (e.g., Bruer, 1993, McGilly, 1994), as well as the articles appearing in two influential interdisciplinary journals—Journal of the Learning Sciences and Cognition and Instruction—that have appeared since the first Carnegie Symposium on this topic (Klahr, 1976). The second belief is a particularization of the commonly held view that applied work always raises novel questions to be addressed by further basic research. In this case, the applications involve the development and implementation of effective instructional methods and the basic research is carried out in the psychologist's laboratory. Taken together, these two beliefs support the “mutual illumination” metaphor in the title of this chapter.
