Choice quotes include:
> The past
half-century of empirical research on this issue has provided
overwhelming and unambiguous evidence that minimal
guidance during instruction is significantly less effective
and efficient than guidance specifically designed to
support the cognitive processing necessary for learning.
> Our understanding of the role of long-term memory in human
cognition has altered dramatically over the last few decades.
It is no longer seen as a passive repository of discrete,
isolated fragments of information that permit us to repeat
what we have learned. Nor is it seen only as a component of
human cognitive architecture that has merely peripheral influence
on complex cognitive processes such as thinking and
problem solving. Rather, long-term memory is now viewed
as the central, dominant structure of human cognition.
> These results suggest
that expert problem solvers derive their skill by drawing
on the extensive experience stored in their long-term memory
and then quickly select and apply the best procedures for solving
problems. The fact that these differences can be used to
fully explain problem-solving skill emphasizes the importance
of long-term memory to cognition. We are skillful in an
area because our long-term memorycontains huge amounts of
information concerning the area.
> The aim of all instruction is to alter
long-term memory. If nothing has changed in long-term
memory, nothing has been learned.
I'll quit there, but that's only a few pages in and it's all quite good and definitely worth reading IMO.