Learning hierarchies and cognitive psychology: An important link for instructional psychology

Through his work on learning hierarchies and conditions of learning, Gagne has provided instructional designers with a rationale and procedures for determining what prerequisite knowledge is necessary to support present learning. However, factors related to complexity, inadequate theory and limited knowledge of competence, prevent the wide scale effective use of these procedures. Much of the research in cognitive psychology, specifically, schematic representation of knowledge and information processing analysis, may help in dealing with these factors. This is especially true for determining the nature of competence, which should precede the writing of clear unambigious behavioral objectives, which in turn are necessary before proceeding with hierarchical analyses. On the other hand, most of the research in cognitive psychology is decidedly basic in nature and it is suggested that combining a modified hierarchical analysis with the more cognitively oriented analysis procedures may accelerate the movement of this work towards more instructional relevance.