The Consequences of Human Cognitive Architecture for Minimal Guidance During Instruction

Any instructional procedure that ignores the structures that constitute human cognitive architecture is not likely to be effective. 

Minimally guided instruction appears to proceed with no reference to the characteristics of working memory, long-term memory, or the intricate relations between them. 

The result is a series of recommendations that most educators find almost impossible to implement—and many experienced educators are reluctant to implement—because they require learners to engage in cognitive activities that are highly unlikely to result in effective learning. 

As a consequence, the most effective teachers may either ignore the recommendations or, at best, pay lip service to them (e.g., Aulls, 2002). 

In this section we discuss some of the characteristics of human cognitive architecture and the consequent instructional implications.

Source : https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1?needAccess=true