When Do Instructional Methods Make a Difference?

The results of instructional research offer little comfort to empirically oriented instructional psychologists. Reviews of research comparing different instructional methods, educational innovations, or methods of organizing classrooms have generally reported few significant differences (Stephens, 1967). This research suffered from numerous problems including the thoroughness with which the learning task was analyzed (Montague, Ellis, & Wulfeck, 1981), the fidelity with which different treatments were implemented (Cooley, 1978), and the match between the content of instruction and evalua-