Considerable research has been directed at understanding the processes involved in acquiring and using knowledge and skills. One focus of this cognitive research is the application of formal models of learning and knowledge representation to the design of computer based instruction. Advances in adaptive instruction and intelligent tutoring have been driven by implementing explicit models of the knowledge to be learned, and the strategies used to communicate that knowledge. Two recent experiments, employing Navy personnel, have demonstrated the effectiveness of using a formal approach to instruction in an embedded training environment.

The design of the instructional material began with a fine grain analysis to determine the knowledge to be learned and to develop the basic structures upon which the adaptive processes operate. There is evidence that curriculum content which is generated from the results of an explicit cognitive analysis process enhances learning. In the first experiment the effectiveness of using a cognitive analysis process to structure the information and an adaptive process to sequence the information was evaluated for domain naive students. In the second experiment the effectiveness of the knowledge compilation approach was evaluated using Navy instructors. The results of this research are discussed in the context of the application of current cognitive learning research to embedded training.