As you flip through the pages of this handbook you will notice that the content does not seem to be randomly organized. The content of the handbook is sequenced in a particular way: foundations before general strategies, background before applications, etc. The editors envisaged a sequence of topics, the authors of each topic envisaged a sequence of information in each chapter, and so on. We selected a particular sequence because we considered it to be effective. Deciding how to sequence information takes place all the time in educational contexts, from educators deciding how to organize their syllabus to educational technology designers deciding how to organize a piece of educational software, from handbook editors and writers deciding how to organize their materials, to students making decisions as to how to organize their study. One might imagine that as long as all students study the same materials, regardless of the sequence in which they study it, they will all learn the same information. This could not be further from the truth. In this chapter, we will review evidence of how and why the sequence of study changes what is learned. In doing so, we will try to uncover the powerful ways in which sequence can improve or deter learning.
Percepts and Concepts Lab
