Factors in Predicting Success in the Acquisition of Cognitive Skill

This paper reviews two studies that have examined the relationship between performance on basic cognitive tasks, administered on microcomputers, and performance on two learning tasks. One learning task involved computer programming, the other involved learning to trace signals through logic gates, a component of electronics troubleshooting skill. From previous research, we have established a four-source framework: we assume that observed learner differences are due to differences in processing speed; processing capacity; and the breadth, extent, and accessibility of conceptual knowledge and procedural and strategic skills. In both studies, we attempted to predict the proficiency (i.e., speed and accuracy) with which individuals were able to acquire skill in the domain area (programming, troubleshooting) as a function of their scores on the four cognitive factors. Each cognitive factor was indicated by performance on two computerized tests. Skill acquisition proficiency on the learning tasks was decomposed into separate scores for (a) speed of acquisition of the initial declarative foundations of the skill (the facts), (b) speed of acquisition of the ability to apply the factual knowledge to solve domain problems (the skill itself). In both studies, working memory capacity was the best predictor of both the speed with which domain facts were learned, and of one's ability to translate those facts into rules that could be employed in problem solving.