The central problem that American education poses for society is that the enterprise is appreciably underproductive when judged against standards and requirements of the postindustrial era. This generic problem will not be appreciably ameliorated until the instructional system design (ISD) process is better understood and explicated and then made central to problem amelioration. The objectives of the ISD process are explored in the context of education in general, and many of its functions are inventoried. Consonant with emerging views on process structure, components and structure of an instructional learning situation addressing cognitive skills are illustrated. An analysis of the instructional situation includes discussion of instructional media, the instructional milieu, performance factors, a sketch of the ISD process, transfer and generalization, and broader media. The use of the ISD process in simulating time-referenced useful expansion of a knowledge base apt to solving the educational problem is briefly outlined. (Author/SH)