Five instructional techniques for increasing the meaningfulness of technical or scientific information are summarized: (1) organization of prose; (2) use of concrete analogy and advance organizers; (3) use of inserted questions in prose; (4) elaboration activities such as note taking; and (5) discovery learning. Research on each technique is reviewed from the viewpoint of the student, with attempts made to describe how these techniques influence information processing events during learning. Examples are presented representative of the research by the author in the field, and conclusions are drawn from his expertise concerning systematic and predictable ways that instructional techniques influence the learning process. (CS)