P. Ia. Gal'perin was involved in the beginnings of the formation of a new psychological theory based on ideas of social-historical and activity-oriented approaches to the understanding of the mind, its origin, functions, and development. In his works, Gal'perin made use of the genetic method in the form of experimental instruction that made it possible to determine the conditions of the origin of the mind, the nature of the mind, and the orienting function to be acquired by it. In this article, the author discusses the organization of directed shaping of activity in the process of learning emerges in the context of the formulation of the following problems: (1) shaping of the abilities to be learned, with general and particular characteristics of the orienting basis of activity (OBA), which make it possible to accomplish various tasks (that is cognitive, transformative, and other tasks); and (2) the shaping of the OBA in characteristics that are of importance in order to develop the student's ability to use a new way to master/assimilate an object. The components of the regulating function of the OBA and the its essential characteristics as an integral functional formation in experimental instruction are presented.