Michael Shayer and the late Philip Adey published Towards a Science of Science Teaching Cognitive development and curriculum demand in 1981.

Available here https://www.stem.org.uk/elibrary/resource/29912

 This was a seminal work for my practice as a young teacher and Head of Science in Leeds in the eighties. Perhaps in a similar way that Cognitive Load Theory is influencing many teachers now.

Some of it is available on the web at this site http://modeling.asu.edu/modeling/AdeyP-CurrAnalysisTaxonomy.pdf

The taxonomy was rigorously tested and rated details are to be found in Towards a Science of Science Teaching pages 84-115. This subsequently led the development of the CASE and CAME programmes. The whole body of work could best be described as Applied Cognitive Readiness and Demand Theory. Readers, of course, will have to get beyond the trigger words Piaget and constructivism which often lead off into unfruitful debates about discovery and minimal guidance. I think that this taxonomy gives a very large scale map and guide of how to match lessons and how teachers can strongly lead their sub episodes. It is also very compatible with the principles of cognitive science as outlined by http://www.learningscientists.org/ and the principles outlined by Rosenshine (2012)

Rosenshine (2012) article, “Principles of Effective Instruction: Research-Based Strategies that All Teachers Should Know”