This article describes instructional theory that supports post-industrial education and training
systems – ones that are customized and learner-centered, in which student progress is based on
learning rather than time. The article describes universal methods of instruction, situational
methods, core ideas of the post-industrial paradigm of instruction, the importance of and problems
with task-based instruction, a vision of an instructional theory for post-industrial education and
training, and the roles that may be played by the teacher, the learner, and technology in the new
paradigm.