First Principles of Instruction: An Instructional Design Theory

By M David Merrill

My career has been focused on what makes learning from instruction efficient, effective, and engaging. I have identified five underlying First Principles of Instruction. Learning is facilitated when learners are engaged in solving real-world problems. Learning is facilitated when existing knowledge is activated as a foundation for new knowledge. Learning is facilitated when new knowledge is demonstrated to the learner. Learning is facilitated when new knowledge is applied by the learner Learning is facilitated when new knowledge is integrated into the learner's world. Research and instructional design implementation have demonstrated that learning from instruction is more effective, efficient, and engaging when instructional design incorporates these principles. Over the last 20 years plus (2002-2024), I have written extensively about the First Principles of Instruction. In 2013, I published a book, First Principles of Instruction , a textbook for a course in instructional design (Merrill, 2013). This book also was translated into Chinese and Korean. In 2020, during the pandemic lockdown, I published a second book, a more concise presentation of the theory underlying the First Principles of Instruction (Merrill, 2020). First principles of instruction have come to be widely accepted worldwide and are being applied by many organizations in their instructional design efforts. As I have consulted with several of these organizations, I found myself referring to ideas in the papers I had written about various aspects of First Principles of Instruction. As a result of these conversations, I felt it would be helpful to publish a third book that includes many of these papers to provide a more complete presentation of First Principles of Instruction. This book is a collection of 14 of these papers. Hopefully, they will help you design more effective, efficient, and engaging instruction.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0DBZ213HB
• ISBN13: 9798334045385
• Release Date: August 2024
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"