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M. David Merrill (Marriner David Merrill) [1] is an education researcher specializing in instructional design and technology.
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M. David Merrill (Marriner David Merrill) [1] is an education researcher specializing in instructional design and technology.
Merrill was born on March 27, 1937. After completing high school, he was involved in missionary work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. He is married to Kathleen Merrill and together they have nine children and 39 grandchildren. He currently lives in Utah. [2]
In 1961, Merrill earned a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education from Brigham Young University. He earned an MA and a Ph.D from the University of Illinois in 1964.
Merrill has been a faculty member at numerous universities during his extensive academic career: [2]
Merrill's research has helped lead to the development of three important theories that underpin the discipline of Instructional Design and Technology today: The Component Display Theory, Instructional Transaction Theory and the First Principles of Instruction.
The Component Display Theory (CDT) classifies learning into two dimensions: content and performance. [4] Merrill developed a performance/content matrix which can be used to ascertain the levels of performance that is required for an area of content. [5] The dimension of content consist of four areas: facts, procedures, concepts and principles; while the performance dimension consists of remembering, using and finding. [4] The component display theory can be used to design instruction for any level of the cognitive domain and it provides a basis for lesson design in computer-based learning systems. [4] In 1994, Merrill revised the original component display theory and the focus shifted towards a more macro perspective. The emphasis shifted from lesson towards general course structure and from forms to instructional transactions. [6]
The First Principles of Instruction is an instructional theory that takes into consideration many instructional theories and models. [7] It includes as set of inter-related principles – task/problem-centered, activation, demonstration, application and integration. [8] These principles can help instructional designers develop instructional materials that can enhance the instructional and learning process. It is a task-centered instructional theory and as such emphasis is placed on the use of real-world problems or tasks in the instructional process.
This theory was developed by Merrill along with Li and Jones and it was regarded as a second generation Instructional Design Theory. [9] This theory was designed in an attempt to extend Gagne’s condition of learning and Merrill’s component display theory to form a design which had the capacity for automated instruction. [9] Hence, it can be described as computer-based instructional design. Instructional transactions are algorithms, patterns of learning interactions which have been designed to enable the learner to acquire certain kind of knowledge or skills. [9] The instructional transactional theory has three components- Descriptive theory of knowledge, Descriptive theory of strategy and Prescriptive theory of instructional design. [10]
M. D. Merrill has published many books, edited many chapters in books, written numerous Journal articles etc. Below is a list of some of his publications [2]
An instructional theory is "a theory that offers explicit guidance on how to better help people learn and develop." It provides insights about what is likely to happen and why with respect to different kinds of teaching and learning activities while helping indicate approaches for their evaluation. Instructional designers focus on how to best structure material and instructional behavior to facilitate learning.
Instructional design (ID), also known as instructional systems design and originally known as instructional systems development (ISD), is the practice of systematically designing, developing and delivering instructional materials and experiences, both digital and physical, in a consistent and reliable fashion toward an efficient, effective, appealing, engaging and inspiring acquisition of knowledge. The process consists broadly of determining the state and needs of the learner, defining the end goal of instruction, and creating some "intervention" to assist in the transition. The outcome of this instruction may be directly observable and scientifically measured or completely hidden and assumed. There are many instructional design models, but many are based on the ADDIE model with the five phases: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.
Instructional scaffolding is the support given to a student by an instructor throughout the learning process. This support is specifically tailored to each student; this instructional approach allows students to experience student-centered learning, which tends to facilitate more efficient learning than teacher-centered learning. This learning process promotes a deeper level of learning than many other common teaching strategies.
In psychology, cognitivism is a theoretical framework for understanding the mind that gained credence in the 1950s. The movement was a response to behaviorism, which cognitivists said neglected to explain cognition. Cognitive psychology derived its name from the Latin cognoscere, referring to knowing and information, thus cognitive psychology is an information-processing psychology derived in part from earlier traditions of the investigation of thought and problem solving.
Situated learning is a theory that explains an individual's acquisition of professional skills and includes research on apprenticeship into how legitimate peripheral participation leads to membership in a community of practice. Situated learning "takes as its focus the relationship between learning and the social situation in which it occurs".
Situated cognition is a theory that posits that knowing is inseparable from doing by arguing that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts.
Constructivism is a theory in education which posits that individuals or learners do not acquire knowledge and understanding by passively perceiving it within a direct process of knowledge transmission, rather they construct new understandings and knowledge through experience and social discourse, integrating new information with what they already know. For children, this includes knowledge gained prior to entering school. It is associated with various philosophical positions, particularly in epistemology as well as ontology, politics, and ethics. The origin of the theory is also linked to Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development.
Transactional distance theory was developed in the 1970s by Dr. Michael G. Moore, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Education at the Pennsylvania State University. It is the first pedagogical theory specifically derived from analysis of teaching and learning conducted through technology as opposed to the many theories developed in the classroom. It is considered by some to be one of the few, if not the only, theory in distance education that can be used to test hypotheses. It can be used to frame experiments in tutoring or other learner support activities to assess what change there is in the outcomes of student learning, often judged by student completion. Like any theory, the transactional distance model serves as a heuristic device, a means of identifying questions for research and also a very practical instrument to be used in making these difficult instructional design decisions.
Cognitive apprenticeship is a theory that emphasizes the importance of the process in which a master of a skill teaches that skill to an apprentice.
Ann Lesley Brown (1943–1999) was an educational psychologist who developed methods for teaching children to be better learners. Her interest in the human memory brought Brown to focus on active memory strategies that would help enhance human memory and developmental differences in memory tasks. Her realization that children's learning difficulties often stem from an inability to use metacognitive strategies such as summarizing led to profound advances in educational psychology theory and teaching practices.
An intelligent tutoring system (ITS) is a computer system that imitates human tutors and aims to provide immediate and customized instruction or feedback to learners, usually without requiring intervention from a human teacher. ITSs have the common goal of enabling learning in a meaningful and effective manner by using a variety of computing technologies. There are many examples of ITSs being used in both formal education and professional settings in which they have demonstrated their capabilities and limitations. There is a close relationship between intelligent tutoring, cognitive learning theories and design; and there is ongoing research to improve the effectiveness of ITS. An ITS typically aims to replicate the demonstrated benefits of one-to-one, personalized tutoring, in contexts where students would otherwise have access to one-to-many instruction from a single teacher, or no teacher at all. ITSs are often designed with the goal of providing access to high quality education to each and every student.
E-learning theory describes the cognitive science principles of effective multimedia learning using electronic educational technology.
The worked-example effect is a learning effect predicted by cognitive load theory. Specifically, it refers to improved learning observed when worked examples are used as part of instruction, compared to other instructional techniques such as problem-solving and discovery learning. According to Sweller: "The worked example effect is the best known and most widely studied of the cognitive load effects".
Backward design is a method of designing an educational curriculum by setting goals before choosing instructional methods and forms of assessment. Backward design of curriculum typically involves three stages:
Allan M. Collins is an American cognitive scientist, Professor Emeritus of Learning Sciences at Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy. His research is recognized as having broad impact on the fields of cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, and education.
Charles M. Reigeluth is an American educational theorist, researcher, and reformer. His research focuses on instructional design theories and systemic transformation of educational systems to be learner-centered: personalized, competency-based, and largely project-based.
First Principles of Instruction, created by M. David Merrill, Professor Emeritus at Utah State University, is an instructional theory based on a broad review of many instructional models and theories. First Principles of Instruction are created with the goal of establishing a set of principles upon which all instructional theories and models are in general agreement, and several authors acknowledge the fundamental nature of these principles. These principles can be used to assist teachers, trainers and instructional designers in developing research-based instructional materials in a manner that is likely to produce positive student learning gains.
Dr. Thomas Sticht taught at Harvard University. He was awarded UNESCO'S Mahatma Gandhi Medal for his twenty-five years of service and dedication.
Andrew S. Gibbons is an American practitioner and theorist in the field of instructional design and technology. He has proposed an architectural theory of instructional design influenced by the structural principles of artifact modularization drawn from a number of design disciplines, as exemplified by the work of Carliss Baldwin and Kim B. Clark.
The Cognitive Theory of Inquiry Teaching, also referred to as the Cognitive Theory of Interactive Teaching, was developed by Allan Collins and Albert L. Stevens. Allan Collins was a chief scientist at Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., a research firm in Cambridge Massachusetts. He is also a specialist in the field of cognitive science and human semantic processing. Albert L. Stevens was a senior scientist at Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. He was also director of the company's Artificial Intelligence, Education Technology and Training Systems Division. He is also a specialist in cognitive science. The Cognitive Theory of Inquiry Teaching according to Collins and Stevens (1981) requires the learner to construct theories and principles through dialogue, the teaching of self-questioning techniques and the teaching of metacognitive or self-monitoring skills, all with the intent of clarifying misconceptions so the theory or principle is well articulated and developed. The essence of the cognitive theory of Inquiry teaching is that of developing students' metacognitive skills. Inquiry teaching deliberately attempts to develop these stills through instruction.
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