Merrill’s first principles of instruction are simple, direct, and intuitive, and regardless of the actual design methodology followed to create them, almost all effective courses and training programs reflect these principles.
This post simplifies the five principles, identifies other ID principles that each of these five relates to, and uses the example of Creative Agni’s IDCDT-AIM course to show you how an effective training program reflects these principles.
1. The Problem-Centered Principle
Instruction should be “Task/Problem-Centered”, which means it should be centered around a real-life relevant problem that the learner is required to solved. The andragogical principle of an adult learner’s readiness to learn when they see an immediate application of learning, connects closely with this principle. In ARCS, you’ll see this principle connect closely with Relevance.
The IDCDT-AIM Course Example
Over the last twenty-years, the IDCDT course has continuously evolved to match the learning needs of its audience. It uses a task/problem-centered methodology to ensure that the learners are able to solve real-life design and development problems with ease. Everything the participants learn in the IDCDT-AIM course equips them to create effective courses and training programs in a world where instructional designers are increasingly working with AI tools.
2. The Activation Principle
The learners “recall/activate” their prior schemas to embed/organize their new learning. If a relevant foundational schema doesn’t already exist, learners evolve a new structure for organizing the new knowledge. Note the application of cognitivism and constructivism (more specifically the schema theory) in this principle.
The IDCDT-AIM Course Example
The IDCDT-AIM course is replete with activities that activate the learners’ schemas so that the new learning becomes their own. It starts by introducing and then fortifying the foundational concepts, so that the learners build new schemas for organizing the new knowledge that they subsequently acquire in the course.
3. The Demonstration Principle
Demonstrations help the learners contextualize and anchor real-world problems and the methods of solving them. Application of the R and C parameters of ARCS map directly to this principle.
The IDCDT-AIM Course Example
The participants of this course experience the instructional design concepts (such as the ARCS model, the Schema Theory, the learning approaches, CLT, and so on) as they are demonstrated by the mentor. The methods of designing and developing content and how the corresponding documents are created (such as creation of the design document and the storyboard, effective and safe use of AI in improving the efficiency of content creation) is also demonstrated in detail. These demonstrations and illustrations help the participants become confident in using their own understanding with confidence.
4. The Application Principle
When learners apply their knowledge to solve real-world problems and receive constructive feedback and guidance alongside, they learn better. Several ID concepts emphasize the need for real-life application and constructive feedback (including Gagné’s nine instructional events).
The IDCDT-AIM Course Example
Participants apply their conceptual understanding to real-life problems through the weekly concept assignments and their weekly project-assignment submissions, on which they receive the mentor’s feedback every week. This ensures that their learning deepens and becomes more deeply anchored.
5. The Integration Principle
The final principle suggests that the learners must be given opportunities to integrate their learning into their life and work. This is usually done through reflection and discussions (recall the andragogical principle of learning through sharing.) Notice how the Integration principle reflects Kolb’s cycle (or vice-versa.)
The IDCDT-AIM Course example
Weekly discussions on the online discussion forum present the participants with an avenue to share their experiences with others and learn from others’ experiences. These online discussions along with the classroom activities and discussions, allow learners to reflect upon the concepts more deeply and see how they map to their own life and work.
Image Credits: Google Gemini
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