The Essentials of Instructional Design

This book is designed to introduce you to the foundational elements of instructional design - the fundamental principles, processes, and practices that currently shape and define the field. By not subscribing to any single ID model or approach, the authors are able to clearly articulate the principles of design (e.g. task analysis), and then they describe, compare, and contrast the processes of applying each principle as established by leaders in the field. Practical examples and application questions are woven throughout each chapter and present opportunities for you to check your understanding and apply what you've learned.



New to this edition:



Chapter 12 Visual Design for Instructional Media covers the essential concepts of visual design for ID students. Many instructional designers have to design and produce instructional media themselves and most instructional designers will approve designs and work closely with commercial artists. This chapter provides the principles of visual design to support instructional design students' media design and production efforts, and provides them with an understanding of the concepts of visual design they will need to work effectively with commercial artists.



Chapter 2: How People Think and Learn is reorganized and rewritten in response to reader feedback. This chapter covers foundational concepts of thinking and learning and describes learning theories. New to this chapter is a discussion of brain research. The chapter provides instructional designers with an overview of major concepts to consider as they design instruction.



Chapter opening and closing vignettes are added to Chapters 3 through 10. These scenarios serve as examples throughout the chapters and provide a wide range of applications across educational settings. Vignettes help readers understand the practical application of each step in the instructional design process.



End-of-chapter assignments that connect chapter concepts to ID project development. In addition, the end of each chapter has a new section that explains how the process described in the chapter relates to the ID process generally.