Dr. M. David Merrill
Visiting Professor
Profile
M. David Merrill makes his home in St. George, Utah. He is an instructional effectiveness consultant, a visiting professor at Florida State University, a visiting professor at Brigham Young University – Hawaii, and professor emeritus at Utah State University. Since receiving his PhD from the University of Illinois in 1964 he has served on the faculty of George Peabody College, Brigham Young University - Provo, Stanford University, the University of Southern California and Utah State University. He is internationally recognized as a major contributor to the field of instructional technology, has published many books and articles in the field and has lectured internationally. Among his principle contributions: TICCIT Authoring System 1970's, Component Display Theory and Elaboration Theory 1980's, Instructional Transaction Theory, automated instructional design and ID based on Knowledge Objects 1990's, and currently First Principles of Instruction. He was honored to receive the AECT Life Time Achievement Award. He and his wife Kate together have 9 children and 37 + 2 (by marriage) grandchildren which he claims as his most important accomplishment.
Dr. Merrill’s First Principles of instruction have recently been adopted by TRADOC as a basis for their GEL (Guided Experiential Learning) approach to training. First Principles of instruction have also been adopted by the Audio Visual Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as a basis for their on-line training courses.
Education
BA Brigham Young University 1961
MS, PhD University of Illinois 1964
Research
Automating Instructional Design
First Principles of Instruction
Effective, Efficient, Engaging Instruction
Association Memberships
AERA, AECT
Expertise
Instructional Effectiveness Consultant
Dr. Merrill has conducted workshops in effective, efficient and engaging instruction with many organizations including the military, business, and education.
Dr. Merrill is a frequent key note speaker at professional organization meetings related to effective instruction and instructional design.
Selected Publications
Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(3), 43-59.
Merrill, M. D. (2002). A pebble-in-the-pond model for instructional design. Performance Improvement, 41(7), 39-44.
Merrill, M. D. (2007). First principles of instruction: a synthesis. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (2 ed., pp. 62-71). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Merrill, M. D. (2007). A task-centered instructional strategy. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 40(1), 33-50
| Courses Frequently Taught | |
| EME 6635 | Principles of Instructional Design (Spring) |
| EDG 6328 | Advanced Instructional Theories (Fall) |