First Principles of Instruction (revised edition)

M. David Merrill's First Principles of Instruction (revised edition)
Author: M. David Merrill
Editor: Terry R. Cortese
ISBN: 978-0-9970755-5-7
Book Design, Layout & Cover Design: Terry R. Cortese, New Learning Concepts, Inc., Bloomington, Indiana.
2020 M. David Merrill. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.


This revised edition of David Merrill‘s First Principles of Instruction is chocked full of detailed prescriptions that will help you implement the First Principles in your own teaching and instructional design. There are numerous examples illustrating a wide range of subject matter. The book is easy to navigate and follows its own advice to not simply Tell the reader about First Principles of Instruction, but to Show the principles in action and to apply them to real world problems.

AECT members can access this book here.
Non-members view the Table of Contents and Forward

Review of Merrill‘s new book for AECT
By: Theodore Frick, Professor Emeritus, Indiana University
Date: December 11, 2020

Book reviewed: M. David Merrill‘s First Principles of Instruction: Revised Edition (AECT, 2020)

I am very familiar with First Principles of Instruction, having read the first edition of Merrill‘s book and many of his related research publications. I have also applied First Principles in my own teaching and instructional design. Based on my own experience over 20 years, I can attest that First Principles of Instruction work well. Applying these principles to your teaching and instructional design will very likely result in improved student learning. Those learning experiences will also promote student transfer to solve real-world problems and to perform authentic tasks.

When I started to read the revised edition, the first thing I noticed was how immediately the book got to the point. After briefly explaining the essence of First Principles in Chapter 1, the remainder of Merrill‘s book provides a variety of examples of how these five principles have been applied to instruction and instructional design.

I highly recommend the newest edition. It is concise, well-illustrated, and models itself the principles on which it focuses

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