Do the selected theories and models have fundamental underlying
principles in common?
According to this paper, a principle
is a relationship that is always true under appropriate conditions regardless
of practice (a specific instructional activity) or program (an approach
consisting of a set of prescribed practices).
Five first principles emerged from Merrill’s research (2002). He
constructed these into phases of effective instruction (see Figure 1).
The use of the first principles is meant to be prescriptive and
applicable to any learning practice or program. For your eLearning design and
development, ask yourself the associated design questions and include these
phases of effective instruction. Being problem or task focused is the central
principle and should be the starting point for all design efforts.