Design for Learning: Principles, Processes, and Praxis

Reviewed by Ann Jerks, Associate Professor, Tidewater Community College on 1/9/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book covers instructional design practice in part one to include the role of a learning designer and how that can encompass many titles, responsibilities, and skills. Part one also includes the importance of problem framing and how the learning designer role should go beyond the formula of creating a learning solution that will solve “x.” I really enjoy how the book provides multiple examples and scenarios of how to capture the actual problem(s) and what tools can help highlight the problem statement. Part two includes instructional design knowledge, learning theories, the instructional design process, and instructional activities and managing stakeholders, clients, and the project team. Including Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a very beneficial reminder that autonomous environments may not always produce the results and outcomes that are needed but it relies on the learner to be ready and willing to learn.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content appears accurate with external links to additional resources that populate appropriately to the content and video media.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is relevant but also includes foundational learning theories and fundamentals that contribute to the longevity of learning design.

Clarity rating: 5

The text provides adequate context for any terminology used and describes the different titles and roles often lumped into the learning designer role. The content was easy to follow and navigate.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent with terminology.

Modularity rating: 5

The text contains two main parts: Instructional Design Practice and Instructional Design Knowledge. Part one contains four subsections: Understanding, Exploring, Creating, and Evaluating that goes into a learning designer role and how it applies to practice. Part two contains four subsections: Sources of Design Knowledge, Instructional Design Processes, Designing Instructional Activities, and Design Relationships. Some chapters and subsections were longer than others but the content breakdown was easy to digest.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are presented in a logical sequence. I felt that most resources on instructional design often have part two (instructional design knowledge) first instead of having the instructional design practice at the forefront.

Interface rating: 5

The text was very easy to navigate. I enjoyed having the ability to listen to the material instead of reading, however, some of the audio contained additional information that was distracting to the content such as a URL or page reference. The images and media enhanced the content. The reflective exercises and example forms and worksheets are very beneficial.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not encounter any grammatical errors or spelling concerns. Resources were cited appropriately.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The content includes designing for diverse learners and offers methods to recognize learner needs, potential considerations for various barriers to learning and possible solutions. Incorporating UDL helps highlight the importance and need for accessible learning.

Comments

I would love to have access to all the examples and worksheets all in one instead of having them at the end of the sections.

Reviewed by Blevins Samantha, Instructional Designer & Learning Architect, Radford University on 1/12/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book is a comprehensive look at the ever evolving field of instructional design, sometimes referred to as learning design. Both up to date practical implications, as well as theoretical underpinnings are included, giving a holistic view of the field.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This text appears to be free from errors and bias.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This text is extremely relevant for those just entering the field of instructional design, but can also be used as a review of current practices by those currently working in the field. Relevant research for the field is included, and the content could be easily updated as relevant research is published and presented.

Clarity rating: 4

Clarity of the chapters varies throughout the text, but overall it is well written and easy to follow. The text includes many examples and case studies are included and can be easily used on a one-off basis or in a more comprehensive way.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is well organized and all chapters follow a similar format. Included are figures, case students, examples, tables, and videos in a way that enhance the text. However, reflective exercises are sometimes included in chapters, which would be even more helpful and valuable if they were included in every single chapter.

Modularity rating: 4

The text would serve as a holistic reading for a course/program, or could easily be used in sections as deemed appropriate. Some of the chapters are hefty, so it would take some time for an instructor to decide what chapters/sections would be appropriate for their own course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is clear and easy to follow. Each section is thoughtfully organized into its respective theme.

Interface rating: 5

The text is easy to navigate. Audio files of each chapter are also available, which is a great exampled of including universal design priciples.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not encounter any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text includes a diverse representation of the field, both in viewpoints and through the inclusion of a variety of races, genders and backgrounds.

Reviewed by Pamela Sullivan, Professor, James Madison University on 10/19/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Design for Learning: Principles, Processes and Praxis is a comprehensive view of instructional design intended to both facilitate an introductory level of knowledge and to review the current practices of design for practitioners. These dual intentions result in an expansive review of knowledge and practices contained with a mammoth thirty-six chapter text. The authors/editors stated goals for utilizers of this text are to help complete a basic design project and to help create effective and engaging learning environments by exploring the current design thinking. While those dual purposes can and do lead to a great deal of information included within this text, each chapter stands on its own and it would be entirely possible to create a smaller set of readings customized to individual purposes from within this resource. The index and table of contents are helpful in organizing smaller groups of readings.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This text appears to be accurate, error-free, and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Because this text is intended for beginning learners in the field or as a review of current practices, it does focus on content that both remains relevant and is timeless research inherent to the field, as well as more up-to-date practices and implementation of said research. The very focused chapters make it possible to update information on an on-going basis whilst continuing access to the literature reviews that wouldn’t change. These updates would be straightforward and easy to implement by simply updating the affected chapters.

Clarity rating: 4

The clarity of the text did vary between chapters but overall the text was very well-written. Although some chapters contained more technical information than others, jargon was avoided and the information was adequately explained for the beginning level readers comprising the stated audience for the text. Many examples and case studies were provided to illuminate the ideas presented

Consistency rating: 4

All of the chapters in this text are well-organized and follow a similar format. They include figures, tables, case studies, examples, and videos when appropriate to illustrate the ideas in the text. These additions to the text are quite helpful and useful. However, some of the chapters also contain reflective exercises to aid the reader in summarizing or applying the information and some chapters do not. This is unfortunate as those exercises are quite helpful for beginners to the field. Several chapters are also reprints, by permission, of work originally printed elsewhere, and these chapters are often formatted differently than others in the text. An instructor may need to carefully filter these chapters to ensure students follow the flow of information. Similarly, there are stylistic differences between chapters, expected in an edited work, but something an instructor might need to account for to students. One example of this is the included videos, some are embedded within the text while some are presented as a set of links within a table. As an instructor, noting this and including explicit instructions for your students as to whether and when to watch the videos might be important for a successful class experience.

Modularity rating: 5

This text lends itself to subdivision into smaller reading sections, in fact, with thirty-six chapters, it might be necessary. The text is grouped in sections with several chapters included in each section and a brief introduction at the beginning of each section. The section organization is well-thought out and described for the reader, however, the chapters contained within could benefit from reorganizing and better links between them. Information varied quite a bit across chapters, from general to highly specific, and it will take time as an instructor to sort through which chapters provide the best fit for class purposes. Conversely, some information is repeated several times across different chapters as well.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics in the text are presented in a clear, logical fashion. The sections are helpful in organizing the chapters into themes to support the overall goals of the text.

Interface rating: 5

The text is easily navigable. Display features and items such as videos work as integrated into the text. Each chapter is available as an audio file as well, in an excellent example of universal design.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text contains no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text includes chapters by a diverse set of authors and while the representation of a variety of races, genders, backgrounds in examples and videos also varies by chapter, across the entire text there is a diverse representation.