M. David Merrill

David Merrill is a retired professor serving over 50 years in the field of instructional technology. In 1964, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Merrill went on to serve on the faculty at several universities, including Stanford University, Utah State University, and Florida State University. He is currently serving as Professor Emeritus at Utah State University.

Over the years, his research has focused on "effective, efficient, and engaging instruction." He has published many books and articles on the theory of instructional design, component display, and instructional transaction theory. Some of his most cited works include:

• Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(3), 43-59. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02505024

• Merrill, M. D., Jonassen, D., Spector, J. M., Driscoll, M., & Van Merrienboer, J. (2008) Handbook of research on education communications and technology: a project of the association for educational communications and technology. Routledge.

• Merrill, M. D. (1983). Component display theory. Instructional0design theories and models: An overview of their current status, 1, 282-333.

Video:

• David Merrill on Instructional Design (6 minutes)

Websites:

• Google Scholar

• M David Merrill (personal)