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N. M. Seel, T. Lehmann, P. Blumschein, O. A. Podolskiy (2017): Instructional

Design for Learning: Theoretical Foundations: Sense Publishers, Rotterdam,
DOI:10.1007/978-94-6300-941-...

Article  in  Technology, Knowledge, and Learning · March 2019

DOI: 10.1007/s10758-019-09402-z

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-019-09402-z

BOOK REVIEW

N. M. Seel, T. Lehmann, P. Blumschein, O. A. Podolskiy (2017):

Instructional Design for Learning: Theoretical Foundations
Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, DOI:10.1007/978-94-6300-941-6

Lunju Chen1,2 

© Springer Nature B.V. 2019

Over the past century, educational psychologists and researchers have posited many theo-
ries to explain how individuals learn, i.e. how they acquire, organize and deploy knowledge
and skills. Seel (2012) I would like to claim that research on instructional design (ID) has
become a full-fledged area of inquiry within the field of education and educational studies.
With the recent boom of the learning sciences, research foci in the field of ID have recently
shifted to place greater emphasis on the design of learning environments that would better
facilitate the processes of learning and assist the learners’ construction and comprehen-
sion of meaning. Since the beginning of the 20th century, factors such as different needs
of learning and the development of technology have resulted in a proliferation of ID the-
ories which endeavor to provide reasonable answers to questions of ‘what to teach’ and
‘how to teach it’. Variant and diversified theories and models represent essentially different
“worlds” (of knowledge, learning and work) (Van Merrienboer et al. 2002), and they may
considered as different answers to above questions mentioned. Faced with this multiplicity
of ID theories, educators and teaching specialists, especially those of whom are novices in
instructional design, are likely to find themselves in great need of a comprehensive text-
book which may assist them in gaining better knowledge of command of the planning and
management of learning activities, eventually serving effective instruction.

1 Authors and Contents of the Book

Seel M, leading author of this book, is a PhD in educational psychology and professor of
Economics and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Freiburg. Seel has contributed to
several books, the three volumes of Instructional Design: International Perspective among
these being regarded as classic works in the field of instructional design and research. The
other three authors all have years of practical experience in education: Thomas works in
Pedagogical and Educational Sciences at the University of Bremen. His research interests

* Lunju Chen
11703005@zju.edu.cn
1
College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
2
Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou, China

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 L. Chen

lie in knowledge integration in professional development, mental models, ID and etc.;

Blumschein is a researcher at the Freiburg University of Education, and Podolskiy focuses
on research in the field of online learning and ID. Their expertise in education and ID make
this a highly informative book.
Instructional design for learning consists of five chapters. Each chapter begins with a
short introduction and ends with a section containing several “Adjunct questions” intended
to help readers reflect on “important textual materials” (p. 76). The “Adjunct questions”
section effectively guides academic reading. Generally, this book provides a comprehen-
sive overview of the main veins of the theoretical framework of ID, specifying the underly-
ing notion of ID as a science of educational planning, integrating theoretical and research-
based ID approaches, as well as providing possible applications in secondary schools and
higher education. With all this in mind, readers may find clearer paths to the analysis of
learner and the design of classroom and technology-based learning environments.
Titled “What is Instructional Design”, Chapter 1 sets forth a clarification of the meaning
of ID. The most inspiring part is that the authors expound their views on ID as a scientific
discipline of planning. ID is both a design science and a technology of planning. The brief
historical progression of this discipline present in this chapter is of great help in under-
standing the following chapters.
Chapter  2 extends into an explanation of planning as a process of complex problem
solving “characterized by multiple decisions” (p. 32). Rational or intuitive decision mak-
ing depends on the degree of pedagogical expertise of the designer. Additionally, the very
nature of ID calls for creativity and innovation, which “presupposes productive thinking
based on mental models” (p. 37). Three strategies presented for instructional planning can
be considered quite helpful in understanding how novices differ from experts, and how
they may be trained to reach such expert levels of proficiency.
By introducing the difficult balance between necessary universal validity and sufficient
accuracy in ID, Chapter 3 shows readers a detailed picture of various classical conceptual
and procedural models. In applying and referring to existent ID models, designers should
be aware of “the core and scope of [these] models” (p. 57). This chapter provides a quick
view to the classics of ID models and their variations as well as significant and influential
people in this field. It is really user-friendly and useful to classify existing models into
three categorizations: classroom-oriented, product-oriented and systems-oriented models,
which is especially of great benefit for teaching students before entering this field. For sub-
ject-matter experts or other persons, AID tools may serve by providing guidance for design
of instructional events.
“Instructional design models mostly have been created on the round table of theorists”,
their quality being “criticized in general as poor” (p. 109). For this reason, the authors
of this book have placed great emphasis on research-based ID (chapter  4), for this may
make up for the weaknesses of traditional ID. As such, design-based research is promising,
not only in realizing a learning theory, but also in combining research and development.
Additionally, the authors introduce several cognitive-constructivist approaches that could
work to involve students in the process of active problem solving. User-centered design is
accepted as an effective way to support reflective thinking and inquiry-oriented learning.
Participatory and rapid prototyping are “the most popular” (p. 160) concepts among these
worthy of attention.
Chapter 5 describes the application of participatory ID and rapid prototyping in higher edu-
cation, including the significance of blending learning and the challenge of blended learning
environments. Then, centering on the distinction between general didactics and instruction,
this book sets out discussing several established didactic models briefly. At last, Universal

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N. M. Seel, T. Lehmann, P. Blumschein, O. A. Podolskiy (2017):…

Design for Learning is supposed to meet learners’ individual needs, but ultimately its original
mission may “run the risk of getting lost” (p. 209).

2 Evaluation

Not only have the definitions of ID changed, but the actual name of the field itself has been
known to vary. Reiser and Dempsey (2018) The resulting confusion has likely brought unsat-
isfying results to educators and instructional designers. The topic of ID is complex, and the
21st century poses a challenge to instructional designers, as learners’ attitudes toward learning
and technology evolve at a very fast pace (Sharif and Cho 2015), making the appearance of
this book both timely and relevant. Its title is very eye-catching and possibly attracts research-
ers and educators at the very first sight. It presents an up-to-date perspective on theories and
models for the realization of effective instruction, such as Cognitive Load Theory and the 4C/
ID-model, which may serve as helpful guiders for researchers in particular to conduct further
inquiry, and may provide helpful clues as to how they may progress in their professional devel-
opment. It also reflects on promising results obtained where its contents have been applied in
higher education and schooling.
I feel that this is an ideal textbook for the graduate student and educators new to this field.
But one may ask, given that many textbooks on ID have been published, why is it that this
book is of particular interest and use? The answer lies in the professional background of the
authors. Thanks to its succinct wording and apt writing style, the book brings the field of
instructional design into a clear and novel light, describing theories and models in an engaging
and accessible way. Explaining such a complex series of topics in a book less than 250 pages-
long is no easy task. Every time a concept pops up, a detailed interpretation is soon to follow.
What’s more, this book includes many visuals in illustrating concepts and models, which adds
to its appeal. However, it is unfortunate that there is no subject index or brief biographies on
the authors (with the exception of a note of their working universities on the back cover). This
book is intended to be of interest to all education, naturally requiring it to sacrifice a degree of
depth as it covers so many topics. For example, in discussing the application of ID in school-
ing in chapter 5, the authors talk about the relationship between ID and general didactics, but
for the novice, such as myself, the content provided is insufficient to make reader feel confi-
dent applying such concepts. All this may force readers to work harder to make the most of
this book and explore the great ocean depths of ID through pursuing further reading of litera-
ture and investigations.
The authors seem to favor research-based ID, for “at the first time in its history, ID realizes
a theoretically sound research on the effectiveness of pedagogical conceptions and instruc-
tional systems”. Currently, we can also see a tendency to conduct design experiments in both
instruction and training. This book offers us a good chance to review and rethink the theoreti-
cal bases of various ID. Its stand-out feature is that the authors stress the distinction between
novices and experts. As such, it is made clear that novices and experts would differ in their
processes of decision-making, and novices should think twice and caution to choose certain
approaches in ID.

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 L. Chen

3 Summary Statement

This book provides an extensive overview about the theoretical foundations of the various
models of ID and technology and makes a valuable contribution to the field. This book
would be of particular use to academics, instructors and practitioners.

References
Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. (2018). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (4th ed.).
Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
Seel, N. M. (Ed.). (2012). Encyclopedia of the sciences of learning. Boston: Springer.
Seel, N. M., Lehmann, T., Blumschein, P., & Podolskiy, O. A. (2017). Instructional design for learning:
Theoretical foundations. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Sharif, A., & Cho, S. (2015). 21st-Century instructional designers: Bridging the perceptual gaps between
identity, practice, impact and professional development. International Journal of Educational Technol-
ogy in Higher Education, 12(3), 72–85.
Van Merrienboer, J. J. G., Seel, N. M., & Kirschner, P. A. (2002). Mental models as a new foundation for
instructional design. Educational Technology, 42(4), 60–66.

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