Responses To Peers On Merrill's Instructional Strategy

Responses to Peers on Merrill's Instructional Strategy for Component Skills

Following your insights into Merrill's (2013) framework for instructional strategies, I agree with your portrayal that the foundational elements such as presentation, practice, demonstration, and application are central to developing component skills. Peer one emphasizes that each component skill, like "information-about" or "part-of," involves specific prescribed events designed to focus learners’ attention and provide immediate feedback, which aligns with Merrill’s assertion that "the instructional events are structured to focus attention and explore" (Merrill, 2013, p. 50). I also concur that the integration of these skills into a whole problem is achieved by combining the conditions and steps, as you noted, “the content elements for what-happens are the conditions that lead to a consequence” (your post, Q2). This demonstrates how Merrill’s principle of linking conditions to consequences facilitates comprehensive problem-solving."

Conversely, I believe your summary could expand on how the sequence of these instructional events supports the transfer of skills to real-world contexts. Merrill emphasizes that “instructional events must be systematically arranged for optimal learning,” which underlines the importance of sequencing (Merrill, 2013, p. 62). Your mention that the strategies are combined through modes like tell, show, ask, and do is valid, but emphasizing how this multimodal approach scaffolds learner understanding even more would strengthen your explanation. Overall, your insights highlight critical elements of Merrill’s model and its application to complex problem-solving tasks.

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The instructional strategies outlined by Merrill (2013) serve as a comprehensive foundation for effective teaching of component skills within problem-solving contexts. Merrill advocates that each component skill—whether it's "information-about," "part-of," "kind-of," "how-to," or "what-happens"—has prescribed instructional events such as presentation, practice, demonstration, and application. These events aim to focus learners’ attention, enable rehearsal, and provide immediate corrective feedback, which are vital for mastery. For example, the "information-about" skill involves sequential actions like telling the name, portraying the item, exploring, and practicing with feedback. Merrill (2013) emphasizes the importance of "focusing attention" during presentation to facilitate learning, aligning with the idea that attention is foundational for acquiring new skills.

The integration of content elements for different component skills into whole problems hinges on understanding how each step or condition impacts subsequent steps and ultimately leads to a consequence. Merrill (2013) notes that "in real-world problems, every step is a trigger that changes some condition," and this sequential change creates an interconnected set of conditions that produce the desired outcome (p. 122). This concept underscores how component skills function collectively—each step's properties, conditions, and actions are designed to work in harmony to solve complex problems. By linking these elements explicitly, instructional designers can craft activities that simulate authentic problem-solving environments.

Combining instructional strategies across component skills to teach whole problems involves a systematic approach where demonstration, explicit teaching, and practice are sequenced. Merrill advocates that “demonstrate the whole problem,” then teach each component skill through “telling” and “showing,” and finally have learners “do the entire problem” (p. 127). This layered approach ensures that learners grasp each element—kind-of, how-to, and what-happens, and learn to integrate them. For example, during the demonstration phase, a sequence of showing and explaining steps helps build understanding, which is then reinforced through practice activities involving immediate feedback and corrective coaching. This coherent strategy embodies Merrill’s principle of progressively releasing responsibility to learners.

A problem-solving event, as defined by Merrill (2013), is a series of activities consisting of specific steps and the conditions they generate or modify in service of solving a problem (p. 121). Each event involves applying component skills to modify conditions and reach a solution. The content elements include the properties of conditions, the steps involved, and the expected consequences. For example, in troubleshooting a mechanical device, identifying the step (how-to) and the resulting condition (what-happens) enables learners to diagnose faults systematically. Mastery of such events equips learners with a structured approach to tackling complex, real-world problems.

The instructional strategy for teaching a problem-solving event, according to Merrill, emphasizes demonstrating the entire process initially, then explicitly instructing learners on each step and condition, followed by guiding them through executing steps and predicting outcomes (p. 123). This cycle of demonstration, identification, and execution, utilizing multiple component skills, fosters deep understanding. For example, a teacher might first show a complete troubleshooting process, then guide students to identify key steps and conditions, and finally have them perform these steps independently, reinforcing their ability to transfer skills to new situations. This scaffolded approach aligns with Merrill's overarching principles of active, learner-centered instruction.

References

• Merrill, M. D. (2013). First principles of instruction: Identifying and designing effective, efficient, and engaging instruction. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.