Perhaps one of the most useful instructional design books is e-Learning and the Science of Instruction. The casual browser might pass this by, thinking it's thick and likely to be deep in instructional theories. This is not an educational theory text and at 322 pages is a surprisingly quick read.

The second of the two books I use in the Technology & Instruction course I teach (Jefferson College of Health Professions, General Studies), it is the “practical” book. Students sometimes fear a class with two required texts, but the end of course comments on the book are very positive. I suspect it's a keeper for those who believe they'll be producing instructional materials in the future and appreciate the clear, practical examples provided in this text.

Most of the 14 chapters cover a specific aspect of instructional design (i.e. whether or not to include audio narration, where to place graphics, how much material to put on a screen, etc.). Each chapter documents multiple educational research studies that have tested that design issue. In the Technology & Instruction course students are required to build a lesson plan for either a traditional lecture using relevant instructional technology or to produce storyboards for a computer-based learning module. Each chapter begins with a “design dilemma” facing a new instructional designer. Subsequent chapters deal with new features added to the module or with the next steps in the development process. This working example approach helps pace the students as they build different features into their own lesson.

If you teach instructional design to non-education majors, you may want to consider this text for use in your course as well. If you're new to instructional design, or suddenly facing your first assignment as a corporate trainer, you may want to have this book to help you back up decisions you'll have to make about your program.

e-Learning and the Science of Instruction is available from Scott Memorial Library and the Jefferson Medical and Health Science Bookstore.