Handbook on personalised learning - book overview

 The Handbook on Personalised Learning, edited by M. L. Bernacki, C. Walkington, A. Emery and L. Zhang and published by Routledge late in 2025 is a timely resource. Editors and authors are all based at  US of A Universities. 

A preview pdf with the preface summarising the book's content, Chapter one by J. L. Plass and F. Froehlich on 'Trends in personalised learning' is available. 

There are 7 sections in the book The first section has chapters to define and provide the theoretical background for individualised learning.

Section 2 reports on 2 approaches, exemplifying what personalised learning can achieve. The contexts are digital and game-based learning environments).

Section 3 centres around the psychological theories of learning on how individuals learning and what characteristics support learning.

Section 4 covers instructional design principles for individualises/personalised learning

Section 5 digs deeper into learning design for specific disciplines - math, reading, social studies, computer science).

Section 6 revolve around the advantages of personalised learning

Section 7 has a focus on the policies and environmental factors which support/or disrupt tje implementation of personalised learning. 

Chapter 1 - lays out the definition of personalised learning, along with how it is designed. Integrates the contribution of Gen AI into the mix, how can Gen AI be leveraged to support personalised learning and especially to provide greater accuracy for adaptive learning - which has been a major challenge for personalised learning platforms. 

 A book setting down some of the precepts and foundations for personalised learning with the inclusion of Gen AI and its potential. 

instructional design unleashed - link and brief overview

This is an open access book (provided through UTS library). Th book is authored by A. J. Mangtani and published by Springer.

It is quite a large book - over 600 pages long with chapters collated into two sections.

The first section has 5 chapters covering the science of instructional design. Chapters include overviews of the anatomy of instructional design, the science of learning and its theories, learner attributes and learner modalities, pedagogical, andragogical and heutagogical approaches and Universal Design of Learning (UDL). All in, these chapters provide good coverage of the foundational knowledge and applications for instructional design. 

The second section has 6 sections and these cover the 'art' of instructional design, that is the 'how to' aspects of instructional design. Chapters cover instructional design models, objective taxonomy, storyboarding, assessment, feedback and evaluation approaches, publishing the learning journey and AI in instructional design.

Overall, the book covers the essentials of the traditional approaches to instructional design and would be useful as a text book for instructional design students and a reference for educators who are designing meaningful and engaging learning.

AI tools for instructional designers

 The number of Gen AI supported apps/tools available is increasing rapidly. Here is a list from the eLearning Coach of recommendations for instructional designers. Many of these are also useful for teachers and learners.

The tools are organised into categories of animation, audio enhancement or improvement, audio text-to-speech tools, chatbot builders, classroom instruction, content search and generation, course creation, image editing, meeting apps (record, transcribe, summarise etc.), presentations, productivity, scholarly research, translation, video, and writing. 

In all, a good collation, showing the versatility of Gen AI incorporation into many tools that already existed but now 'enhanced'. 

Learning /Instructional Design Books - Creative Commons

 Edtech books publihes ebooks wich are completely free. A good service for the educational community,.

As I am doing some intensive reading on 'instructional'/learning design, the book provide a good source of peer-reviewed material. The chapters in the books are drawn mainly from the American instructional design corpus but serve as good foundations for learning design.

Of note are three books -

- Foundations of learning and instructional design technology, edited by R. E. West. This volume collates a range of important readings. Many published in educational technology, educational psychology, instrustional design journals. There are over 50 chapters covering definitions and history, learning and instruction, design, technology and media, and becoming a learning/instructional design professional. The volume represents good introduction to the field.

- Design for learning - principles, processes and praxi, edited by J.K. McDonald and R.E. West. This volume is the 'how to' design learning resource. There are just over 30 chapters organised into sections on instructional design practice, instructional design knowledge, instructional design processes, destigning instructional activities, and design relationships.

- A practitioner's guide to instructional design in higher education, edited by J. E Stefaniak, S. Conklin, B. Oyarzun and R.M. Reese. This volume has 14 chapters covering a range of contemporary learning design approaches and topics. It is pitched at higher education academics and therefore the chapters are more generic. Topics include quality assurance, learning analytics, accessibility, data informed design etc. Therefore, perhaps not a book for beginner learning designers but one which informs academics as to the range and depth of learning design.

Overall, good coverage of the foundations and essentials informing the processes and challenges of learning design. Worth the effort to work through the over 100 chapters as each has useful information. 

Learning / Instructional design journals

 As I progress through ramping up my scholarship of teaching and learning and with aspects of learning / instructional design, I am putting together a list of key readings.

This site provides a good listing of instructional design journals, including peer reviewed (North American), non-refereed journals and magazines, and international journals. The list makes a good starting point along with lists archived on the folowing : Penn State library; University of Cincinatti. 

Learning design or design for learning is a term used in Europe and Australasia. Some journals of note to follow up include: Designs for learning - a nordic based journal (has an article processing charge of 300 euro; Journal of Learning Design - an Australian journal which ceased publication in 2017 :( ; International Journal of Designs for Learning - which is affiliated to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology 

So lots to catch up on! 

Instructional design - need for critical direction

 For many years, I have disliked the term 'instructional design' with its connotations of teacher-led, behavourist based and non-collaborative learning slant. My current position of 'educational developer' is the combination of educational designer and 'staff'developer' roles. Again, not the best description of a role entailing much more than curriculum design and 'training' of teachers. My role is instead very much that of a changeagent and 'meddler in the middle'. I work at empowering teachers to develop curriculum which is true to their disciplinary grounding but also meeting the learning needs of their students along with meeting accreditation requirements. The teachers I work with 'own' their programme of learning. To do that, they need to be involved from the start as they are the ones who will do the work to make alive, their curriculum design. in many other juristrictions, curriculum is developed and imposed on teachers. This leads to content focus rather than pedagogical practice development. 

So my role is very much people focused. Technology is used as a tool to 'enhance learning' and when learning and teaching has to shift online, it is the learning and teaching that has to take precedence, not the digital components of the programme.

Instructional design (ID) itself has come a long way from its behavourist roots. Many people working in the ID field are avid constructivists. The current mode is for IDs to work as 'critical friends' to integrate 'student and learning centredness' into the design of courses, programmes and curriculum. However, the field is rife with books and websites focussed on the processes for enacting ID - i.e. ADDIE, backward design etc. The philosophical beliefs of 'instructional designer' on teaching and learning is not as visible, especially on digital resources. Therefore, it is refreshing to see a site (hybridpedagogy) discussing the need for instructional designers to adopt a critical stance to inform their work. In particular, to remember and act on 'critical pedagogy' (Freire), that is education is not just a process 'done' to students; but a co-constructed experience, allowing for both learners and teachers to reach their potential through learning.

I have started putting time into reading the literature on learning design and ID. As usual, there is very little in the field focused on vocational education. Almost all work assumes learning is undertaken either in the formal school or higher education sector. There is also strong priviledging of text-based learning. Therefore, there is much to be done on synergising the precepts of learning design and ID to meet the needs of practice-based learning. The technology is now available to offer simulations which are useful but these have to be used carefully as not all components of practice can be replicated within virtual environments. The most telling is the 'sociomaterial' aspects of learning skills, the interactions people have with tools, materials, machines, work environment etc. Thes important interactions people have with non-human entities, provide nuanced feedback required to be acted on. Through these interactions, the 'workmanship of risk' can be actioned. VR environments currently unable to provide all the sensory experiences which encompass the sociomaterial. So vocational education learning design is challenged by trying to replace the f2f and 'hands-on' aspects of practice. 

 

https://hybridpedagogy.org/call-for-contributors-the-critical-instructional-design-reader/

 

Learning / Instructional design - how to tips

 Here is a link to 13 ways to become an instructional or learning designer. 

Instructional design  has behavourist roots and was not delimited to online learning but across all delivery modes and educaitonal sectors.

There has been much discussion as to the differences between instructional and learning design. There is some support for the view that instructional design takes on the teacher perspective, whereas learning design places focus on the learner and the process of learning. As always, things are abit grey. Context is important (i.e. where is the learning taking place) but also philosophies and objectives of learning. Workplace learning for example, has generally been organisationally rather than worker-led - and is therefore more matched to the precepts of instructional design.

Given the focus in NZ and Te Pukenga on 'the learner at the centre' then 'learning design' is much more appropriate. There must be a focus on what is to be learnt, how this can be supported and who has the responsibility for deciding when, how and what is learnt. 

As learning design has arisen via the formalised education sector, practice-based and vocational education and learning are as usual, not well understood or researched. So, again, an opportunity for further work in this area is called for :)