Part 1: Dr. David Merrill, Professor emeritus at Utah State University, USA, who developed “First Principles of Instruction.”

2026年1月28日

It was a fascinating experience talking with Dr. Merril.

In this interview, he shared so many great stories that really made me rethink my approach as a teacher and as a researcher.

There were so many moments that caught my attention, but one of them was when he said, “the reason to get a Ph.D. is to change the world.”

Until then, I always thought of behaviorist Skinner as a “textbook legend,” so finding out that Dr. Merrill had actually met him and was inspired by him was incredibly interesting to me. Wow, I love that these two major figures were connected!

He said he thought if he (Skinner) could build a theory out of just a few things, maybe he can build a theory of instruction with just a few things.

Please come and join our interview. This is about 30 minutes’ long. I am sure you can find something valuable in it.

Part 1. Dr. David Merrill, Professor Emeritus at Utah State University, who developed "First Principles of Instruction"
　Global Leader Interview: Part 2 Global Leadership, Dr. M David Merrill, Professor emeritus at Utah State University, USA, who developed "First Principles of Instrution."