INTERVIEW: If ITDE is Romeo, Who is Juliet?: An Interview With Jeroen van Merrienboer

The issues of changes and trends, cultural and international issues, and ethics in the field of ITDE were the basis for the following interview with Jeroen van Merrienboer, a research expert in instructional design, and a professor of educational technology and educational psychology. Because of time-constraints and geographical barriers, the interview took place via e-mail. The following interview, while brief, allows the reader some access to some of the changes and issues occurring in the field of ITDE, and offers one answer to the question; If ITDE is Romeo, who is Juliet?

Q: How long have you been involved in the field of ITDE?

I have a master’s degree in experimental psychology from the Free University of Amsterdam. I started my PhD research in the field of instructional technology in 1984—so that could be seen as the start of my involvement in ITDE. My PhD supervisor was Sanne Dijkstra.

Q: The field of ITDE has changed over time with expanded research and new technology, but how has the field of ITDE changed you since you have been involved with it?

From the professional side, I have been trained to do research and that is what I still do. I would probably be equally happy if I were doing research in another field. So, you could say that not much has changed. From an interpersonal perspective, the main change is that I now have colleagues and good friends around the world. I really like the international character of doing scientific research and collaboration with colleagues from around the world.

Q: From your perspective, what are three of the most noticeable trends in the field of ITDE?

• Introduction of new technologies—noticeably the introduction of the Internet and nowadays mobile technologies.

• Change from objectives-driven ID approaches to approaches that start from real-life or realistic tasks.

• Increasing attention for self-regulation, self-directed learning, lifelong learning, etc.

Q: Currently, what is your biggest concern within the field of ITDE on a national scale?

In the Netherlands, there are nationwide innovations in the direction of self-regulated learning and competency-based education (introduction of the “Study House” in secondary preuniversity education, introduction of “competency-based learning” in junior and senior vocational education, etc.). The rash introduction of these innovations comes with risks, especially for lower-ability students because they often do not have the skills required to regulate their own learning processes and plan their own learning trajectories. I guess the situation in the Netherlands is in this respect quite different from that in the USA, which seems to be more traditional.

Q: Would you say that concern is also of international importance?

No, I think this currently is mainly an issue in some European countries (Netherlands, Belgium, UK, some Scandinavian countries). But it may become an international issue in the future.

Q: Is there another concern that is more significant at the international level? Please explain.

Yes, it is somewhat related to social-constructivist approaches to instruction. Some of those approaches tend to offer too little guidance to students, with the risk that low-ability students are put at a disadvantage.

Q: ITDE has the capability to contribute to the globalization of education. What is going on in the field of ITDE to help ensure those involved in ITDE are aware of different cultural beliefs when designing online classes?

I am not very familiar with cultural issues in ITDE. I guess it is very difficult to take cultural differences into account when you are dealing with a heterogenous group of students with different cultural backgrounds. The best way to go seems to use examples and learning tasks that are highly varied with regard to cultural values. But again, I am not an expert in this field.

Q: What are some important contribution the field of ITDE has made to education?

I think most important contributions have been in business, industry, and the military. The contributions to the general field of education are, in my opinion, quite limited. The main contribution may be related to the change from correspondence-based DE to e-learning. But one might argue that this is more a technological innovation than the result of work going on in ITDE.

Q: What progress would you like to see with the future of distance education?

Flexibilisation. Making it much more attractive for lifelong learners. Taking Assessments of Prior Learning (APL) into account.

Q: What do you think are the most important ethical principles that should guide the ITDE profession?

I don’t think they are much different from the ethical principles in other social sciences. My research group does its work in accordance with the ethical principles of the NERA (Netherlands Educational Research Association), which are not very different from those of the APA.

Q: What is the most enjoyable feature of your career?

The opportunity to work with my PhD students and to work together with colleagues and friends around the world (yes, I know, these are actually two enjoyable features).

Q: When someone at a party asks you “What do you do for a living?,” how do you summarize your occupation for someone who knows little about ITDE?

I do research on how to teach people to perform complex tasks, such as flying an aircraft, performing surgery, or doing scientific research.

Q: If ITDE is Romeo, who (or what) would be Juliet?

Cognitive psychology, no doubt. But that is also because my roots are in experimental psychology.

Q: What are the most essential characteristics needed for a professional in the field of ITDE?

Difficult question, because I am a researcher and not a “professional” in the field of ITDE. I guess a professional must be well aware of research findings and recent models, be able to cooperate with many different stakeholders (clients, programmers, graphical artists), have project management skills, and have a clear vision on the role technologies can and cannot play in education.

Q: What advice would you give to a student who wants to become involved in ITDE?

Focus on the question of how people learn and which instructional methods may facilitate learning; technologies are always secondary in the sense that they are used to implement methods—technologies in themselves do not help learning. Doing research is, in my opinion, the best way to stimulate thinking about this question.

Q: Is there anything you would like to add that has not been mentioned?

I guess it is important to realize that the organization of the field of ITDE in the Netherlands is quite different from the way it is organized in other parts of the world. In the USA, for instance, there seems to be a strong distinction between instructional design/technology, learning sciences, and educational psychology. In the Netherlands, we do not have such a distinction: it is all more or less the same thing.

There were many important ITDE issues that were addressed in this interview. In particular, van Merrienboer’s perspectives on the changes in the trends in the field of ITDE, the risks associated with the rash introduction of innovations, social-constructivist approaches to instruction, and his advice to better understand how people learn, rather than focusing on the technology, which van Merrienboer refers to as secondary. The three trends that van Merrienboer states are; introduction of new technologies, noticeably the introduction of the Internet; changes from an objective-driven ID approach to an approach that starts from real-life or realistic tasks; and the increasing attention for self-regulation, self-directed learning, and lifelong learning among others. Van Merrienboer points out that the rash introduction of innovations comes with associated risks, especially for students who may not have the skill sets to regulate their own learning process. Van Merrienboer expressed concerns with the social-constructivist approaches to instruction; he states that there is a “risk that low-ability students are put at a disadvantage.” According to van Merrienboer, a contribution from the field of ITDE to education in general is the shift from correspondence-based distance education to e-learning, although van Merrienboer also states it can be argued that technological innovation caused the shift rather than ITDE. Van Merrienboer also points out international concerns in ITDE and acknowledges that, on a national level, there may be other concerns because of cultural differences. Interestingly, van Merrienboer views cognitive psychology as the counterpart to ITDE in the Romeo and Juliet analogy. Lastly, van Merrienboer states that research should focus on how people learn, and the associated instructional methodologies needed to assist in the learning process. Van Merrienboer argues that “technologies themselves do not help learning.” One last observation about this interview: Dr. Merrienboer does not consider himself a professional in the field of ITDE, however, his perspectives and views would dictate otherwise.

As very few in the 1600s could have imagined the impact Romeo and Juliet would have on future literature and multimedia, it is likely very few can fathom the impact the work being done in ITDE will have on the future of education and learning. While the underlying goal of education, to help students learn, will surely remain the focus, the way that education and learning is presented may change. As technologies continue to progress, new research about learning is discovered, and education crosses geographical boundary lines, the education of tomorrow may look very different from the education of today. As quoted in Hamlet, another of Shakespeare’s play, “Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be.” Only the future will be able to show us the importance of the work presently being done in ITDE.