For almost four decades I have been associated with academic programs preparing instructional designers. During this time there have been numerous projects examining the field of instructional technology and attempting to define the “field”. Each of these attempts has caused me to reflect on our activities and the students who graduate from our programs. On the 20th anniversary of the publication of Educational Technology Magazine I asked, “Can the adjective instructional modify the noun science?” (Merrill, 1980) In this paper I suggested that students of instructional design should be involved in both science and technology. Science activities involve theory development and experimental research to substantiate the theory. Technology activities involve the development of design procedures, instructional development, and evaluation (field research). I advocated a science-based approach in which the “...development of actual instructional materials should be done by the use of principle-based procedures ...” that have been derived from theory that has been empirically verified via experimental research. It is my observation that my hope for a technology of instructional design grounded in empirically verified theory is still the exception rather than the rule. So after a quarter of a century I return to this theme.
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