My Favorite Instructional Design Books for New eLearning Designers

When you’re new to eLearning, you might find yourself spending a lot of time learning how to use your very first eLearning authoring tool or how to design your slides. In fact, you can get so distracted trying to master these things, that it becomes all too easy to forget the importance of also mastering your instructional design skills! And one of the best ways to master this skill is to check out some of the great instructional design books available.

If you’re new to eLearning (or learning in general) and looking to improve your instructional design skills, here are my top four instructional design books for new eLearning designers.

The Accidental Instructional Designer by Cammy Bean

The Accidental Instructional Designer by Cammy Bean is one of my absolute favorite instructional design books for new eLearning designers. Cammy does a great job providing a practical and personal explanation of instructional design, sharing stories from her own experiences.

Learn more about The Accidental Instructional Designer here.

Design for How People Learn by Julie Dirksen

Design for How People Learn by Julie Dirksen is another excellent instructional design book for new eLearning designers. What I love about this book is how Julie walks you through the science of how people learn and shows you how you can incorporate those techniques into anything you might be creating.

Learn more about Design for How People Learn here.

Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter Brown

Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter Brown is another engaging book that focuses on the science of learning. While not written specifically for instructional designers, this book does a great job explaining how all types of people learn.

Learn more about Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning here.

Map It: The Hands-On Guide to Strategic Training Design by Cathy Moore

Map It: The Hands-On Guide to Strategic Training Design by Cathy Moore is one of the instructional design books that I’m most excited about. If you’ve ever visited Cathy’s blog, you’ve likely stumbled across her very popular process of Action Mapping. Well, this is what Cathy’s book is all about! If you’re new to eLearning, this book will walk you through how to design learning that can actually impact the bottom line.

Learn more about Map It: The Hands-On Guide to Strategic Training Design here.

What other instructional design books would you recommend for new eLearning designers? Share them by commenting below!

Additional Resources

• Instructional Design for eLearning: 4 Things You Need to Know
• 5 Tips for Elevating Your eLearning Career
• 10 Lessons Learned My First Year in eLearning

I'm writing a new book! Learn more and enter to win a free copy! 

The eLearning Designers Handbook

Did you like this article? If so, I'd love it if you'd share it with a colleague, work buddy, or anyone!