Writing for instruction differs from other kinds of writing. People who write for instruction write specifically for how we understand and remember. We certainly don’t want what we write to make it harder to learn but a lot of instructional content does just that! Content that overloads memory. Writing that makes it hard to find or understand the main message.

Writing for instruction means intentionally writing to make it easier to learn, remember, and apply.

Here’s the (very) good news. Research offers easy-to-apply instructional, writing, usability, and information design principles that show us how to write to make it easier to learn, remember, and apply. 

Patti Shank PhD is the author of Write and Organize for Deeper Learning, Practice and Feedback for Deeper Learning, and Manage Memory for Deeper Learning. She’s an internationally recognized instructional designer, researcher, and learning analyst who makes these tactics clear and actionable in her books and workshops.

In this session, participants will apply research-driven and actionable tactics that help us:

• Understand memory so we can work with it and not against it
• Make content clearer and easier to understand
• Help people understand how the content fits together

Patti Shank PhD is the author of Write Better Multiple-Choice Questions to Assess Learning, Write and Organize for Deeper Learning, Practice and Feedback for Deeper Learning, and Manage Memory for Deeper Learning. She’s an internationally recognized instructional designer, researcher, and learning analyst who makes these tactics clear and actionable in her books and courses.

Books by Patti Shank, Ph.D., CPT