Professor and Department Chair, Brigham Young University
Project Director/Consultant, Courseware Inc.
Project Director/Consultant, Wicat Systems Inc.
Faculty Member, Utah State University
Andrew S. Gibbons is an American educational technologist and instructional design theorist, best known for proposing an architectural, layer-based approach to instructional design and for advancing the theory of Model-Centered Instruction. After 18 years directing large-scale technology-based training projects in industry (Courseware Inc. and Wicat Systems), he joined academia at Utah State University (1993–2003) and later Brigham Young University, where he served on the faculty and as department chair in Instructional Psychology and Technology before being named Professor Emeritus in 2016. His scholarship spans design theory, design languages and notation, learning objects, simulations/microworlds, and message design; key works include the books Computer-based Instruction (with Peter G. Fairweather) and An Architectural Approach to Instructional Design, as well as articles and chapters on design layers, design structure, and technology practices. His 2014 book received AECT’s Design & Development Outstanding Book Award. Degrees: B.A. (English, 1969) and Ph.D. (Instructional Psychology, 1974) from Brigham Young University. citeturn1search4turn6search0turn6search1turn6search3turn7search3
Journal of Computing in Higher Education • Journal
Tests a central claim of the architectural design layers theory: that each functional design layer can be informed by distinct bodies of external theory. Focusing on the control layer (learner interface and expressive controls), the study surveys candidate theories and argues that control design is key to interactivity, interface, and conversational instructional experiences. citeturn13search0
Educational Technology Research and Development • Journal
Presents a structured process for critically analyzing instructional theories, offering criteria and procedures to examine assumptions, scope, and applicability. Aims to help scholars and practitioners evaluate and compare theories to guide design and research decisions. citeturn10search2
Educational Technology Research and Development • Journal
Proposes criteria distinguishing formulaic from reflective approaches to solving educational problems (Technology I, II, III). An analysis of problem‑based learning reports reveals a ‘technological gravity’ pulling practice toward reductive methods; the authors suggest three strategies and adoption of Technology III criteria to maintain alignment with innovative principles. citeturn14search0
British Journal of Educational Technology • Journal
Describes the design and deployment of a practical expert‑feedback tool that critiques students’ cross‑country flight plans after an extended simulation exercise. The paper highlights challenges in engineering an expert instructional product for routine use (beyond lab settings) and discusses implications for simulation‑based training. citeturn21search0
Educational Technology Research and Development • Journal
Argues that mature design fields rely on shared design languages and notations to communicate, execute, and evolve designs. Using exemplars from chemistry, music, and choreography, the paper outlines dimensions for instructional designers to form design languages and select notation characteristics that support replication and collaboration. citeturn16search0turn16search4
AECT Annual Summer Symposium • Conference
Argues that instructional experiences convey numerous, often unseen ‘messages’ whose structures significantly shape learning. The chapter/paper elevates message‑layer design as a critical dimension underpinning more interactive, adaptive, and conversational instruction. citeturn10search6
• Book
Presents a layer-based, architectural theory for instructional design that emphasizes the structural and functional properties of instructional artifacts over process prescriptions. Integrates ideas from architectural, industrial, and digital design to expand design discourse, arguing that increasing technological complexity requires specialized design languages and the coordination of design layers. Winner of AECT’s 2014 Design & Development Outstanding Book Award. citeturn6search0turn6search2
The Instructional Use of Learning Objects (AECT) • Chapter
Introduces and analyzes ‘instructional objects’ as modular, reusable elements of instructional designs; examines their origins, forms, and implications for assembly into coherent learning experiences, connecting object modularity to instructional architecture and future learning object standards. citeturn19view0
• Book
Comprehensive textbook and practitioner guide covering principles and methods for designing and developing computer-based instruction. Topics span instructional strategy (from memory to principle-using and simulation), delivery/display management, and step‑by‑step development practices, with special attention to simulations and authoring tools. Serves as a dense, hands‑on tutorial for designers and developers of CBI. citeturn6search1turn6search5