Practical guide to Instructional Design Models: ADDIE, Bloom, Merrill, and SAM

If you’re an instructional designer, trainer, or simply want to create your own learning content, this post is for you. We’ll show you how to use these Instructional Design Models (ADDIE, Bloom, Merrill, and SAM) without losing your mind—to design courses that truly engage learners, save time in the process, and most importantly, help people actually learn (because that’s what really matters).

Why you need a solid plan to create learning that actually works

Let’s be honest—we’ve all been there. You sit down to create a training course and… where do you start? It’s like cooking without a recipe: you can improvise, but the result isn’t always what you expected.

Today more than ever, with technology moving at lightning speed and teams spread across the globe, learning can’t be improvised. Period.

That’s where instructional design comes in. At its core, it’s the art and science of creating learning experiences that really work. It’s not just about putting together a few nice-looking slides—it’s about understanding what your employees or learners need to learn, how they’ll learn it best, and how to measure whether learning has truly happened.

What is instructional design and why use a model?

Think of it like using GPS when you’re driving. Sure, you can get there without it—but you’re much more likely to get lost along the way. A solid instructional design model helps you structure, plan, and evaluate every step of the learning process so real learning happens.

Using a model allows you to:

• Ensure quality: You know from the start what you want to achieve and can spot issues before launching the course. No unpleasant surprises.
• Save time and money: Once the structure is defined, you can reuse it. You don’t start from scratch every time.
• Make teamwork easier: When everyone speaks the same language (the model’s), designers, subject-matter experts, and managers collaborate more smoothly.
• Boost engagement: A systematic process helps you create content that truly matters to your audience.
• Encourage continuous improvement: Most models include evaluation, so you’re always refining and improving.

Let’s take a look at four models you definitely need to know:

The 4 essential instructional design models

1. ADDIE: the classic that never fails

The ADDIE model is the grandparent of instructional design models. Yes, it’s been around for a while—but it’s still rock-solid. Think of it as a trusted recipe that always works. It’s the foundation of modern instructional design, built around five phases: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.

The five phases of the ADDIE model:

1. Analysis: Identify needs, goals, and learner profiles. What’s the real problem? What do learners actually need to know? Who is your audience? This phase is critical—everything else is built on it.
2. Design: Now you plan how you’ll get there. You define clear learning objectives, choose instructional strategies, and decide on formats (videos, readings, hands-on activities…).
3. Development: Time to build. You create content, record videos, design visuals, add interactivity, and assemble everything in your e-learning platform. Ideas become reality.
4. Implementation: The course goes live. But your job isn’t over—you need to make sure everything runs smoothly and support learners along the way.
5. Evaluation: Did it work? You measure results, analyze data, and collect feedback to improve.

When should you use ADDIE?

ADDIE is ideal for large projects or corporate training where planning, documentation, and traceability really matter. Creating a company-wide compliance program? A full master’s program? ADDIE is your go-to model.

2. Bloom’s Taxonomy: climbing the learning ladder

If ADDIE is your GPS, Bloom’s Taxonomy is your compass. It helps you define how deep you want learners to go—from simply remembering information to creating something new.

Educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom introduced this model in 1956, and it was later updated to reflect modern learning needs. It defines six cognitive levels, moving from basic to complex.

The six levels (updated version):

1. Remember: Recall facts, terms, or basic concepts. For example: “What’s the capital of France?”
2. Understand: Explain ideas in your own words and show real comprehension.
3. Apply: Use knowledge in new situations. For example: “Now that you know the formula, solve this problem.”
4. Analyze: Break information into parts, identify patterns, and explore relationships.
5. Evaluate: Make judgments, critique ideas, and make decisions based on clear criteria.
6. Create: Produce something new—design solutions, innovate, and think creatively.

Why is Bloom so useful?

Bloom’s Taxonomy helps you write clear, measurable, and achievable learning objectives. Instead of saying “learners will understand X,” you say “learners will analyze X and propose Y.” It pushes learning beyond memorization and into critical thinking and real-world application.

3. Merrill’s Instructional Principles (MPI): learning by doing

Merrill’s Instructional Principles are built around a simple but powerful idea: “show, don’t tell.” David Merrill’s model focuses on real-world tasks and workplace problems.

No abstract theory learners don’t know how to apply. From day one, learners dive into realistic situations.

The five core principles:

1. Problem-centered learning: The course revolves around real tasks learners face on the job. Immediate relevance, real context.
2. Activation of prior knowledge: New concepts connect to what learners already know, making learning meaningful.
3. Demonstration with clear examples: Show how it’s done—with models, examples, and demonstrations.
4. Application with guided practice and feedback: Learners practice continuously and receive immediate feedback.
5. Integration into real-world contexts: Learners apply new skills to their actual work and reflect on how to use them.

When should you use MPI?

It’s ideal for hands-on, skill-based training: onboarding programs, software training, vocational education—anything where doing matters more than just knowing.

4. SAM (Successive Approximation Model): the agile approach to instructional design

If ADDIE is structured and traditional, SAM is its modern, agile cousin. It’s flexible, iterative, and feedback-driven.

SAM embraces rapid prototyping, continuous feedback, and successive improvements instead of waiting until the end to review everything.

How SAM (Successive Approximation Model) works:

The basic version (SAM1) includes three phases:

1. Preparation: A fast initial sprint to understand context, audience, and goals. No months of analysis.
2. Iterative design: This is where the magic happens. You build quick prototypes, share them with stakeholders and real users, gather feedback, and refine—again and again.
3. Iterative development: With a solid prototype in place, you build the full course in sprints, testing and adjusting continuously until launch.

SAM2 is a more robust version for large projects, adding design reviews and formal evaluations.

The biggest advantage of SAM:

You don’t wait until the end to see if it works. You test, adjust, and improve as you go. Perfect for complex projects, changing requirements, or tight deadlines.

Other instructional design models worth knowing

The instructional design world is huge. Here are three more models worth mentioning:

• Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction: A behaviorist approach with structured steps from gaining attention to ensuring knowledge transfer.
• The Dick and Carey Model: Highly detailed and systematic, with strong alignment between goals, analysis, and assessment.
• The Kemp Model: Flexible and non-linear, with interconnected elements you can tackle in any order.

Which one should you choose? Mix, match, and master

Here’s the truth: there’s no single “perfect” model. The best instructional designers work like chefs—combining ingredients from different recipes to create the perfect dish.

You might use ADDIE as the overall structure, Bloom’s Taxonomy to define clear learning objectives, and Merrill’s principles to design practical activities—all in the same course.

Quick comparison table of instructional design models:

Model	Type	Focus	Strengths	Best for
ADDIE	Systematic	5-phase process: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation	Clear structure; widely accepted classic	Large projects that require thorough planning
SAM	Agile	Large projects that require thorough planning	Flexible and fast; embraces change	Projects with changing requirements or tight deadlines
Bloom	Cognitive framework	Classifies learning objectives by cognitive level (Remember → Create)	Helps design measurable, progressively challenging objectives	Defining objectives and assessments; ensuring higher-order thinking
Merrill	Instructional theory	Task-centered approach that emphasizes demonstration and application	Focus on real-world problems; boosts engagement through practice	Hands-on training, onboarding, any course where applying knowledge is key

Instructional design blends science and creativity. Models like ADDIE, Bloom, Merrill, and SAM give you the structure, methods, and tools to plan every stage of learning with intention. But the real value lies in how you apply them and how you add your human touch: with creativity, empathy, flexibility—and always, always keeping your learners in mind.

Don’t commit to just one model. Experiment, mix, and adapt. What really matters isn’t following the rules to the letter, but creating learning experiences that truly make a difference. Sometimes ADDIE’s structure pairs perfectly with SAM’s agility; other times, Bloom’s clarity comes together with Merrill’s hands-on approach.

What’s essential is never losing sight of the goal: creating learning experiences that transform, spark curiosity, invite exploration, and turn knowledge into something alive and useful. And above all, remember—great learning is the kind that actually works for your learners. Everything else is just a tool to get there.

We know there are many other models out there, but this post would go on forever. So tell us: which instructional design models do you use most?