Ruth Colvin Clark

Ruth Colvin Clark (born July 30, 1943) is an American born educational psychologist, known for the pedagogical theory of the "Four Architectures of Instruction".

Early life and education Ruth Colvin Clark was born July 30, 1943.

Clark achieved her bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry (Magna Cum Laude) from Immaculate Heart College in 1964. She later attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned her master's degree in biological chemistry from the Department of Biology in 1966. After many years, Clark obtained her doctorate in educational psychology and instructional technology from the University of Southern California in the mid-1980s.

Career She spent five years as a training manager for Southern California Edison before launching CLARK Training & Consulting, where she serves as the principal and president of the organization.

Clark is most known for her work in the field of instructional design and technical training, studying the translation of academic research into evidence-based practitioner standards. She is a former president of the International Society for Performance Improvement and the author of five books and several papers. ISPI honored Clark with the Thomas F. Gilbert Distinguished Professional Achievement Award in 2006.

An autobiographical account of Clark's intellectual development is available in the "Acquired Wisdom" section of "Education Review".

Books and publications Books Clark has written or co-written several books, which include: Clark, R. C. (1989). Developing Technical Training: A structured approach for developing classroom and computer-based instructional materials. Addison-Wesley Clark, R. C. (1998). Building Expertise: Cognitive methods for training and performance improvement. ISPI. Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2003). e-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Clark, R. C., & Lyons, C. (2004). Graphics for Learning: Proven guidelines for planning, designing, and evaluating visuals in training materials. Pfeiffer. Clark, R. C. (2005). Efficiency in Learning: Evidence-based guidelines to manage cognitive load. Pfeiffer. Clark, R. C., & Kwinn, A. (2007). The New Virtual Classroom: Evidence-based guidelines for synchronous e-learning. Pfeiffer. Clark, R. C. (2010). Evidence-based Training Methods: A guide for training professionals. ASTD Press. Clark, R. C. (2012). Scenario-based e-Learning: Evidence-based guidelines for online workforce learning. Pfeiffer.

Articles and other publications The articles and book chapters concentrate on using cognitive science, multimedia principles, and cognitive load theory to improve instructional design, particularly in e-learning and corporate training. Clark, R. C. (1998). Four instructional architectures. In Building expertise: Cognitive methods for training and performance improvement. ISPI. Clark, R. C. (2002). Applying cognitive strategies to instructional design. Performance Improvement, 41(7), 10–16. Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2003). E-Learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. Performance Improvement, 42(5). Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2005, November 7). Efficiency in e-Learning: Proven instructional methods for faster, better, online learning. The E-Learning Guild. Clark, R. C. (2014). Multimedia learning in e-courses. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (2nd ed., pp. 842–881). Cambridge University Press.