REFLECTIONS ON GAGNE’S EVENTS OF INSTRUCTION

REFLECTIONS ON GAGNE’S EVENTS OF INSTRUCTION

The following are some blog excerps I came across discussing the pros and cons of Gagne’s Events of Instruction.

Donald Clark says:
Banal and dull
First, much of this is banal – get their attention, elicit performance, give feedback, assess. It’s also an instructional ladder that leads straight to Dullsville, a straightjacket that strips away any sense of build and wonder, almost guaranteed to bore more than enlighten. What other form of presentation would give the game away at the start. Would you go to the cinema and expect to hear the objectives of the film before you start? It’s time we moved on from this old and now dated theory using what we’ve learnt about the brain and the clever use of media.



Geetha Krishnan said...
Great post, Don! My first response was "Ouch, That hurt!" I wonder: Is the problem with the commandments themselves? Or is it with the way instructional designers treat them as one more set of check boxes to be ticked away in the design process?

May be it is worthwhile to rephrase / modify the commandments in view of today's media and today's learners?

Mark Frank said...
Uhm

Seems to me that you are blaming Gagne because designers either miss out of some of the steps or do them poorly. Most of the commandments look like pretty good practice to me. You just need to do them well. 


Donald Clark said...
Two good points.

Geetha's point about modifying the nine steps has virtues but I suspect new theory has taken us well beyond these steps into much more media savvy territory. It would be better to focus on what we now know about memory, cognitive overload and how screen-based media actually works, than outdated instructional theory.

Mark - your take is fine. I'm not blaming Gagne personally. I do think his method is primitive and states the obvious, that's why it's easy to defend as 'good practice'. The blame is clearly on those 'instructional design' and 'train the trainer' courses which are full of old, non-empirical theory - Bloom, Gagne, Learning Styles, Kirkpatrick etc. Unfortunately, for gagne and otehrs, these steps are seen as a sequential ladder and the oder can't be shifted around. Designers don't really apply games techniques in their instructional designs, yet games designers have much to teach us on motivation, reinforcement, paced and personalised learning. My point is that his list mostly leads to bad, and not good, practice. The 'Gagne'led instructional designers I've worked with lacked creativity and a communication skills - they dumbed down content.

Clive Shepherd said...
As you suggest, Gagne's 'commandments' do seem rather restrictive and old-fashioned. I think that's because they envision only one over-arching teaching/learning strategy, i.e. structured instruction. Much classroom training and the majority of self-study e-learning falls into this category, more because it's a default option, than because it has been consciously chosen. I believe structured instruction has a role to play, particularly with more dependent learners and where the outcomes have to be clearly demonstrated. Most of Gagne's commandments seem well suited to this approach, although not necessarily in this strict order. As others have commented already, it isn't enough for the guidelines to be followed, they have to be executed well (and that requires real communication skills and some imagination).

But, of course, there are other srategies, including simple exposition, guided discovery and exploration/collaboration in an informal setting.

It seems that, yet again, I am the championing the cause of not throwing out the baby with the bath water. So often, good ideas are let down by poor implementation.


Clark Quinn said...
The interpretation of Gagne' is wrong, but as Donald points out, you also don't need to follow the order. For instance, the practice problem itself can be the attention getter (as in games). I'll immodestly point to my book Engaging Learning as a treatise on how to design learning that actually accomplishes Gagne's goals in a radically different way. And the principles apply even when you don't have the resources for a full game engine.
The point is, the original principles behind the nine elements are right, but not necessarily the order, and certainly not most interpretations of them.

Mike Maroney said...
Having worked at Epic when Donald was CEO can I just say that designers also felt constrained by certain things – the biggest being that clients never wanted to spend the money that would enable us to implement any design that had the slightest chance of being engaging. My favorite being a client who wanted a cutting edge game design – for £25,000! The need to keep costs down to remain competitive always impacted the design. It’s only going to change when e-learning isn’t seen as a short term cheap option.

Anonymous said...
Interesting points. It's always useful to understand the context within which these theories are created. In Gagne's case,that context was military performance and training. 



Donald Clark said...
Note that this was one of the few White Papers I did not write at Epic. There were up to 200 people working at Epic and a few were traditional Gagne types - they tended to be the duller, functional designers. The talented designers, in my experience, regarded all the Gagne stuff as irrelevant. We learnt to keep the 'Gagne' people away from the innovative projects.

ROBERT GAGNE

ROBERT GAGNE
1916-2002
"Learning is something that takes place inside
a person's head- in the brain"
Robert Mills Gagné (born 1916) was an American educator whose studies of learning and instruction profoundly affected American schooling.
Robert Mills Gagné was born August 21, 1916, in North Andover, Massachusetts. He earned an A.B. degree from Yale in 1937 and a Ph.D. from Brown University in 1940. He was a professor of psychology and educational psychology at Connecticut College for Women (1940-1949), Pennsylvania State University (1945-1946), Princeton (1958-1962), and the University of California at Berkeley (1966-1969) and was a professor in the Department of Educational Research at Florida State University in Tallahassee starting in 1969. Gagné also served as a research director for the Air Force (1949-1958) at Lackland, Texas, and Lowry, Colorado. He was employed as a consultant to the Department of Defense (1958-1961) and to the United States Office of Education (1964-1966).

In addition, he served as a director of research at the American Institute of Research in Pittsburgh (1962-1965).
Gagné's work had a profound influence on American education and on military and industrial training. Gagné and L.J. Briggs were among the early developers of the concept of instructional systems design which suggests that all components of a lesson or a period of instruction can be analyzed and that all components can be designed to operate together as an integrated plan for instruction. In a significant article titled "Educational Technology and the Learning Process" (Educational Researcher, 1974), Gagné defined instruction as "the set of planned external events which influence the process of learning and thus promote learning."
Gagné was also well-known for his sophisticated stimulus-response theory of eight kinds of learning which differ in the quality and quantity of stimulus-response bonds involved. From the simplest to the most complex, these are: signal learning (Pavlovian conditioning), stimulus-response learning (operant conditioning), chaining (complex operant conditioning), verbal association, discrimination learning, concept learning, rule learning, and problem solving.
Gagné argued that many skills may be analyzed into a hierarchy of behaviors, called a learning hierarchy. An instructor would develop a learning hierarchy for something to be taught by stating the skill to be learned as a specific behavior and then asking and answering the question "What would you have to know how to do in order to perform this task, after being given only instructions"" Gagné tested the concept of learning hierarchies in studies, mainly using simple arithmetic skills. His findings tended to support the notion of learning hierarchies and indicated that individuals rarely learn a higher skill without already knowing the lower skill.
Gagné's approach to learning and instruction, especially the instructional systems design approach, was sometimes criticized as most appropriate for mastery learning of information and intellectual skill objectives, but less suited for attitude and cognitive strategy outcomes. Undoubtedly, Gagné's work had a tremendous impact on thinking and theories in educational circles. His hierarchical theory of prerequisite steps in learning had many implications for the sequencing of instruction, and many feel it contributed to the development of a more scientific approach to instruction. In the field of English, for example, it allowed teachers to break English language skills into successively simple components and to teach the components in an orderly sequence, reinforcing correct responses along the way. Gagné's focus on systematic precise instructions also helped to lay the groundwork for individualized instruction and school accountability in American society.

GAGNE'S NINE EVENTS OF INSTRUCTION

GAGNE'S NINE EVENTS OF INSTRUCTION

Instruction is like Fine Dining: we don’t want the check before we see the menu!

Questions . . . questions, anyone?” Professor Brown asks while busily placing notes on the chalkboard. Silence. He turns to look at the class and discovers a sea of glassy-eyed faces. An occasional yawn breaks the silence. A few students bolt upright at their desks when Professor Brown announces, “Class, there will be a TEST on this information tomorrow.” Professor Brown returns to the chalkboard, disappointed that his students do not share his enthusiasm for the day’s lesson. 

All of us, at some time, have felt like Professor Brown. Despite our meticulous planning, our students do not seem engaged. The students, meanwhile, are wondering what will be on the test and what they should study. They are frustrated by a wealth of information and a lack of direction. They may feel as though they have been handed the check before seeing the menu in a restaurant.

One way to effectively manage our classroom presentations is to borrow from the principles of instructional design theory. Perhaps Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction will help us to create dynamic, well organized, and student-centered experiences in class. Dr. Robert Gagne, who is currently a professor at Florida State University, is one of the leaders in the field of Instructional Design, and his 9 Events of Instruction is a highly cited instructional model. Although Gagne first presented the 9 Events of Instruction in the 1965 publication The Conditions of Learning, the model is just as helpful to instructors today as it was over thirty years ago. Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction can be broken into three phases: the pre-instructional phase (which we will call the appetizers), the instructional phase (which we will call the meat and potatoes), and the post-instructional phase (which we will call dessert).

The pre-instructional phase is all about preparing the student for new learning. We are whetting the appetite, so to speak. We want to gain attention, motivate, and stimulate recall of prior relevant knowledge and skills.We can think of this phase as emphasizing “what we know, what we want or need to know, and why we need to know this information anyway.” In the instructional phase, we introduce new information, concepts, or skills to be mastered—the “meat and potatoes” of the lesson. The goal here is to present information in clear, concise chunks; to highlight key information, relationships, and study aids; and to provide sufficient practice and feedback opportunities for students. The post-instructional phase can be thought of as the “dessert.” It is a debriefing that provides closure to the lesson. In this phase, we summarize the learning that has occurred and provide connections to other subject areas or events in order to promote retention and transfer of new knowledge or skills.

By keeping Gagne’s 9 Events in mind as we plan our classroom activities, we purposefully create an effective beginning, middle, and end to each instructional module. We whet student appetites for learning in the beginning by gaining attention and boosting motivation while stimulating recall of prior knowledge. In the middle, we provide the “meat and potatoes” of instruction. Learner anxiety is lessened as expectations are made clear and feedback on performance is provided. And in the end, students are treated to “dessert.” They can verbalize or demonstrate what they have learned and they feel the satisfaction of accomplishment and closure. Now that makes for a NICE tip!
Pre-Instructional Phase


(Appetizers) 1. Gain Attention

* Begin the lesson with a question or conflict.
* Begin the lesson with a demonstration or experiment.
* Use humor, vary media, get students involved

2. Inform Learners of the Objectives * Review course objectives that are relevant to the lesson.
* Explain how meeting the objectives is useful to the. student in terms of real-world applications

3. Stimulate Recall of Prior Learning * Pre-test prior knowledge and prerequisite skills.
* Ask students to share their current perceptions of the topic.
* Create a concept map of prior knowledge

Instructional Phase

(Meat and Potatoes) 4. Present the Stimulus
* Lecture in small chunks whenever possible.
* Use a variety of media and methods in presenting information.
* Show examples and non-examples to clarify concepts

5. Provide Learner Guidance * Highlight important ideas, concepts, or rules.
* Use repetition.
* Provide students with learning strategies such as pneumonic memory aids

6. Elicit Student Performance * Allow for several practice sessions over a period of time.
* Provide role-play, case studies, or simulations

7. Provide Feedback * Feedback should be immediate, specific, and corrective.
* Allow additional practice opportunities after feedback is given.

Post-Instructional Phase 8. Assess Performance * Provide independent activities that test student knowledge/skill acquisition

(Dessert) 9. Enhance Retention and Transfer * Apply learning in real-world scenarios.
* Highlight connections with other subject areas or events.








 




CONDITIONS OF LEARNING-ROBERT GAGNE

CONDITIONS OF LEARNING-ROBERT GAGNE

Overview:
This theory stipulates that there are several different types or levels of learning. The significance of these classifications is that each different type requires different types of instruction. Gagne identifies five major categories of learning: verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills and attitudes. Different internal and external conditions are necessary for each type of learning. For example, for cognitive strategies to be learned, there must be a chance to practice developing new solutions to problems; to learn attitudes, the learner must be exposed to a credible role model or persuasive arguments.
Gagne suggests that learning tasks for intellectual skills can be organized in a hierarchy according to complexity: stimulus recognition, response generation, procedure following, use of terminology, discriminations, concept formation, rule application, and problem solving. The primary significance of the hierarchy is to identify prerequisites that should be completed to facilitate learning at each level. Prerequisites are identified by doing a task analysis of a learning/training task. Learning hierarchies provide a basis for the sequencing of instruction.
In addition, the theory outlines nine instructional events and corresponding cognitive processes:
(1) gaining attention (reception) 
(2) informing learners of the objective (expectancy) 
(3) stimulating recall of prior learning (retrieval) 
(4) presenting the stimulus (selective perception) 
(5) providing learning guidance (semantic encoding) 
(6) eliciting performance (responding) 
(7) providing feedback (reinforcement) 
(8) assessing performance (retrieval) 
(9) enhancing retention and transfer (generalization).
These events should satisfy or provide the necessary conditions for learning and serve as the basis for designing instruction and selecting appropriate media (Gagne, Briggs & Wager, 1992).
Scope/Application:
While Gagne's theoretical framework covers all aspects of learning, the focus of the theory is on intellectual skills. The theory has been applied to the design of instruction in all domains (Gagner & Driscoll, 1988). In its original formulation (Gagne, 1 962), special attention was given to military training settings. Gagne (1987) addresses the role of instructional technology in learning.
Example:
The following example illustrates a teaching sequence corresponding to the nine instructional events for the objective, Recognize an equilateral triangle:
1. Gain attention - show variety of computer generated triangles 
2. Identify objective - pose question: "What is an equilateral triangle?" 
3. Recall prior learning - review definitions of triangles 
4. Present stimulus - give definition of equilateral triangle 
5. Guide learning- show example of how to create equilateral 
6. Elicit per formance - ask students to create 5 different examples 
7. Provide feedback - check all examples as correct/incorrect 
8. Assess performance- provide scores and remediation 
9. Enhance retention/transfer - show pictures of objects and ask students to identify equilaterals
Gagne (1985, chapter 12) provides examples of events for each category of learning outcomes.
Principles:
1. Different instruction is required for different learning outcomes.
2. Events of learning operate on the learner in ways that constitute the conditions of learning.
3. The specific operations that constitute instructional events are different for each different type of learning outcome.
4. Learning hierarchies define what intellectual skills are to be learned and a sequence of instruction.

Gagne's events of instruction

GAGNE'S EVENTS OF INSTRUCTION

Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction
Gagne's book, The Conditions of Learning, first published in 1965, identified the mental conditions for learning. These were based on the information processing model of the mental events that occur when adults are presented with various stimuli. Gagne created a nine-step process called the events of instruction, which correlate to and address the conditions of learning. The figure below shows these instructional events in the left column and the associated mental processes in the right column.
Instructional Event Internal Mental Process
1. Gain attention Stimuli activates receptors
2. Inform learners of objectives Creates level of expectation for learning
3. Stimulate recall of prior learning Retrieval and activation of short-term memory
4. Present the content Selective perception of content
5. Provide "learning guidance" Semantic encoding for storage long-term memory
6. Elicit performance (practice) Responds to questions to enhance encoding and verification
7. Provide feedback Reinforcement and assessment of correct performance
8. Assess performance Retrieval and reinforcement of content as final evaluation
9. Enhance retention and transfer to the job Retrieval and generalization of learned skill to new situation
0. Gain attention
0. In order for any learning to take place, you must first capture the attention of the student. A multimedia program that begins with an animated title screen sequence accompanied by sound effects or music startles the senses with auditory or visual stimuli. An even better way to capture students' attention is to start each lesson with a thought-provoking question or interesting fact. Curiosity motivates students to learn.
0. Inform learners of objectives
0. Early in each lesson students should encounter a list of learning objectives. This initiates the internal process of expectancy and helps motivate the learner to complete the lesson. These objectives should form the basis for assessment and possible certification as well. Typically, learning objectives are presented in the form of "Upon completing this lesson you will be able to. . . ." The phrasing of the objectives themselves will be covered under Robert Mager's contributions later in this chapter.
0. Stimulate recall of prior learning
0. Associating new information with prior knowledge can facilitate the learning process. It is easier for learners to encode and store information in long-term memory when there are links to personal experience and knowledge. A simple way to stimulate recall is to ask questions about previous experiences, an understanding of previous concepts, or a body of content.
0. Present the content
0. This event of instruction is where the new content is actually presented to the learner. Content should be chunked and organized meaningfully, and typically is explained and then demonstrated. To appeal to different learning modalities, a variety of media should be used if possible, including text, graphics, audio narration, and video.
0. Provide "learning guidance"
0. To help learners encode information for long-term storage, additional guidance should be provided along with the presentation of new content. Guidance strategies include the use of examples, non-examples, case studies, graphical representations, mnemonics, and analogies.
0. Elicit performance (practice)
0. In this event of instruction, the learner is required to practice the new skill or behavior. Eliciting performance provides an opportunity for learners to confirm their correct understanding, and the repetition further increases the likelihood of retention.
0. Provide feedback
0. As learners practice new behavior it is important to provide specific and immediate feedback of their performance. Unlike questions in a post-test, exercises within tutorials should be used for comprehension and encoding purposes, not for formal scoring. Additional guidance and answers provided at this stage are called formative feedback.
0. Assess performance
0. Upon completing instructional modules, students should be given the opportunity to take (or be required to take) a post-test or final assessment. This assessment should be completed without the ability to receive additional coaching, feedback, or hints. Mastery of material, or certification, is typically granted after achieving a certain score or percent correct. A commonly accepted level of mastery is 80% to 90% correct.
0. Enhance retention and transfer to the job
Determining whether or not the skills learned from a training program are ever applied back on the job often remains a mystery to training managers - and a source of consternation for senior executives. Effective training programs have a "performance" focus, incorporating design and media that facilitate retention and transfer to the job. The repetition of learned concepts is a tried and true means of aiding retention, although often disliked by students. (There was a reason for writing spelling words ten times as grade school student.) Creating electronic or online job-aids, references, templates, and wizards are other ways of aiding performance.
Applying Gagne's nine-step model to any training program is the single best way to ensure an effective learning program. A multimedia program that is filled with glitz or that provides unlimited access to Web-based documents is no substitute for sound instructional design. While those types of programs might entertain or be valuable as references, they will not maximize the effectiveness of information processing - and learning will not occur.
How to Apply Gagne's Events of Instruction in e-Learning
As an example of how to apply Gagne's events of instruction to an actual training program, let's look at a high-level treatment for a fictitious software training program. We'll assume that we need to develop a CD-ROM tutorial to teach sales representatives how to use a new lead-tracking system called STAR, which runs on their laptop computers.
1. Gain attention
The program starts with an engaging opening sequence. A space theme is used to play off the new software product's name, STAR. Inspirational music accompanies the opening sequence, which might consist of a shooting star or animated logo. When students access the first lesson, the vice president of sales appears on the screen in a video clip and introduces the course. She explains how important it is to stay on the cutting edge of technology and how the training program will teach them to use the new STAR system. She also emphasizes the benefits of the STAR system, which include reducing the amount of time representatives need to spend on paperwork.
2. Inform learners of objectives
The VP of sales presents students with the following learning objectives immediately after the introduction.
Upon completing this lesson you will be able to:
0. List the benefits of the new STAR system.
0. Start and exit the program.
0. Generate lead-tracking reports by date, geography, and source.
0. Print paper copies of all reports.
3. Stimulate recall of prior learning
0. Students are called upon to use their prior knowledge of other software applications to understand the basic functionality of the STAR system. They are asked to think about how they start, close, and print from other programs such as their word processor, and it is explained that the STAR system works similarly. Representatives are asked to reflect on the process of the old lead-tracking system and compare it to the process of the new electronic one.
4. Present the content
0. Using screen images captured from the live application software and audio narration, the training program describes the basic features of the STAR system. After the description, a simple demonstration is performed.
5. Provide "learning guidance"
0. With each STAR feature, students are shown a variety of ways to access it - using short-cut keys on the keyboard, drop-down menus, and button bars. Complex sequences are chunked into short, step-by-step lists for easier storage in long-term memory.
6. Elicit performance (practice)
0. After each function is demonstrated, students are asked to practice with realistic, controlled simulations. For example, students might be asked to "Generate a report that shows all active leads in the state of New Jersey." Students are required to use the mouse to click on the correct on-screen buttons and options to generate the report.
7. Provide feedback
0. During the simulations, students are given guidance as needed. If they are performing operations correctly, the simulated STAR system behaves just as the live application would. If the student makes a mistake, the tutorial immediately responds with an audible cue, and a pop-up window explains and reinforces the correct operation.
8. Assess performance
0. After all lessons are completed, students are required to take a post-test. Mastery is achieved with an 80% or better score, and once obtained, the training program displays a completion certificate, which can be printed. The assessment questions are directly tied to the learning objectives displayed in the lessons.
9. Enhance retention and transfer to the job
While the STAR system is relatively easy to use, additional steps are taken to ensure successful implementation and widespread use among the sales force. These features include online help and "wizards", which are step-by-step instructions on completing complex tasks. Additionally, the training program is equipped with a content map, an index of topics, and a search function. These enable students to use the training as a just-in-time support tool in the future. Finally, a one-page, laminated quick reference card is packaged with the training CD-ROM for further reinforcement of the learning session.