Gagné's Nine Events of Instruction
by
Art Wolfskill
in partial fulfillment of
ALEC 601
March 4, 2007
Art Wolfskill
ALEC 601
4 March 2007
Gagné's Nine Events of Instruction
Robert Gagné is best known for his Nine Events of Instruction. He was born in 1916 in North Andover, Massachusetts. He earned his A.B. from Yale University in 1937. He went on to receive a Ph.D. from Brown University in Psychology in 1940. He then taught at Connecticut College for Women and Pennsylvania State University. In 1949 he became the research director for the United States Air Force Perceptual and Motor Skills Laboratory, where he studied military training problems. During this time, he also worked for the US Department of Defense as a consultant in military training. From these experiences, he began to develop his ideas, which he termed "Conditions of Learning." In 1969 he moved to the Department of Educational Research at Florida State University, where he worked until retirement (Killpatrick, 2001).
Gagné began his career as a behaviorist, and in 1965 wrote his seminal book, Conditions of Learning from that perspective. However, in the 1970s he was introduced to the cognitive viewpoint, and introduced those concepts into his theory. He believed that effective instruction should reach beyond traditional learning theories and be real and usable in the classroom. He supported cumulative teaching that transitions from simple to complex skills. His hierarchical framework is widely used in many instructional environments (Campos, 1999).
Gagné’s theory is developed along three major lines. Along with the conditions of learning, he constructed a taxonomy of learning outcomes, and his nine events of instruction. These nine events are specific actions that an instructor can perform to support the changes in the learner that are taking place, which we call “learning.” These nine events apply to traditional teacher-led settings. The events are listed in a specific order, although this order may be changed if the instructor desires.
Instruction consists of a set of events external to the learner designed to support the internal processes of learning (Gagné, Briggs, & Wager, 1988). When the events of instruction occur in teaching, internal learning processes take place within the learners that lead to various learning outcomes (Campos, 1999). The events of instruction therefore constitute a set of communications to the student, which have the aim of aiding the learning process.
Following is a list of these nine instructional events, with a brief description, and a short pedagogical example taken from a website by Lori Killpatrick, a SDSU Graduate Student (Killpatrick, 2001).
Event 1: Gain Attention
Pique the learners' interest in the subject. Example: Show a s'more. Talk about how delicious it is.
Event 2: Inform Learner of Objective
Let the learners know what they will be learning. Example: Today, we will learn how to make a s'more.
Event 3: Recall Prior Knowledge
Get the learners to think about what they already know. Example: Has anyone ever had a s'more? Where? When? What is it made of?
Event 4: Present Material
Teach the topic. Example: Show learners how to make a s'more.
Event 5: Provide Guided Learning.
Help the learners follow along as the topic is presented. Example: Provide picture posters of steps involved in making a s'more.
Event 6: Elicit Performance
Ask learners to do what they have been taught. Example: Give learners ingredients to make their own s'more.
Event 7: Provide Feedback.
Inform learners of their performance. Example: Circulate around the classroom to observe and help learners.
Event 8: Assess Performance
Evaluate learners on their knowledge of the topic. Example: Examine learners' s'mores. If correctly made, they get to eat them.
Event 9: Enhance Retention and Transfer
Aid learners in remembering and applying the new skill. Example: Have learners make s'mores for a snack during the week or a class field trip.
References
Campos, T. (1999). Gagné’s contributions to the study of instruction. Retrieved February 3, 2007, from George Mason University, Instructional Technology Program Web site: http://chd.gse.gmu.edu/immersion/knowledgebase/theorists/cognitivism/gagne.htm
Clark, D. (2006). Gagné’s nine dull commandments. Retrieved February 3, 2007, from http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2006/09/gagnes-nine-dull-commandments.html
Driscoll, M. (2000). Psychology of learning for instruction (2nd ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Gagné, R., Briggs, L., & Wager, W. (1992). Principles of Instructional Design (4th ed.). Fort Worth, TX: HBJ College Publishers.
Gagné. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2007, from http://online.sfsu.edu/~foreman/itec800/ finalprojects/annie/gagne.html
Killpatrick, L. (2001). Gagné's Nine Events of Instruction. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology. Retrieved March 4, 2007, from http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/ gagnesevents/start.htm
Kruse, K. (n.d.). Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction: An Introduction.
Retrieved February 3, 2007, from www.e-learningguru.com/articles/art3_3.htm