Robert Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction

Robert Gagne is best known by his learning theory with taxonomy of learning outcomes, the conditions of learning and the famous nine events of Instructions. He was a foremost researcher and contributor to the systematic approach to instructional design and training. He is best known for his Nine Events of Instructions.His theories have advantages and disadvantages.

Gain attention is one of the most important events in Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction. Attracting the learner’s attention to the subject is very important in learning or training. This ensures that the learners are focused on the lesson and capable of retaining the information. My main technique to do this is to make them curious about the subject. Then we need to present it in a colorful dramatic way.

The second event, Inform the Learner of Objective is also important. Informing the learner what they are going to learn is an important event. This is to allow the learners to begin thinking of the lessons and prepares them for the topic that will be discussed. For me, right after an introduction of the subject, is the time for this. Objectives can be clear, simple, and short.

Stimulate recall of prior Knowledge is the third event. This allows the learners to think about and utilize their prior knowledge and experience to associate with the new learning materials. Most of the time, due to time constraint, I am not able to doing this. After learning these nine events, I understood the importance of this event. It is very easy for a learner to store information in long-term memory if the information is linked to a prior experience or knowledge.

Presenting the material is another important event. This is about presenting the topic to the learner. There are numerous methods to present the content of the lessons to the learners. Whatever the method chosen, the material needed to be systematic, organized, and explanatory. It needs to have demonstrations. This is time consuming and I like to spend lot of time to do this.

Provide Guided Learning be about helping the learners to follow along, as the topic is presented. I use to include examples, graphical representations, case studies, etc to do this.

In Elicit Performance event, we need to ask the learners to do what they have been taught. It is about practicing and confirming the new skill they learned. Practice gives the learners the hands-on experience and insures correct understanding. I need to allot more time for this event in my training programs.

Providing Feedback is the next event. This informs the learner about their performance is a good idea. This can be performed during the practice session. Doing the exercise within the tutorial itself is one of the easiest ways to give an immediate feedback. I always ask my trainees to do this, if there is time at the end of my training program.

Assess Performance is a requirement for every training sessions. Upon completing instructional modules, students should be given the opportunity to take a final assessment. It lets the learner know if more practice is needed to insure their skills are accurate. I usually design my assessment session simple and short, but including all the objectives. This gives my students and me a satisfaction and confidence.

The last event is the Enhancement of Retention and Transfer. It is important to find out how my learners apply the learned skills from the training program to their work. This is the real test. I need to apply this event to my training programs to ensure an effective learning.

There are disadvantages in Gagne’s learning theory, like; it takes too much time in the development stage. A creative trainer may find a better ways of delivering instruction that allows students to become highly involved in the learning process. Gagne’s learning style sometimes restricts students from guiding their own learning. It also needs a passive learning environment.

However, in my opinion, the nine events of instruction are the ideal way to teach a lesson. It uses all aspects of testing, practicing, and utilizing the information that is to be taught. His theory helping me lot in designing my training programs these days.

Even the technology or learning methods change, Gagne’s principles never lose its importance. It provides new meaning and new direction for the learning theory designers and helps them to solve new problems. :

Driscoll, M (2005). Psychology of Learning For Instruction. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.