In 1965, Robert Gagné proposed a series of events that are associated with and address the mental conditions for learning. Each of the nine events of instruction is highlighted below, followed by sample methods to help implement the events in your own instruction. Use Gagné’s nine events in conjunction with Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy to design engaging and meaningful instruction. The following steps have been adapted from Gagné, Briggs, and Wager (1992).
Ensure the learners are ready to learn and participate in activities by presenting a stimulus to capture their attention.
These are a few methods for capturing learners’ attention:
Inform students of the objectives or outcomes for the course and individual lessons to help them understand what they are expected to learn and do. Provide objectives before instruction begins.
Here are some methods for stating the outcomes:
Inform students of the objectives or outcomes for the course and individual lessons to help them understand what they are expected to learn and do.
Help students make sense of new information by relating it to something they already know or something they have already experienced.
There are numerous methods for stimulating recall:
Use strategies to present and cue lesson content to provide more effective instruction. Organize and group content in meaningful ways, and provide explanations after demonstrations.
The following are ways to present and cue lesson content:
Advise students of strategies to aid them in learning content and of resources available. In other words, help students learn how to learn.
The following are examples of methods for providing learning guidance:
… help students learn how to learn
Have students apply what they have learned to reinforce new skills and knowledge and to confirm correct understanding of course concepts.
Here are a few ways to activate learner processing:
Provide timely feedback of students’ performance to assess and facilitate learning and to allow students to identify gaps in understanding before it is too late.
The following are some types of feedback you may provide to students:
Provide timely feedback of students’ performance to assess and facilitate learning and to allow students to identify gaps in understanding…
Test whether the expected learning outcomes have been achieved on previously stated course objectives.
Some methods for testing learning include the following:
Implement a variety of assessment methods to provide students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate proficiency.
Help learners retain more information by providing them opportunities to connect course concepts to potential real-world applications.
The following are methods to help learners internalize new knowledge:
Gagné’s nine events of instruction can help you build a framework to prepare and deliver instructional content while considering and addressing conditions for learning. Ideally, you should prepare course goals and learning objectives before implementing the nine events—the goals and objectives will help situate the events in their proper context. The nine events of instruction can then be modified to fit both the content and students’ level of knowledge.
Gagné, R. M., Briggs, L. J., & Wager, W. W. (1992). Principles of instructional design (4th ed.). Forth Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.
Halpern, D. F., & Hakel, M. D. (2003). Applying the science of learning to the university and beyond: Teaching for long-term retention and transfer. Change, 35(4), 36-41. https://seaver-faculty.pepperdine.edu/thompson/projects/wasc/Applying%20the%20science%20of%20learning.pdf
Gagné, R. M. (1985). The conditions of learning and theory of instruction (4th ed.). New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
University of Florida, Center for Instructional Technology and Training. (2018). Gagné’s 9 events of instruction. Retrieved from https://citt.ufl.edu/tools/gagnes-9-events-of-instruction/
Virginia Tech, School of Education. (2008). Instructional planning sheet based on Gagné’s nine events of instruction [Doc File]. Retrieved from https://www.itma.vt.edu/courses/currip/lesson2/currip2.doc
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Northern Illinois University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. (2020). Gagné’s nine events of instruction. In Instructional guide for university faculty and teaching assistants. Retrieved from https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide