Gagne's nine Events of Instruction as a lesson-design schema¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The digest presents Robert Gagne's Events of Instruction as the dominant framework through the end of the twentieth century. Gagne combined the information-processing model with behaviorist concepts and deduced prescriptive theories about instruction methods from descriptive theories of information processing. His list of nine events became "a robust and influential conceptual schema for lesson design": "gaining attention; informing learners of the objective; stimulating recall of prior learning; presenting the content; providing 'learning guidance'; eliciting performance; providing feedback; assessing performance; enhancing retention and transfer".

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Instructional planning follows the nine-event template derived from information-processing theory

Constraints¶

• The digest notes it may be time for a new paradigm that more explicitly reflects the consensus that meaning-making is at the heart of cognitive learning

Target Learners¶

• learners in lessons designed with the events template

Target Learning Objectives¶

• cognitive learning tasks structured from gaining attention through retention and transfer

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• Merrill's First Principles of Instruction: four phases revolving around a problem
• Programmed instruction framework: six-element operant-conditioning lesson format

Examples¶

• Enhance retention and transfer

Key Sources¶

• Molenda, Michael. (2002). A New Framework for Teaching in the Cognitive Domain. ERIC Digest. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED470983