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