Charles Rafferty SyJohn David Felix

Robert Gagne(1916-2002)Education

• Yale, A.B. 1937• Brown, Ph.D. 1940

Career Highlights• Professor, Connecticut College (1940-49)• Professor, Penn State University (1945-46)• Director of Perceptual and Motor Skills Laboratory, U.S. Air Force (1949-58)• Professor, Florida State University

Major Contributions to Instructional Development• co-developer of "Instructional Systems Design"• wrote The Conditions of Learning, 1965

co-wrote Principles of Instructional Design

Five Categories of Learning:1. Verbal Information2. Intellectual Skills3. Cognitive Skills4. Attitudes5. Motor Skills

1. Verbal Information - Stating previously learned materials such as facts, concepts, principles, and procedures,

e.g., listing the seven major symptoms of cancer

2. Intellectual Skills:– Discriminations - Distinguishing objects, features, or symbols, e.g.,

hearing different pitches played on a musical instrument.– Concrete Concepts - Identifying classes of concrete objects, features,

or events, e.g., picking out all the green M&Ms from the candy jar.– Defined Concepts - classifying new examples of events or ideas by

their definition, e.g., noting "she sells sea shells" as alliteration.– Rules - Applying a single relationship to solve a class of problems, e.g.,

calculating the earned run averages (ERA) of the Atlanta Braves.– High Order Rules - Applying a new combination of rules to solve a

complex problem, e.g., generating a balanced budget for a state organization

3. Cognitive Skills - Employing personal ways to guide learning, thinking, acting,

and feeling, e.g., devising a corporate plan to improve customer relations.

4. Attitudes - Choosing personal actions based on internal states of understanding and feeling, e.g., deciding to exercise daily as a part of preventive health care.

5. Motor Skills - Executing performances involving the use muscles, e.g., doing a triple somersault dive off the high board. (Instruction Development Timeline)

Nine Events of Instruction:• Gain Attention Pique the learners' interest in the subject.• Inform Learner of Objective Let the learners know what they will be

learning.• Recall Prior Knowledge Get the learners to think about what they already

know.• Present Material Teach the topic.• Provide Guided Learning Help the learners follow along as the topic is

presented.• Elicit Performance Ask learners to do what they have been taught.• Provide Feedback Inform learners of their performance.• Assess Performance Evaluate learners on their knowledge of the topic.• Enhance Retention and Transfer Aid learners in remembering and

applying the new skill.

Gagne’s idea is tied to Skinner’s idea of sequenced learning events as displayed in his Nine Events of Instruction.

Nine Events of Instruction (Example):• Gain Attention Example: Show a s'more. Talk about how delicious it is.• Inform Learner of Objective Example: Today, we will learn how to make a

s'more.• Recall Prior Knowledge Example: Has anyone ever had a s'more? Where?

When? What is it made of?• Present Material Example: Show learners how to make a s'more.• Provide Guided Learning Example: Provide picture posters of steps involved in

making a s'more.• Elicit Performance Example: Give learners ingredients to make their own s'more.• Provide Feedback Example: Circulate around the classroom to observe and help

learners.• Assess Performance Example: Examine learners' s'mores. If correctly made,

they get to eat them.• Enhance Retention and Transfer Example: Have learners make s'mores for a

snack during the week or a class field trip.

Sources• Instruction Development Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved

June 6, 2009, from Instruction Development Timeline: http://my-ecoach.com/project.php?id=12152&project_step=28465

• Killpatrick, L. (2001). Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction. Retrieved June 6, 2009, from The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology: http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/gagnesevents/index.htm