Lauren Fowler-Carter5130

Unit 6: Reflective PaperLearning and Instruction Perspective

I find Gagné’s instructional theory increasingly beneficial to me, especially as I progress

towards my professional career. Though, with every learning and instructional theory, criticisms

and issues will arise to the surface. Driscoll (2005) states, there has been controversy regarding

the effectiveness and use of Gagné’s instructional objectives (page 365).

It is suggested that one of the issues with Gagné’s instructional theory is due to increased

interest in constructivism, which has caused researchers to question this theory and its

compatibility with goals and assumptions of constructivist epistemology (Driscoll, 2005, p. 380).

Also, studies that have investigated the use of the objectives have suggested “either a small

positive or no effect on intentional learning” along with “a deleterious effect on incidental

learning” (Driscoll, 2005, p. 365). The investigations on this issue have created the controversial

issue, because “despite these results, objectives have gained and maintained a solid footing in

education and training” (Driscoll, 2005, p. 365). According to Driscoll (2005), Gagné is the only

instructional theorist that proposed an “integrated taxonomy of learning outcomes that included

all three domains,” which was first accepted by his contemporary Benjamin Bloom (page 356).

The three domains that Bloom accepted were cognitive, affective and psychomotor (Driscoll,

2005, p. 356).

References

Lauren Fowler-Carter5130

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson

Education, Inc.