Introduction to Gagne's Nine Events of Instrutcion

In his book,The Conditions of Learning,Robert Gagne identified nine events that should provide the necessary conditions for learning and serve as the basis for  designing instruction and for designing/selecting appropriate resources.This model is based on information processing theory.

Although Gagne's work is apporpriate to the general face-to face classroom setting,it is also especially appropriate for more independent learning setting such as:

• Cooperative learning groups
• Small group work(short-term)
• Individualizes work(including individualized work for students with special learning needs)
• Distance learning

Below are the nine instructional events:

1.Gain attention
2.Inform learners of objectives
3.Stimulate recall of prior learning
4.Present content
5.Provide "learning guidance"
6.Elicit performance
7.Provide feedback
8.Assess performance
9.Enhance retention and/or transfer to new situations

Further Explanation of the Nine Events

1.Gain attention

In order t oenhance the learning process,it is important to gain the attention and interest of students.This can be done either by the teacher or a student.student group for the rest of the class.Example:
   A through-provoking question.
   An interesting fact oe news story.
   A multimedia program that begins with an animated title screen sequence accompanied by sound effects or music.
   An interesting demonstration.

2.Inform learners of objectives

  
Early in each unit the teacher should share with students the learning objectives in order to  help them become active participants of their own learning.Typically,learning objectives  are presented in the form of "Upon completing this lesson you will be able to..." Learning objectives accomplish the following:
    Initiate the internal process of expectancy and interest
    Help motivate the learner to engage in and complete the lesson
    Form the foundation for feedback and assessment

3.Stimulate recall of prior learning

Associating new information with prior knowledge can facilitate the learning process.It it easier for learners to comprehend and store information in long term memory when there are links to personal experience and knowledge .A simple way to stimulate recall is to ask questions about previous experiences or about an understanding of previous concepts or content,but other strategies are also useful.

4.Present content

This event of instruction is where new content is introduced in the lesson or unit.Content should be chunked(broken down into manageable units),organized meaningful,and involve active learning on the part of the student.
In the student-centered classroom,the teacher,student(s)or both can engage in introducing the content and activities,depending on the learning context and objectives.
 A variety of media and resources should be used if possible,including text,graphics,audio narration,and video to appeal to different learning modalities and to reinforce the learning in general.

5.Provide "learning guidance"

To help learners encode information for long-term storage,additional guidance should be provided along with the introduction of new content.Guidance strategies include the use of examples,non-examples,case studies,graphical representations,analogies,guided exploration etc.

6.Elicit performance

In this event of instruction,the learners have the opportunity to  practice,apply,and integrate the new knowledge,skills,and/or behaviors with what they already know.Demonstrating and applying their new knowledge,skills,and behaviors performance provides an opportunity for learners to internalize and confirm their understanding

7.Provide feedback

As learners practice new knowledge,skills,and attitudes it is important to provide specific and immediate feedback of their performance.This can be done either by the teacher or by student peers.Feedback in this event should be used for instructional purposes--comprehension purposes--not for normal assessment or evaluation.Additional guidance and answers provided at this stage are called formative feedback

8.Assess performance

Upon completing the unit or lesson,students should be given the opportunity to be assessed in a more formal way.

9.Enhance retention and/or transfer to new situations

Further cycles of practice/feedback/assessment may be needed to ensure that students have truly achieved the learning objectives.The focus can be on enhancing the understanding of the current learning or on transferring the learning to new situations to extend student's knowledge or skill base.

Examples of a Teaching Sequence Using the Nine Events

Reminder:Depending on the teacher's learning objectives,all of the nine events may or may not be used.


Learning objective:After this unit,students will understand the terms buoyancy and density and their relationship to each other,and will be able to discuss buoyancy and density in the context of why objects float and sink.

1.Gain attention:

The class  gathers around a container filled with water.The teacher places a plastic boat in the container which floats on the surface.the teacher then hands coins to students and has them place a coin into the boat one at a time,asking them if there is any visible change after each coin.When students reach the understanding that the boat will sink at some point if enough coins are  placed within it,she asks them t o predict the additional number of coins needed to sink the boat.The students are vary interested to see if their predictions are accurate.

2.Inform learners of objectives

The teacher says something link,"Today,we're going to learn more about why some things float and why they sink."

3.Stimulate recall of prior learning

The teacher asks students to describe what they already know about what kinds of things float and what kinds of things sink.she asks them to remember from their experience what objects float or sink-for example,objects from the bathtub,the beach,lakes,puddles after a hard rain,etc.She asks a student to use the blackboard to write the objects under two categories."Things that float" and "Things that sink".

4.Present content

The teacher has placed a variety of objects on a large table.These include a rubber ball,small rocks,an apple,a flat piece of aluminium fol,a balled up piece of aluminium foil,a balloon,a rubber ball and so forth.Students work in group and each group has its own container of water.The Teacher asks each group to formulate hypotheses about why objects float or sink.

5.Provide "learning guidance"

While the student groups are working with the objects and formulating hypotheses,the teacher moves among the groups,asking questions and making suggestions where appropriate.

6.Elicit performance

Once the teachers see that the groups have good ideas about why the objects are sinking  or floating,she has  the class come back together tp present each group's findings to the others.

7.Provide feedback

The teacher has the other learning groups provide feedback to each group's findings and also provides feedback as needed.This feedback evolves into  a class discussion in which students adjust their hypotheses if needed and extend what they have learned in their own group .This leads to further discussion in which the teacher asks student groups to use resource books in the science classroom to help explain their findings suggesting they look up buoyancy and density.

8.Assess performance

Using new objects and a container water,the teacher asks the student groups to first predict whether the objects will float or sink,and then explain why the objects floated or sank.

9.Enhance retention and/or transfer to new situations

If the  teacher feels all students have a good understanding of the  terms,she moves to a transfer activity to broaden students' knowledge.If the teacher feels students need more time on the topic she provides more activities to enhance retention and understanding of the concepts already presented in the unit.