Gagne's 9 Events of Instruction

Overview of Robert Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction

Robert Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction is a systematic instructional design model that shares characteristics of the Behaviorist Approach to Learning.

Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction can also be used in conjunction with Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy to further create more engaging means of instruction ("Gagne", Northern Illinois University). Similar to the Behaviorist Approach to Learning, Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction focuses on the physical cues or tasks that are to be done during teaching. There are also little to no openings for student input, and the focus of the model is largely put on the teacher.

Here is an interesting and recent example of a way in which current educators are using Gagne's model of instruction.

The Behaviorist Approach to Learning

The behaviorist approach to learning relies on the theory that all human behavior is learned, so all behaviors can be learned and unlearned. Early followers of this theory include the infamous Ivan P. Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B. F. Skinner.

Within behaviorism, the child (or whoever is being 'taught' the new behavior) plays a passive role whereas the instructor (or behaviorist) plays the most dominant role. Behaviorists tend to have an interesting philosophy regarding science and psychology in that they believe that the only concrete science is that which can be seen or observed ("Behaviorism", Cortland). Following this theory, behaviorists also believe that since one cannot 'see' the brain or the 'psyche', there is not another choice but to observe behavior.

The Nine Events of Instruction

1. Gain Attention
1. Focus the student's attention towards yourself
2. Quickly foster some interest in yourself or the topic in which you'll be discussing.
3. This can be done using icebreakers, "do now" tasks, sharing an important current event, or sharing a daily writing prompt.
2. Describe the Goal
1. Acquaint your students with the objective of the lesson.
2. Inform your students about what they will be able to accomplish at the end of the lesson.
3. Activate Prior Knowledge
1. Connect whatever it is that you are teaching students with something that they have learned before.
2. Build memory schemas in which you build new knowledge with the activation of prior knowledge. The theory in building schemas is that if students have faced similar problems or learned a similar concept, they will be more apt to learn via insightful thinking as opposed to learning through trial and error ("Memory Schema", Van Kesteren).
3. Establish relevance. How is your new concept related to something else that your students have learned?
4. Give a survey. What have your students learned prior to your class? What are your students interested in? What do they struggle with?
4. Present the Material
1. Use a variety of methods to deliver your content. Your students learn in many different ways, so you should care to teach in many different ways. Present information using lecture, video, multimedia, podcasts, and more.
5. Provide Learner Guidance
1. Aside from giving instructions on the task, you should also help guide your students so that they can learn effectively. Give them tips and strategies.
2. Scaffold when necessary.
3. Demonstrate learning techniques. If you can find a helpful mnemonic device, share it with your students. It will help them learn quicker, and better.
4. Use examples and non-examples. Show your students what to do -- and what not to do.
6. Elicit Performance and Practice
1. Have students practice concepts with their peers and encourage learning by asking them questions that connect with their prior knowledge.
2. Reteach. Ask students to recite, revisit, or recall information. This falls under the behaviorist approach or drilling knowledge into students.
3. Encourage collaboration.
7. Provide Feedback
1. Provide immediate feedback so that students can readjust their attention or thinking quickly.
2. There are five types of feedback that you may use:
1. Analytical: Provide suggestions for the students so that they may correct their behavior.
2. Confirmatory: Inform the student of what they did as opposed to what they were supposed to do.
3. Corrective: Inform the student about the accuracy of their responses.
4. Informative: Provide new or different information or suggestions to the student. This is typically only between the teacher and the student.
5. Remedial: Point students into the right direction if they have fallen off-track. Do not provide the correct answer, however.
8. Access Performance or Practice
1. Be sure to assess your students in accordance to your state's objectives.
2. Conduct pre-tests to determine mastery of prior concepts and post-tests to determine mastery of new concepts.
3. Embed assessment questions into your daily instruction so that students can familiarize themselves with the language.
9. Retention and Transfer
1. The belief behind retention and transfer is that students must internalize knowledge in order to succeed in the outside world.
2. Teachers can help students internalize knowledge by generating real-life examples, paraphrasing content in terms that are more widely used, and by utilizing concept maps or outlines.

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Resources

Andreasen, N.C. (1984). The Broken brain, The Biological Revolution in Psychiatry. New York: Harper and Row.

Cortland, D.E. (1999). Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction. Northern Illinois University. 

Skinner, B. F. (1974).  About behaviorism. New York: AlfredA. Knopf

Van Kesteren, M. T. R., and Henson, R. N. A. 2012. The re-emergence of schemas in memory research: from encoding to reconsolidation. Society of Neuroscience Symposium. New Orleans.