Post on 08-Aug-2020
Gagné’s Theory of Instruction
Where does this stuff come from??
Dr. Hurd
233
Theories to this place in time…
• Learning theory Instructional theory
• Radical behaviorism: performance analysis and improvement
• Situated cognition: authentic instruction and apprenticeship models of teaching
• Motivational design: motivation to learn
• Constructivist approach: knowledge construction
• Gagné: behaviorist cognitive information-processing
Instructional Psychology, Theories, and Models
• Instructional theory: methods that provide conditions for meeting learning goals
• Built upon existing theories
• Instruction: arrangement of learning conditions to meet an intended learning goal
• 4 part equation:
Instruction = learner + task + environment + context
• Activity: meaningful and relevant
• Model – dependent on context and learning goal
Robert M. Gagné and the Conditions of Learning
• The Conditions of Learning (1965…1985)
• Three major components:
• Taxonomy of learning outcomes
• Learning conditions
• Nine events of instruction
• Information-Processing Theory:
• Internal events
• External events
Taxonomy of Learning Outcomes
• Declarative statements: factual knowledge (what)
• Procedural knowledge: cognitive skills (how)
• Metacognitive knowledge: (when)
• Bloom’s Taxonomy (classifications):– Cognitive skills
– Psychomotor skills
– Affective knowledge
Five Major Learning Outcomes
• Verbal information – declarative knowledge
• Intellectual skills – procedural knowledge; learning hierarchy
• Cognitive strategies – self-guided conditional knowledge
• Attitudes – internal states personal action
• Motor skills – performance with use of muscles
Conditions for Learning
• Categorize learning goals by type of outcome
• Objectives: behaviorist basis
• Benefits: intense systematic instructional design
• Building blocks of instruction:
– Verbal information
– Intellectual skills
– Cognitive strategies
– Attitudes
– Motor skills
Verbal information
• Build on what learners know
• Internal: recall previous knowledge
• External: chunking, meaningful context, imagery, organizers
• Cues: encode = retrieval
• Information embedded in larger context
Intellectual skills
• Build on what learners know
• Incremental steps
• Limitations to short-term memory
• Learner’s attention to the task
• Appropriate practice- external to become internal
Cognitive strategies
• Internal: prior knowledge of concepts and rules
• External:? In your own words…
• Practice strategies in novel situations
• In-context practice
• Information feedback
• Encouragement and reflection
Learning Attitudes
• Receiving
• Responding
• Valuing
• Organizing
Motor skills
• Moving (autonomous or automatic)
• Manipulating
• Communicating
• Creating
9 Events of Instruction
• Event 1: Gaining Attention • Event 2: Informing the Learner of Objective • Event 3: Stimulating Recall of Prior Learning • Event 4: Presenting the Stimulus• Event 5: Providing Learner Guidance• Event 6: Eliciting Performance• Event 7: Providing Feedback• Event 8: Assessing Performance• Event 9: Enhancing Retention and Transfer
The Nine Events of Instruction
• Information transformations memory
• Instructional goal: activation of processes
• Order dependent on delivery system
• Internal process: Instructional event: Action
Event 1: Gaining Attention
• Keller’s model of motivational design
– Analyze the audience
– Define motivational objective
– Design a motivational strategy
– Try out and revise as necessary
• Learner oriented and receptive
• Stimulus change
Event 2: Informing the Learner of the Objective
• Self-expectations
• Simple statements – learning objectives
• Performance – what will be able to do
• Demonstrations – anticipated outcomes
• Instructional materials should = learning objectives
Event 3: Stimulating Recall of Prior Learning
• Knowledge transfer
• Instructor recalls relevant/prerequisite information
• Beginning reviews
• Persistence in problem solving
Event 4: Presenting the Stimulus
• Declarative: textbook, lecture, film
• Intellectual skill learning: distinctive features of the concept
• Cognitive strategy or motor skill: verbal directions or demonstration
• Attitude learning: modeled behavior
• Distinctive features for pattern recognition and selective perception
Event 5: Providing Learner Guidance
• Semantic encoding
• Instructional activity long-term memory
• Guidance:
– Ability of learner
– Available time
– Complexity of learning goals
• Discovery learning
Event 6: Eliciting Performance
• Events 1-5 = learning has occurred (encoded and stored in LTM)
• Learner confirmation
• Learning inferred from behavior
• Safe environment
Event 7: Providing Feedback
• Feedback to detect and correct errors
• Learners’ confidence:
– Focusing on correct response
– Re-teaching or extended elaboration
• Motor skills – grace
• Cognitive strategies – more strategic or creative
Event 8: Assessing Performance
• Learning: change in behavior or performance over time
• Dependability
• Formal assessments
• Final grades
• Rubrics
Event 9: Enhancing Retention and Transfer
• Formative retention and transfer
• Integral part of:
– Event 5 – providing learning guidance
– Event 6 – eliciting performance
– Event 7 – providing feedback
• Attitude learning – not in context
– Role plays, discussions, simulations, CAI
Summary: Planning Instructional Events
• Choice of instructional events – nature of learning situation
• Balance – boredom vs. misdirected or inadequate learning
• Failure - not all 9 included
• Based on student needs