Boords Logo

A guide to Gagné's Nine Events of Instruction

Luke Leighfield
Luke Leighfield, Content Writer
Updated

Gagné's Nine Events of Instruction model is a nine-step process for good instructional design.

It'll help you build a framework that you can use to prepare and deliver learning guidance.

Free Storyboard Software
Boords App Screenshot
Boords

The Shortcut to Effective Storyboards.

Boords is an easy-to-use storyboarding tool to plan creative projects.

Get Started for Free
*No credit card required

Learning theories: Introducing the Nine Events of Instruction

Teachers and educators need strategies that help students pick up new skills and new knowledge. Thankfully, we can borrow from Robert Gagné's considerable brain. He was an American educational psychologist who understood the learning process inside out.

Gagné is most famous for his 1965 book Conditions of Learning. The book also presents Gagné's model for nine instructional events and the corresponding mental conditions for learning.

These conditions are based on an information processing model that focuses on what happens in students' brains when they're shown a stimulus. You can use it to help students' learning outcomes. We're going to show you how it can help to create a mind-enhancing learning environment.

Want to create an eLearning storyboard? Learn the best practices in our step-by-step guide.

Start by writing learning objectives

Before you dive into Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction, it's a smart idea to think about your course goals and learning objectives. This will give you the context you need for the nine events, so you can make sure they fit the content and your students' knowledge.

Lucky for you, we've written a post all about it: The guide to writing learning objectives

Robert Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction

1. Gaining attention (reception)

Purpose:

Make sure your students are ready to learn by presenting a stimulus that gets their attention.

Method:

  • sparkle
    Use something novel, unusual, or surprising to gain attention
  • sparkle
    Offer a thought-provoking question that gets students thinking
  • sparkle
    Ask students to pose questions for other people in the class to answer

2. Informing learners of the objective (expectancy)

Purpose:

Tell students what they'll be able to do by the end of the session.

Method:

  • sparkle
    Describe in detail what students have to do
  • sparkle
    Let students know the criteria for success
  • sparkle
    Explain how the learning will benefit them

3. Stimulating recall of prior learning (retrieval)

Purpose:

Help students get a sense of the new information you're presenting by relating it to something they already know.

Method:

  • sparkle
    Ask questions about students' prior knowledge of the topic
  • sparkle
    Talk about students' understanding of previous concepts
  • sparkle
    Give students an example of an experience that's similar to what they're learning
  • sparkle
    Get students with more experience to work in a group with less experienced students

4. Presenting the content (selective perception)

Purpose:

Present students with new information, using learning strategies so that your instruction is effective. Organise and chunk content in a meaningful way, and give explanations when needed.

Method:

  • sparkle
    Organise your information in a clear way that's easy to understand
  • sparkle
    Share key vocabulary for the topic
  • sparkle
    Provide examples
  • sparkle
    Present multiple versions of the same content in different media (video, demonstration, PowerPoint, lecture, podcast, group work) to suit different learning styles

5. Providing learning guidance (semantic encoding)

Purpose:

Use a mix of different strategies and resources to help students learn the content.

Method:

  • sparkle
    Provide support as needed – like cues, hints, and prompts
  • sparkle
    Model different learning strategies – like concept maps, role play, and visualisations
  • sparkle
    Use examples as well as non-examples (to show students what not to do)
  • sparkle
    Highlight case studies, analogies and metaphors to support knowledge construction and real-world application
  • sparkle
    Cue and prompt learning with mnemonics

6. Eliciting performance (responding)

Purpose:

Give students something active to do to help them internalise their new skills, knowledge, or behaviour. This shows that they understand the concepts.

Method:

  • sparkle
    Ask students to do something with their newly-acquired behaviour
  • sparkle
    Present deep questions and get students to collaborate with their classmates
  • sparkle
    Encourage students to recall, revisit and reiterate what they've learned
  • sparkle
    Ask students to provide detailed responses that elaborate on basic knowledge
  • sparkle
    Help students integrate knowledge by providing content in real-world contexts

7. Providing feedback (reinforcement)

Purpose:

Give immediate feedback to students on their performance. Explain why they’re right or wrong in a constructive way.

Method:

  • sparkle
    Tell students what they did or were supposed to do (confirmatory feedback)
  • sparkle
    Let students know how accurate their response was, and what they need to do to improve (corrective and remedial feedback)
  • sparkle
    Help students find the answer, but don't provide it (remedial feedback)
  • sparkle
    Give information that helps the student understand their performance (informative feedback)
  • sparkle
    Present suggestions, recommendations and more information that encourages deeper connections (analytical feedback)

8. Assessing performance (retrieval)

Purpose:

Figure out how effective your instruction is by testing students. This will let you know whether you've achieved your planned learning outcomes.

Method:

  • sparkle
    Test students before beginning the learning to see how much they already know
  • sparkle
    Test students after the learning to see how much knowledge or skills they gained
  • sparkle
    Ask questions throughout the course – either verbally or through quizzes
  • sparkle
    Use objective criteria to measure how well the student's mastered the content

9. Enhancing retention and transfer (generalisation)

Purpose:

Get students to internalise new knowledge by using it in their own settings.

Method:

  • sparkle
    Paraphrase ideas
  • sparkle
    Use metaphors to aid learning
  • sparkle
    Generate examples
  • sparkle
    Make concept maps or outlines

References

  • sparkle
    Bates, B. (2016). Learning Theories Simplified. Los Angeles: Sage.
  • sparkle
    Gagné, R., Briggs, L. & Wager, W. (1992). Principles of Instructional Design (4th Ed.). Fort Worth, TX: HBJ College.
  • sparkle
    Gagné, R. & Driscoll, M. (1988). Essentials of Learning for Instruction (2nd Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
  • sparkle
    Gagné, R. (1987). Instructional Technology Foundations. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.
  • sparkle
    Gagné, R. (1985). The Conditions of Learning (4th Ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Boost your learning outcomes with Boords

If our pal Gagné was still around, he'd definitely love Boords – the storyboarding app for educators and creative professionals.

Get your FREE Filmmaking Storyboard Template Bundle

Plan your film with 10 professionally designed storyboard templates as ready-to-use PDFs.

download

Simplify your pre-production process with storyboards, scripts, and animatics – then gather feedback – all in one place. Creating storyboards has never been simpler.

Free Storyboard Software
Boords App Screenshot
Boords

The Shortcut to Effective Storyboards.

Boords is an easy-to-use storyboarding tool to plan creative projects.

Get Started for Free
*No credit card required

More from the blog...

The Guide to Writing Learning Objectives

Before you dive into writing your course, it's important that you're super clear about your learning goals.

How to Make an eLearning Storyboard: Step-by-Step Guide Plus Links to Templates

eLearning storyboards are a big help when you're designing eLearning development courses. We'll show you how to make them.

The Ultimate Instructional Design Storyboarding Template

In the digital age, video-based eLearning has become a quintessential part of effective educational programs.

Boords storyboard creator

Online storyboarding software

The Shortcut to Effective Storyboards

Boords is the top-rated online storyboarding software that makes planning video projects a joy, not a job.

Get Started for Free
5,014video prosjoined this week