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Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction Offer a Blueprint for eLearning Design
Learning is fluid: People learn lots of different materialin lots of different ways. There’s no single “correct” approach to designinglearning experiences. Even so, following a design model can help eLearningdesigners craft courses that get results.
Educational psychologist Robert Gagné’s theories of learningand instructional design are renowned for their broad applicability. His mostfamous work, Conditions of Learning, outlines eight kinds of learning.It also introduces Gagné’s nine events of instruction. These “events” orsteps of instruction offer a logical order that emphasizes feedback andassessment. Instructional designers can use the nine events as a scaffold toguide their planning. Here’s how it could work.
1. Get the learners’ attention
How do instructors capture learners’ interest? Virtualtraining consultant Cindy Huggett suggests immediate engagement as they “enter”the virtual space: “Do you have an activity right there, ready to go? Somethingthat is welcoming and greeting and engaging?” That grabs learners’attention—and puts them on notice that the session will be interactive and theirparticipation is expected.
For asynchronous eLearning, use a story or example that connectsthe study topic to learners’ experience or job duties to show relevance and piquetheir interest.
2. Provide a learning objective
Most eLearning designers already write learningobjectives. The problem is, the learning objectives are often presented in one(or more) boring, text-heavy screens. Ugh.
Instead, designers should strive to keep the previous stepin mind—and hold learners’ interest. One option? Use a two-minute video to describethe importance of the material to be covered. Even better, use an example thatworks for steps one and two: It captures learners’ attention and illustrates whycompliance with these rules matters, or what happens when people do theprocess in an unsafe way, or how someone benefited from following the process.
3. Remind learners of what they know
Nudging learners to remember what they already know servesseveral purposes:
- It allows them to expand that knowledge
- It allows the instructor to avoid wasting timeby going over information and concepts that learners have mastered
- It allows students to learn from one another
Tools to stimulate recall include asynchronous discussionboards and synchronous or asynchronous chats. Quizzes and interactive exercisesare also time-tested ways to find out what learners already know, but they lackthe added advantage of pooling shared knowledge among the group.
4. Teach new material
Present new eLearning material in a way that is relevant andengaging. That means emphasizing a clear connection to their job duties. Materialcan—and should—take a number of formats: videos, readings, short presentationsby the instructor, curated web resources, etc.
Modern eLearning chunks material in small, focused pieces, whateverthe format. Ideally, resources are accessible on mobile devices as well aslaptop and desktop computers. Presenting material in small, easy-to-accessunits allows employees to integrate learning into a busy schedule.
5. Offer guidance
In a flipped classroom model, class time—in a virtualclassroom—is spent applying the new information. Learners might workindividually or in small groups to solve a problem or answer questions; theinstructor provides coaching and guidance.
Asynchronous eLearning also provides opportunities forcoaching via study guides, checklists, and discussion boards—where an instructormight monitor and participate in the conversation.
One technique that works in both synchronous andasynchronous discussions is asking learners to identify the toughest passagefrom a reading, or the concept they are struggling most to grasp. This canfocus the conversation around areas where students most need guidance.
6. Elicit performance
At this stage, learners haven’t fully mastered the information;eliciting performance is about seeing where they need additional information ora course correction. Quizzes and exercises—which can be matching, learninggames, simulations, or branching scenarios where they choose from multiplecourses of action—will vary based on the topic of study. In some cases, learnersmight “practice” by writing a draft of a report or creating initial sketchesfor a software project, providing immediate applicability to work tasks.
7. Provide feedback
Feedback on practice exercises needs to correct anymisunderstandings and fill in gaps in learners’ knowledge. It should beconstructive and point toward improvement, which means it must specificallyaddress each learner’s performance. Encouragement, such as “attaboys” and prizesin learning games, can help keep employees motivated but is not enough tofurther their learning.
8. Assess, and assess again
The assessment marks the end of the formal learning period;it’s time to evaluate whether learners have achieved the learning goals. This mightbe done via exam or evaluation of materials produced. It’s often helpful tocreate an evaluation rubric to ensure that all learning goals are evaluated andthat all learners are evaluated according to the same criteria.
Many instructors assess incrementally—at the end of eachmodule or after completing a particular section. This method allows instructorsto be sure that learners are keeping up and have mastered foundational materialbefore moving on.
9. Performance support and knowledge transfer
Formal instruction is complete; now the real questionsarise: Are learners using what they’ve learned? Is the learning “sticky”—willthey remember it weeks or months later? Designers can create job aids or even chatbotsto provide performance support and cement learning.
If learning goals are closely tied to job responsibilities, onecan measure knowledge transfer through improved job performance. At the outset,instructional designers should not only have created relevant learning goals,but also defined what success looks like and how it is measured. Now’s the timeto examine those goals and evaluate whether they’ve been achieved.
