Instructional Design - Robert Gagné, The Conditions of Learning

Unfortunately the learning process is difficult to replicate and it seems impossible to portray it entirely in an automated model. Barron (1995).

Developing instruction (for computers and other media) is called Instructional Design (in the U.S.). The word "Design" actually means "Development" as it includes prior analysis, the design, delivery considerations (like suitable media) and later evaluation. The word "Instruction" implies a didactic presentation, which may not be appropriate. I prefer the term "educational intervention" meaning any activity by a teacher to encourage learning in students. However, Instructional Design (ID) is more convenient than "intervention development".

ID is a systematic approach to designing instruction and instructional materials to achieve specified learning objectives. This contrasts with traditional methods such as sitting at the feet of a Master, or "sitting with Nellie". ID is independent of the use of computers to "deliver" the instruction. The ideas of Robert Gagné and his colleagues are well known and illustrate the importance to ID of an underlying theory of learning.

Gagné

intellectual skills - concepts
are demonstrated by labelling or classifying things,

intellectual skills - rules
are applied and principles are demonstrated,

intellectual skills - problem solving
allows generating solutions or procedures,

cognitive strategies
are used for learning,

verbal information
is stated,

motor skills
enable physical performance,

attitudes
are demonstrated by preferring options.

These outcomes are the results of the internal processes of learning in individual learners. They provide the learners with the improved capabilities which we desire. The external conditions of learning (such as instruction) which cause the learning are different for different types of learning outcome. For example, we need to do different things to learn attitudes than to learn intellectual skills or motor skills. Nonetheless, Gagné suggests that although different in detail, the same types of instructional activity are needed for all learning processes and learning outcomes. He suggests that there are nine general Instructional Events which are always relevant, even though in detail they will vary with the type of learning outcome being achieved, and with the specific content of the learning (Figure 1).

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          Figure 1  Gagné's nine Instructional Events

Gaining attention To ensure reception of coming instruction we give the learner a stimulus.

Tell learners the learning objective Tell the learner what they will be able to do because of the instruction.

Stimulating recall of prior learning Ask for recall of existing relevant knowledge.

Presenting the stimulus Display the content.

Providing learning guidance Help understanding (semantic encoding) by providing organization & relevance.

Eliciting performance Ask the learner to respond, demonstrating learning

Providing feedback Give informative feedback on the learner's performance.

Assessing performance Require more learner performance, and give feedback, to reinforce learning.

Enhancing retention and transfer to other contexts Provide varied practice to generalise the capability. ___________________________________________________________

This provides a good starting point for designing any instruction. Now we consider how we might arrive at such instructional events. The learning outcomes, internal conditions and external conditions can now be used. Briefly, Gagné describes the development process as follows.

Gagné's ID

1. Identify the types of learning outcomes we wish to achieve.

2. Most learning outcomes are not simple, each outcome must be broken down into a hierarchy of dependent learning outcomes and pre-requirements, to give a learning hierarchy of simple outcomes (example hierarchies can be seen in the appendix).

3. Identify the conditions or processes internal to the learner must occur to achieve those outcomes.

4. Specify what external conditions or instruction must occur to achieve these internal conditions.

Selecting Media

5. Record the learning context.

6. Record the characteristics of the learners.

7. Select media for instruction - how will we deliver the instructional events? Books, whiteboard, Computer Assisted Instruction and video are common examples.

Design Instruction - planning instructional events to support learning activities

8. Plan to motivate the learner by incentives, task mastery or achievements.

9. For each of the planned learning outcomes in the learning hierarchy, the Nine Instructional Events are designed relevant to the type of learning outcomes required, in the order of pre-requirements in the learning hierarchy, and with appropriate media and use of tutors.

10. Although the instruction is apparently ready to use, in practice they are tested in trials with learners (formative evaluation).

11. After the instruction has been used, a summative evaluation can judge its effectiveness.

In brief, Gagné's ID produces an analysis of the learning to be accomplished (1-6) and then translates this into a design for instructional events which will prompt and support the internal processes of the learner (7-9). These are then tested, used and evaluated (10-11). It says little about creating the instructional materials themselves (but see Petry, Mouton & Reigluth, 1987).

Summary