Robert Gagne's Events of Instruction
| Internal Learning Process | External Instructional Events |
| Preinstructional Phase: Preparation | Introduction |
| 1. Attention: Alertness | Gaining the Learner's attention |
| 2. Expectancy | Establishing learning goals; Supporting learner motivation |
| 3. Retrieval to working memory | Stimulating learner recall of prior knowledge |
| Instructional Phase: | Body |
| 4. Selective perception | Engaging the learner with information to be processed |
| 5. Encoding: Storage in long-term memory | Providing guidance and support for encoding processes |
| Post Instructional Phase | Conclusion |
| 6. Responding | Providing performance opportunities |
| 7. Reinforcement | Assessing performance and providing feedback |
| 8. Cueing retrieval | Supporting long-term retention and transfer |
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Preinstructional Phase
The purpose of the preinstructional phase is to prepare learners to process the content they need to acquire. They need to pay attention, develop expectations, and retrieve prior knowledge. Several strategies can be considered when planning the preinstructional phase. They are as follows:
Attention Strategies
Variability: Zook suggests the following means
- When using visual media (overhead projector, computer, videotape) vary images by using movement, scene changes, and color changes.
- When using print media, vary the appearance of words, phrases, and sentences by changing font styles, font sizes, and colors. Also use italicizing, boldfacing, underlining, and shading to call attention to specific pieces of information.
- When using auditory media, vary sounds by changing loudness, using background music, and including sound effects that support the content to be learned.
- When using the human voice to communicate with students, vary voice quality by inflection, accent, speed, pauses, and loudness.
Humor: You can use jokes, riddles, puns, and funny anecdotes and cartoons
Concreteness: These are "hands-on" materials. They can be artifacts or objectives from the real world.
Cognitive Conflict: This is Piaget's disequalibrium. Create a discrepancy or contradiction that creates mental discomfort.
Inquiry: This is when learners raise questions or pose hypothesis to test or explore.
Active Participation: This could be simulations, role plays or experiential exercises that engage the learner.
Expectancy Strategies
Informing Learners of the Objectives
Activating Learner Motivation: Keller's ARCS model is one method to engage learner motivation. ARCS stands for Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. The following table summarizes various strategies that correspond with Keller's ARCS categories.
A |
R |
C |
S |
Attention |
Relevance |
Confidence |
Satisfaction |
| 1. Variability 2. Humor 3. Concreteness 4. Cognitive conflict 5. Inquiry 6. Participation |
1. Experience 2. Present worth 3. Future usefulness 4. Need matching 5. Modeling 6. Choice |
1. Learning requirements 2. Difficulty 3. Expectations 4. Attributions 5. Self-confidence
|
1. Natural consequences 2. Unexpected rewards 3. Positive outcomes 4. Avoiding negative influences 5. Scheduling of reinforcements
|
Retrieval Strategies: Activating Prior Knowledge
Questioning: Build questions into the instructional materials that require learners o activate relevant prior knowledge
Teacher-generated Reviews:the teacher can summarize prior knowledge. Teachers can generate outlines, concept maps, tables or other organizational tools to familiarize the learner with previous information.
Learner-generated reviews: The learners can construct outlines, concept maps, tables or other organizational tools to remind themselves of prior information.
Analogies: Teachers can encourage learners to compare the new knowledge with old information and identify similarities and differences.
Advanced Organizers: An advanced organizer is anything given to the learner in advance to help them organize the new information.
Design Considerations
When you begin planning your instructional sequence, you want plan to include one or more attention, expectancy or retrieval strategies. For example, the introduction portion of a WebQuest would be a good place for an attention, expectancy or retrieval strategy. When designing a Powerpoint or Hyperstudio your initial slides should include an attention, expectancy or retrieval strategy. Occasionally, in long instructional sequences, you may want to consider planing and placement of an additional pre-instructional strategy at natural breaking points to help the learner refocus.
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Instructional Phase
The instructional phase of the instructional sequence is where the learner receives new information. When the goal calls for presentation of declarative knowledge then the learner is introduced to a lecture, book, video, or web page containing essential information necessary for learning. When the goal calls for the mastery of a rule or procedure the learner is introduced to the rule and procedure in a logical, sequential manner. When the goal calls for problem solving, the learner is introduced to the problem. In each of the examples above, whether it is declarative knowledge, rules, procedures, problems or other learned capabilities strategies need to be included in the instructional sequence or technology sequence that assists the learner in perceiving what information is important and then encoding the information for later retrieval. The following strategies should be considered when planning your instructional sequence or technology sequence.
Strategies for Selective Perception
Verbal Communication: Tell learners, orally or in writing ,exactly where they need to focus their attention.
Highlighting: Call attention to key words, phrases, or ideas by underlining, italicizing, boldfacing, enlarging, coloring, or animating them.
Controlled presentation: Limit the amount of new information the learner needs to master at any one time.
Organizing Chunking: Break the information into meaning chunks, or patterns. Cluster information into charts, graphs, or webs.
Repetition: Focus learners' attention on key information through repeating key words or phrases.
Simplified Drawings: Use visual representations to convey concepts, ideas, or generalizations.
Exaggerated Examples: Use obvious examples from prior knowledge to emphasis important information.
Signals: Give learners cues such as number of steps or hand motions to represent information.
Strategies for Encoding
Learning Strategy: A particular action plan, method or steps that one uses to learn information. For example, re-writing notes, using note cards, making outlines etc.
Design Consideration Example
When determining what strategies that you will include for learner, you'll want to consider the goal. For example, if the learner needs to read an article to gain information for understanding the nature of the problem solving activity that they are required to complete, you may want to consider "highlighting" to assist the learner in calling attention to the key words or principles that may be necessary for problem solving. Once the learner has attended to the key words, then the encoding strategy, again, depends upon the goal. If the learner needs to recall the information from memory a sufficient number of times that it warrants the learner memorizing the terms, then you may want to design an encoding strategy that is a learning game that includes much repetition so that the learner becomes very familiar with the terms.
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Post-Instructional Phase
The post-instructional phase calls for the learner respond to the learned capability either through extended practice or activities encouraging recall. Post-instructional strategies include responding, reinforcing, and cueing. When planning the post-instructional phase the designer should consider building in an activity in which the learner practices the new rule or procedure. This practice should then include reinforcement and feedback so that they learner knows when he or she is applying the rule or procedure correctly. When the learner is not applying the rule or procedure correctly the feedback should be corrective and another opportunity for practice should be available.
Responding
Providing Practice: There are three requirements for effective practice (1) structure practice to require individual responses based on retrieval of target content. (2) structure practice activities to promote increasing independence (3) structure practice activities from easy to difficult and (4) design a variety of practice formats that promote learner creativity.
Reinforcement
Provide Feedback: Feedback should be immediate, specific, and corrective.
Cueing for Retrieval
Transfer: Transfer is the goal of learning. Transfer occurs when the learner is able to apply their knowledge in a new situation that is dissimilar to the original learning context. Near transfer occurs when students apply their knowledge in situations that are highly similar to the context in which the knowledge was originally acquired. For transfer to occur the designer should (1) Provide varied practice and application opportunities. (2) Provide spaced review and practice activities. (3) Incorporate realistic demands.
Design Consideration Example
When you are developing a Hyperstudio or Powerpoint presentation containing essential terms that your learner needs to know in order to solve the problem you may want to include a short quiz. The quiz could be designed to ask the learner to pick out the definition of key terms from a list of five. If the learner picks out the correct definition to program acknowledges that the selection is correct. For example in Powerpoint, the learner may hear clapping. If the learner picks out the incorrect definition the program acknowledges that the selection was incorrect and may give the learner a choice between picking another answer or reviewing the term and taking he or her back to the slide where the term was first introduced.
The conclusion portion of your WebQuest could include a transfer activity. For example, if you have designed a WebQuest on the life cycle of the frog, you may want to challenge your students to design their own WebQuest on the life cycle of an animal of their choosing. By writing this challenge into the conclusion of the WebQuest and then providing an opportunity for further research, the learner will then have an opportunity to apply what they learned about the life cycle, in particular the frog's, to another animal.
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