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Nine Steps of Instruction

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Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction apply to Web-Based Training just the way they do in a face-to-face learning environment.

Gagne's book, The Conditions of Learning, first published in 1965, identified the mental conditions for learning. Different types of knowledge and skill require different conditions for learning and retention. A simplification of Gagne's "events of instruction" include the following nine steps.

1. Gain attention
In order for any learning to take place, you must first capture the attention of the learner. A program that begins with an animated title screen sequence accompanied by sound effects or music startles the senses with auditory and visual stimuli. An even better way to capture learners' attention is to start each lesson with a thought-provoking question or interesting fact.
2. Inform learners of objectives
Early in each lesson, they should encounter a list of learning objectives. This initiates the internal process of expectancy and helps motivate them to complete the lesson. These objectives should form the basis for assessment and evaluation.
3. Stimulate recall of prior learning
Associating new information with prior knowledge can facilitate the learning process. It's easier for learners to encode and store information in long-term memory when there are links to personal experience and knowledge. A simple way to stimulate recall is to ask questions about previous experiences or build upon an understanding of previously introduced concepts.
4. Present the content
This event of instruction occurs when you actually present new content to the learner. Content should be chunked and organized meaningfully, and typically is explained and then demonstrated. To appeal to different learning modalities, a variety of media should be used whenever possible, including text, graphics, audio narration, and video.
5. Provide "learning guidance"
To help learners encode information for long-term storage, you should provide additional guidance with new content. Guidance strategies include using examples, non-examples, case studies, graphical representations, mnemonics, and analogies.
6. Elicit performance (practice)
In this event of instruction, the learner is required to practice the new skill or behavior. Eliciting performance provides an opportunity for learners to confirm their correct understanding, and the repetition further increases the likelihood of retention.
7. Provide feedback
As learners practice new behavior, it's important to provide specific and immediate feedback of their performance. Unlike questions in a posttest, exercises within tutorials should be used for comprehension and encoding purposes, not for formal scoring. Additional guidance and answers provided at this stage are called formative feedback.
8. Assess performance
Upon completing instructional modules, learners should be given the opportunity to take (or be required to take) a posttest or final assessment. They should complete this assessment without receiving additional coaching, feedback, or hints. Mastery of material, or certification, is typically granted after achieving a certain score or percent correct. A commonly accepted level of mastery is an 80- to 90-percent score.
9. Enhance retention and transfer to the job
Determining whether or not the skills learned from a training program are applied back on the job often remains a mystery to training managers--and a source of consternation for senior executives. Effective training programs have a performance focus, incorporating design and media that facilitate retention and transfer to the job. The repetition of learned concepts is a tried-and-true means of aiding retention, although often disliked by learners.

 





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