THOUGHTS ON ROBERT GAGNE'S NINE EVENTS OF INSTRUCTION

This is a write-up on my thoughts on Robert Gagne's nine events of instruction.  The nine events of instruction serve as guideline to how to structure class lesson.  A cognitivist approach can be taken from using the nine events of instruction.  I find that Gagne's method a strong foundation to delivering instruction, especially when integrating technology in the classroom. 

The activity at the beginning of class was a great way to get us energized and to what was discussed in Chapter 9.  The animal acting activity was a great example of Robert Gagne’s 1^st event of instruction, which is to gain the attention of the learners.  Gaining attention humanizes the classroom experience.  Lectures on a daily basis can cause learners to be disengaged with instruction.  Gagne’s 1^st event of instruction gets learners to be motivated in their learning. 

            Robert Gagne’s nine events of instruction set a solid foundation to how instruction should flow.  Each event transitions into the next event smoothly.  Actual instruction should not be so structured.  The events should not dictate the actual instruction because the needs of the learners have to be taken into consideration.  Dick, Carey, and Carey state, “it is better to sacrifice some of the efficiency of the ideal sequence and break it up to sustain interest and motivation” (Dick, Carey, Carey, pg. 223, 2009).  Instructors should learn to apply Robert Gagne’s nine events of instruction in lesson plans but adapt to the needs of the learners in actual instruction.

Learning about Robert Gagne’s nine events of instruction, Keller’s ARCS model, and delivery systems in this week’s class discussion made me think deeply about how I structure my instruction going forward.  An interactive delivery system and a well-structured lesson plan using Gagne’s nine events of instruction maintains organization in instruction but nothing replaces the skill to deliver content genuinely to students.  The ability to engage students and deliver content effectively comes with experience with students and knowing the culture of the students.  Matching instruction and content with the students’ culture is more effective than the most organized lesson plans or “jazzy” delivery systems.