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Applying Gagné's 9 Events Of Instruction In eLearning

Gagné published The Conditions of Learning back in 1965, which suggested that certain mental
conditions must be present in order for knowledge absorption and retention to occur. He also
introduced the 9 Events of Instruction, based on the internal and external cognitive factors that
contribute to learning. The internal factors are the learner’s prior knowledge, while the external
factors are outside stimuli, such as the form of instruction. eLearning professionals can use these
9 events of instruction to develop eLearning experiences that stick and offer online learners the
opportunity to engage in every step of the instructional process.

1. Create an attention-grabbing introduction.

The first, and most important, event is gaining the attention of every learner in your audience.
One of the most effective ways to do this is to create a compelling introduction that gets them
hooked right from the start. Lead off with a story that pulls at their heart strings, or a question
that surprises or shocks them. Even online learners who are distracted or possibly
unmotivated to participate cannot resist an intro that creates an emotional connection and
gets them thinking about the topic.
2. Inform learner about the objectives of the eLearning course.
This means that you must clearly state the goals of the eLearning course. Your learners must
know WHY they need to actively participate in the eLearning course before they even access
the first online module or activity. Be very clear about the objectives of the eLearning course,
and tie it into real-world applications and benefits. If they know that they are going to take
something valuable away from the eLearning experience, then they are more likely to engage
in the online learning process.
3. Stimulate recall of prior knowledge.
Recalling and applying knowledge they have previously acquired gives online learners the
chance to commit it to long-term memory, rather than forgetting it a second after they’ve
read it. Before you start each eLearning activity, let your audience know what skills or
knowledge they will be applying to the task, as well as how the subject matter is connected to
information they already have in their knowledge base.
4. Create goal-centered eLearning content.
Each and every eLearning activity, online exercise, and piece of eLearning content should tie
in directly to the goals and objectives. In fact, it’s best to group information and concepts
together based on the specific goal. For example, an online lesson or module should focus on
one core objective, which allows the learner to master that topic before moving onto the next.
5. Provide online guidance.
Even the most advanced online learners may need support when it comes to learning new
skill sets and absorbing new knowledge. Otherwise, they may become discouraged or
frustrated and disengage from the eLearning experience altogether. They must have
the coaching they need to develop favorable online learning behaviors, or else they might be
committing incorrect information to their long-term memory.
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6. Practice makes perfect.

Repetition is key to absorbing and retaining new knowledge and skills. Thus, you should
include plenty of opportunities for your learners to apply the knowledge they have acquired
so far and try out behaviors that can help them in the real world. Offer them branching
scenarios and simulations that give them the chance to see where their decisions lead them,
as well as the rewards and risks involved that come of their actions.
7. Offer timely feedback.
By giving your learners timely and constructive feedback they have the power to improve
learning behaviors and identify their weaknesses and strengths. Offer personal feedback,
rather than giving general praise or criticism to your entire audience, so that every learner
knows which steps they must take in order to reach their goals.
8. Assess early and often.
Assessing your learners not only gauges their progress, but also gives you the opportunity to
identify weak spots in your eLearning strategy. For example, if a vast majority of your
learners are struggling with one particular online module, you may want to reevaluate its
online content and activities. eLearning assessments also offer you the ability to identify the
knowledge gap, which is what they already know versus what they still need to acquire in
order to achieve the learning objectives of the eLearning course.
9. Enhance transfer of knowledge by tying it into real world situations and applications.
Your learners must always be aware of how they can apply what they have learned once they
step out of the virtual learning environment. As such, you should include real-world
scenarios, stories, and other interactive eLearning activities that show them the applications
of the information and skills they’ve worked so hard to develop.
No matter what the eLearning goals are or who your target audience is, you can use Gagné’s 9
Events of Instruction to create effective and engaging eLearning courses for your learners. The
primary objective of any eLearning course is to give your learners the information and skills they
need to improve some aspect of their lives, and this strategy can help you to develop a complete
eLearning experience that does just that!

While Gagné’s 9 Events of Instruction are ideal for a comprehensive eLearning course, there are
instances wherein you learners may need immediate knowledge on-the-job. Read the article How
to Use The 5 "Moments of Need" Model In Corporate eLearning to discover 5 tips that can help
you incorporate the “moment of need” model into your online training strategy, so that you can
give your corporate learners the information they need when and where they need it the most.

Applying 9 Events Of Instruction In eLearning: Creating eLearning With Time-Tested

Learning Theories

Over the last decade, eLearning has grown as the preferred means of learning worldwide – both
in education as well as the corporate world. This popularity and success is due to the evident fact
that eLearning is more cost effective and convenient, while increasing opportunities for perineal
learning – a definite need for the modern corporate learner today. eLearning has several
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advantages over traditional learning, especially when coupled with technology-aided delivery
which opens up the opportunity of learning anytime and anywhere. Learners can access online
course material, irrespective of time and place. For adult learners, reflection is a huge part of
learning, which encourages assimilation of information – turning it into knowledge which they
can apply at work. eLearning allows learners to reflect on the learning materials and their
responses, and permits them to work at their own pace, regardless of race, sex, disability, or
appearance. A number of learning theories can be applied in eLearning, and developers have to
choose the one that suits the needs of their learners as well as align well to the strength of a
technology-aided medium. The application of Gagné’s 9 Events of Instruction in eLearning
lists the following events of instruction:

1. Gaining the learner’s attention.

2. Informing the learner of the objectives.
3. Stimulating recall of prior learning.
4. Presenting the learning stimulus.
5. Providing learning guidance.
6. Eliciting appropriate performance.
7. Providing feedback.
8. Assessing learner performance.
9. Enhancing retention and transfer.
While applying these steps it is possible to create eLearning that is cognizant of the latest
technology that is also grounded in sound instructional design which produces desired learning
as well as performance outcomes.

Here are some ways of aligning time tested ways of applying 9 Events of Instruction in
eLearning and create online courses that work!

1. Gain The Learner’s Attention

There are many ways of gaining attention of the learner. The eLearning platform is also ideal for
reflection and speculation. With this in mind, grabbing learner attention will definitely lead to
retaining it – if the impact is sound enough.

 Ask a question.
This is often how an instructor begins his or her lecture. Why not use it for eLearning as
well? A question instantly opens up the mind and the learner gets ready to think and proceed.
 Present a problem.
This too puts the learner in the right frame of mind, where he or she can analyse the problem,
think about a solution and its consequences.
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 Share a new situation.

An emotional connection is always strong and situations or scenarios make sure they obtain
the learners' attention by inviting them to empathize.
2. Inform The Learners Of The Objective

Adult learners are most comfortable when they feel in charge of their own learning. They are
perceptive of their needs and feel more inclined to learn when they know ‘why’ they are going
ahead with it. Sharing the objectives of learning thus allows the learners to organize their
thoughts. eLearning courses thus can define and share objectives at the very beginning to make
sure that the foundation of learning is well laid.

3. Stimulate Recall Of Prior Knowledge

This allows learners build on their previous knowledge or skills. Although we are capable of
acquiring our creative moments, it is much easier to build on what we already know.

 eCourses can include a short capsule of prior knowledge relevant to the current lesson and
provide the learners with a framework that aids learning and remembering.
 This capsule can be a short learning nugget in itself which helps all learners to be at the same
level before the actual learning material is shared.
 Multi-media can be adopted for this – making sure that the recall process is not wholly text-
driven and tedious.
4. Present The Material

This is the most important part of learning delivery – the very crux of any learning course. There
are various ways of going forward with this. However, it’s wise to keep certain tenets in mind.

 It is important to logically compartmentalize the information to avoid memory overload.

 Shorter chunks of information are better consumed as well as retained.
 Blend the information with relief elements like images, audio or even video elements to
provide and retain interest.
5. Provide Guidance For Learning

In addition to the learning content, it is important to provide instruction on how to learn. This is
normally simpler and easier than the subject matter or content.

 A different channel or media can be utilized to create a support for learning to avoid mixing
it with the subject matter. This can be a fact capsule or short summary after each topic which
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allows learners to take a breadth, assimilate and make sure that they’ve understood the
information well
 The rate of learning increases with the addition of such guides because learners are less likely
to waste of time or become frustrated by basing performance on incorrect facts or poorly
understood concepts.
6. Elicit Performance

eCourses should continually allow the learner to practice the newly acquired behavior, skills, or
knowledge.

 Interactivities can be made part of the eCourse to make sure that the learners have the
opportunity to get more involved with the eContent.
 The 2D or 3D diagram can be made interactive through simple animation and text. As the
learner moves the mouse through different parts of the diagram, they pop up and spring to
life.
 Instead of simple text explanations, the different sections can be explained through
animations (like fade-in/fade-out) and audio.
7. Provide Feedback

It is not just enough to ask questions, it is also necessary to share and comment on learner's
response and analyze learner's behavior.

 Feedback needs to be specific, not general, as in "You are doing a good job".
 Tell them ‘why’ they are doing a good job or provide specific guidance.
8. Assess Performance

Tests can be included in the e-course to determine if the lesson has been learned. This can also
provide general progress information.

 Online tests are usually designed through adaptive testing. The adaptive testing requires a
series of tests or a question bank. When a learner wants to take up an assessment, he or she
can register with name, course ID and password. Test items are then displayed on screen and
the learner is required to take up the entire test online by punching in the answers – on a
laptop, desktop computer, tablet, or even a smartphone.
 This is very efficient way of tapping the ability of the learner. Easy test items appear first in
order to check the level of learner’s ability.
 The level is increased as learner goes through each test successfully.
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9. Enhance Retention And Transfer

Enhance retention by making sure that impact of the learning course is not limited to the time
consuming it.

 Mobile platform is especially suitable for creating an avenue for training support as the
learner can access it wherever and whenever he feels the need to learn.
 Learning re-enforcements like checklists, short videos and audio clips can be made available
to sustain training through elements which align very well on the mobile platform and can be
made use of – even when on the move.
The 9 events of instruction can be successfully applied to eLearning – shared above are only
some of the many ways of doing so. Learning theories form the base for creating content which
is effective – this is true for newer platforms of learning delivery as well. Adopting and applying
tried and tested theories can certainly increase the effectiveness of the learning content.

Creating Engaging eLearning Content: Leveraging Gagne’s Nine Events Of Instruction

At their very basic, Gagné’s Nine Events Of Instruction can help eLearning professionals
achieve the following goals:

 Help your audience relate to the content you are delivering by associating it with prior
knowledge or experiences.
 Offer supporting online content (prompts, hints, flash cards, cues) in the form of building
blocks for the new information you are delivering.
 Pose probing questions which make reference to content that has already been learned by the
learner.
 Support learners in relating the new content to situations and examples from the real world.
 Make elaborate use of interactive quizzes, assessments, questions, and online drills at every
stage of the course – before (Pre-test), during (Touch-points) and after (End assessments).
 Help learners internalize the new concepts and knowledge, so they gain expertise of the
content.
Gagné formalized the above thoughts into a set of 9 instructional principles or events, which
revolve around internal and external cognitive dynamics that directly or indirectly impacts a
learner’s ability to learn and retain new information.

Let’s explore those nine events of instruction in further detail, and talk about how eLearning
content creators can leverage them to their advantage.
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1. Gain Learners’ Attention

Distant learners have more opportunities to get easily distracted – more so than classroom
learners. It is, therefore, important to make sure that the eLearner is all “fired up” to start
learning the new activity. To do this, you must stimulate their attention with compelling led-in
introductions. For example, you can:

 Use trending catch-words or attention-grabbing by-lines.

 Create a compelling story to introduce your topic.
 Use thought-provoking phrases or sentences to force learners pay attention.
 Get learners to pose and answer questions about the new content.
2. Communicate Course Objectives To The Learner

Notify learners about the expected outcomes and objectives of the course prior to course
commencement.

 Summarize course goal and content.

 Define minimum standards (grades, marks, timelines).
 Specify evaluation methodology and criteria.
3. Relate New Information To Past Knowledge/Experiences

Link content that will be explored in your course to previously learned or experienced
knowledge/situations:

 Elicit samples of related content learners may already have learned.

 Help learners relate those topics to what’s to come in your (new) course.
4. Offer Goal-Oriented Core Content

Make sure content is meaningfully segmented, with measurable/demonstrable goals following

each section:

 Explore lexicon, vocabulary, and abbreviations before each segment.

 Provide a summary of each segment.
 Follow demonstrations/simulations with explanations.
 Mix/match multiple online content (videos, slides, podcasts) for each topic.
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5. Offer Learning Guidance To Students

Support learners with online learning aids to help them understand, reinforce, and master the
content presented in the course:

 Develop online repositories of case studies.

 Provide learning aids such as cheat sheets, flash cards, check-lists, mnemonics.
 Integrate online collaboration aids, such as chat groups, gaming platforms, and role playing
sessions into the course.
6. Provide Revision And Reinforcement Through Practice

Use various strategies to help learners recall, remember, and reinforce what they’ve already
learned:

 Pop-up boxes could help students retain past knowledge.

 “Quick Review” tabs or access to online repositories can help with recap and recall.
 Offer conveniently located options for lessons to be repeated/reviewed.
 Flash quizzes could force learners to recall prior knowledge.
 Integrate real-world examples as part of the content.
7. Give Timely And Meaningful Feedback

Include automated means for learners to assess where they stand by providing:

 Confirmative feedback: Acknowledging that the learner has completed required tasks
(quizzes, assessments, assignments).
 Corrective feedback: Notifying students where they went wrong, and why.
 Remedial feedback: Offering advice/encouragement on how to remediate deficiencies.
 Informative feedback: Sharing useful information about performance improvement.
 Analytical feedback: Delivering rule-based/fact-figures based feedback on individual
performance.
8. Include Early And Frequent Assessments

Add milestone tests and assessments at every level:

 Pretesting could help learners find out how much they already know and whether or not they
can/should skip certain sections of the course or focus on specific topics.
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 Post-testing should confirm whether learners have mastered a specific content set.
 Use online quizzes, word games, and multiple choice questions as well as text-based answers
to assess learner understanding of topics versus predetermined criterion (criterion-referenced
performance).
 Use normative-referenced performance to evaluate how learners perform.
9. Facilitate Internalization Through Real-World Applications

Help learners translate the knowledge provided by the course into real-world situations:

 Get learners to map content learned to their everyday life activities.

 Make learners think of specific work-related situations where the new knowledge can be
applied.
 Provide simulated examples, “what-if scenarios” and “gaming situations” that require
learners to respond with new skills/knowledge learned in the course.
Although these nine events of instruction have been presented as a sequential list, in reality, the
events will likely overlap, or even inter-mingle. Rather than trying to implement each event
independently, in linear form, online content creators should look at weaving various events
throughout the course – more in iterative or circular fashion.

For instance, depending on how your course is structured, you may want to invoke the principles
behind event #1: Gain Learners Attention, at several points throughout the course rather than just
at the beginning of the course.

Conclusion

Your primary objective, as eLearning content designers and developers, is to produce courses
that online learners can relate to, and which they will be able to engage with. Gagné’s Nine
Events Of Instruction will help you craft carefully designed online content and truly motivate
your audience.

By using various strategies proposed in this article, you’ll ensure that your students not only
understand what you are teaching them; but that they actually take that knowledge back into their
real world and apply the new concepts to improve their overall performance and achieve
organizational goals and objectives.

The Instructional Design for eLearning: Essential Guide to Creating Successful eLearning
Courses book provides additional examples and best practices for designing instructionally
sound eLearning courses using Gagne’s Nine Events Of Instruction. This book is also available
in Spanish. In addition, you may be interested in the Instructional Design for eLearning course,
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which also includes a lesson on Gagne’s Nine Events as well as other lessons on creating
effective eLearning materials.