Gagne`'s types of learning, Moharamkhani

Abstract

Robert Mills Gagné (August 21, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American educational psychologist best known for his "Conditions of Learning". Gagné pioneered the science of instruction during World War II when he worked with the Army Air Corps training pilots. He went on to develop a series of studies and works that simplified and explained what he and others believed to be 'good instruction.' Gagné was also involved in applying concepts of instructional theory to the design of computer-based training and multimedia-based learning.

Body Robert Gagne` is concerned with the translation of psychological into the effective design of instruction. He believes that the understanding of how learning occurs will help better planning for learning and teaching. He analyses learning in terms of the conditions of learning and learning outcomes. Gagne` believes that the factors that influence learning are in the environment and many external conditions can be changed and controlled. He subscribes to an information processing model of learning emphasizing the mastery that can be achieved through learning and applying rules. For example when analyzing a learning task, it should be broken down to steps and a line drawn to indicate what the learner can already do (what is below the line), and what will be learned through the task (above the line). Gagne` subscribes to an information processing model of learning, emphasizing the mastery that can be achieved through learning and applying rules. His works has its roots in a behaviorist model. In 1962 Robert Gagnè published Military Training and Principles of Learning and he demonstrated a concern for the different levels of learning. His differentiation of psychomotor skills, verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, and attitudes provides a companion to Bloom's Taxonomy.

In 1965, his book, The Conditions of Learning and the Theory of Instruction, extended his thinking to include nine instructional events that detail the conditions necessary for learning to happen. These events are still important for the basis for the design of instruction and the selection of appropriate media: 1.	Gain attention 2.	Tell learners the learning objective 3.	Stimulate recall 4.	Present the stimulus, content 5.	Provide guidance, relevance, and organization 6.	Elicit the learning by demonstrating it 7.	Provide feedback on performance 8.	Assess performance, give feedback and reinforcement 9.	Enhance retention and transfer to other contexts Examples of learning conditions The following example illustrates a teaching sequence corresponding to the nine instructional events for the objective, recognize an equilateral triangle: 1. Gain attention - show variety of computer generated triangles 2. Identify objective - pose question: "What is an equilateral triangle?" 3. Recall prior learning - review definitions of triangles 4. Present stimulus - give definition of equilateral triangle 5. Guide learning- show example of how to create equilateral 6. Elicit performance - ask students to create 5 different examples 7. Provide feedback - check all examples as correct/incorrect 8. Assess performance- provide scores and remediation 9. Enhance retention/transfer - show pictures of objects and ask students to identify equilaterals

Gagnè also distinguished eight types of learning: 1.	Signal Learning - The individual learns to make a general, diffuse response to a signal. Such was the classical conditioned response of Pavlov. 2.	Stimulus-Response Learning - The learner acquires a precise response to a discriminated stimulus. 3.	Chaining - A chain of two or more stimulus-response connections is acquired. 4.	Verbal Association - The learning of chains that are verbal. 5.	Discrimination Learning - The individual learns to make different identifying responses to different stimuli which may resemble each other in physical appearance. 6.	Concept Learning - The learner acquires a capability of making a common response to a class of stimuli. 7.	Rule Learning - A rule is a chain of two or more concepts. 8.	Problem Solving - A kind of learning that requires the internal events usually called thinking.

Five Categories of Learning 1.	Intellectual skills: Create individual competence and ability to respond to stimuli. 2.	Cognitive strategies: Capability to learn, think, and remember 3.	Verbal information: Rote memorization of names, faces, dates, phone numbers, etc. 4.	Motor skills: Capability to learn to drive, ride a bike, draw a straight line, etc. 5.	Attitudes: Ingrained bias towards different ideas, people, situation, and may affect how one acts towards these things. Each category requires different methods in order for the particular skill set to be learned. Skills are to be learned at the lowest level and mastered before proceeding. An instructor should use positive reinforcement and repetition, with each new skill building upon previously acquired skills.

Steps of Planning Instruction 1.	Identify the types of learning outcomes: Each outcome may have prerequisite knowledge or skills that must be identified. 2.	Identify the internal conditions or processes the learner must have to achieve the outcomes. 3.	Identify the external conditions or instruction needed to achieve the outcomes. 4.	Specify the learning context. 5.	Record the characteristics of the learners. 6.	Select the media for instruction. 7.	Plan to motivate the learners. 8.	Test the instruction with learners in the form of formative evaluation. 9.	After the instruction has been used, summative evaluation is used the judge the effectiveness of the instruction. Problem solving.

Evaluation of Instruction 1.	Have the objectives been met? 2.	Is the new program better than the previous one? 3.	What additional effects does the new program include?

The purpose is to supply data on feasibility and efficiency to develop and improve the course.

Evaluation is concerned with the effectiveness of the course or program regarding the student’s performance. Based on the student's performance, measures are taken of the kind of student capabilities the program is intended to establish.

When objectively analyzing the condition for learning Gagné says: “Since the purpose of instruction is learning, the central focus for rational derivation of instructional techniques is the human learner. Development of rationally sound instructional procedures must take into account learner characteristics such as initiate capacities, experimental maturity, and current knowledge states. Such factors become parameters of the design of any particular program of instruction.

References Mosley, D. & Baumfield, V. (2005). Frameworks dealing with instructional design. Frameworks for thinking, (pp.62-67). UK: Cambridge university press. Retrieved 20 February, 2013 from the World Wide Web: "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_M._Gagné&oldid=540709218"

Retrieved 22 February, 2013 from the World Wide Web: http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/conditions-learning.html

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Retrieved 23 February, 2013 from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_M._Gagn%C3%A9