Utilizing Gagne Nine Events of Instruction in the

Online Learning Environment

Gagne Nine Events of Instruction was proposed by Robert Gagne. The events can be
used as a guide to design instruction for face-to-face, hybrid and online environments.

Instructional Event
Gain the learners
attention

Methods
o Allow the students to interact with each other. For
example, students could pose questions to be
answered by their peers
o Show a short video (preferably a video related to the
course content)
o Use analogies
o Use an icebreaker ( For example, ask students to
introduce themselves)

Inform the learners of the

learning objectives

o Post the measurable learning objectives at the

beginning of each module.

Stimulate Recall of Prior

Knowledge

o Post rubrics and checklists

o Ask students questions that may help them recall prior
knowledge
o Use a short quiz or a discussion forum to ask
recognition or recall questions

Present the Content to be

Learned

o Use an electronic communication tool (e.g. Blackboard

Collaborate or Adobe Connect) to present the lecture
o Use a demonstration
o Use videos

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Provide Guidance for

Learning

o
o
o
o

Post articles
Use peer evaluations
Provide feedback on students posts
Meet with students via an electronic communication
tool to address any questions or concerns they may
have
Direct students to resources that can help them to
achieve their learning objectives (this could be content
developed by the instructor or external sources such
as the internet.
Use collaborative projects such as Wikis
Use practice quizzes
Use games
Use discussions
Use case studies
Encourage students to meet in study groups via Skype
or Fuze meeting (free electronic communication tools)

Elicit Performance
(Practice)

o
o
o
o
o
o

Provide Feedback

o Post your response to students posts in the discussion

forums
o Design quizzes with automatic feedback
o Provide video feedback (use Screenomatic or Jing)
o Provide group feedback via communication tools (For
example, Adobe Connect Pro or Blackboard
Collaborate)

Assess Performance

o Use rubrics and checklist to assess performance for

essays, forum posts etc.

Enhance Retention and

Transfer

o Assess students by administering a quiz at the end of

each module
o Ask students to paraphrase what they have learned in
the discussion forum or a blog.
o Ask students to demonstrate in the forum how they
would use the knowledge and skills learned in an
authentic situation.

Reference
Gagn, R. M., Briggs, L. J., & Wager, W. W. (1992). Principles of instructional design
(4th ed.). Forth Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.
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