Instruction is like Fine Dining: we don’t want the check before we see the menu!

Questions . . . questions, anyone?” Professor Brown asks while busily placing notes on the chalkboard. Silence. He turns to look at the class and discovers a sea of glassy-eyed faces. An occasional yawn breaks the silence. A few students bolt upright at their desks when Professor Brown announces, “Class, there will be a TEST on this information tomorrow.” Professor Brown returns to the chalkboard, disappointed that his students do not share his enthusiasm for the day’s lesson.

All of us, at some time, have felt like Professor Brown. Despite our meticulous planning, our students do not seem engaged. The students, meanwhile, are wondering what will be on the test and what they should study. They are frustrated by a wealth of information and a lack of direction. They may feel as though they have been handed the check before seeing the menu in a restaurant.

One way to effectively manage our classroom presentations is to borrow from the principles of instructional design theory.  Perhaps Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction will help us to create dynamic, well organized, and student-centered experiences in class.  Dr. Robert Gagne, who is currently a professor at Florida State University, is one of the leaders in the field of Instructional Design, and his 9 Events of Instruction is a highly cited instructional model. Although Gagne first presented the 9 Events of Instruction in the 1965 publication The Conditions of Learning, the model is just as  helpful to instructors today as it was over thirty years ago.  Gagne’s 9  Events of Instruction can be broken into three phases: the pre-instructional phase (which we will call the appetizers), the instructional phase (which we will call the meat and potatoes), and the post-instructional phase (which we will call dessert).

The pre-instructional phase is all about preparing the student for new learning. We are whetting the appetite, so to speak. We want to gain attention, motivate, and stimulate recall of prior relevant knowledge and skills.We can think of this phase as emphasizing “what we know, what we want or need to know, and why we need to know this information anyway.” In the instructional phase, we introduce new information, concepts, or skills to be mastered—the “meat and potatoes” of the lesson. The goal here is to present information in clear, concise chunks; to highlight key information, relationships, and study aids; and to provide sufficient practice and feedback opportunities for students. The post-instructional phase can be thought of as the “dessert.” It is a debriefing that provides closure to the lesson. In this phase, we summarize the learning that has occurred and provide connections to other subject areas or events in order to promote retention and transfer of new knowledge or skills.

By keeping Gagne’s 9 Events in mind as we plan our classroom activities, we purposefully create an effective beginning, middle, and end to each instructional module. We whet student appetites for learning in the beginning by gaining attention and boosting motivation while stimulating recall of prior knowledge. In the middle, we provide the “meat and potatoes” of instruction. Learner anxiety is lessened as expectations are made clear and feedback on performance is provided. And in the end, students are treated to “dessert.” They can verbalize or demonstrate what they have learned and they feel the satisfaction of accomplishment and closure. Now that makes for a NICE tip!

  








       


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