What are these educational theories and why do we need them?There are many educational theories we can follow in this instructional design field today. However, there are a couple of them that I would like to discuss with you in the coming posts. I find them relevant to my thinking. I would suggest that you read up on the ones that I do not discuss here, as each one of us should build their own reality. To begin with, these theories are the basis on which any instructional design model is constructed. The foundations of these designs lie in the concepts that are part of these theories. Therefore, a better understanding of these concepts will enable you to construct useful and efficient models. Then, as a designer there are times when you will need to justify why you have chosen a particular design. If you have a basic understanding of how these theories apply to your practical design choice, you will have a better chance of making your point and then, logically defending your design. Finally, in the entire gamut of educational educational theories, certain areas are more stressed upon than others. If you have an understanding of these theories, you will know why these areas have been highlighted and are more important than the others.The following is a roadmap of the theories that I will cover in the coming posts. There is a very good reading that will be my reference point, it’s a book called "Instructional Design" by Patricia L Smith and Tillman J Ragan. Do try reading it. Constructivism or Rationalism: Individual, Social, and ContextualismEmpiricism or ObjectivismPragmatismBehaviorismCognitive LearningInformation Processing TheoryCognitive Load TheoryInstructional Design TheoryMultiple Intelligences Theory ConstructivismConstructivism is part of another philosophy called rationalism. A rationalist philosophy believes that the primary source of knowledge is reason. Reason is the source from where knowledge arises. This knowledge is not transmitted but rather it is constructed. Knowledge helps build a reality for any situation therefore even reality is not discovered but is constructed. Now, where can such an approach be useful - where a learner has to "construct" his or her own reality and build knowledge from reason? To bring terms such as reality and reason into perspective, let’s consider a scenario where mechanics with an experience of N number of years on a particular car have to learn the latest software for repairing the car’s fuel-injecting system. The reality in this case is the new fuel-injection system and the reason (from where knowledge will arise) is the new training software. The question you need to ask is "do these experienced mechanics need an instructor to train them on using this software or are they capable of doing this on their own?" In other words, do the learners (mechanics) need an instructor to build their reality or not? The answer depends on which philosophy you follow - the radical or the moderate constructivist philosophy.The more radical constructivists would rather have the mechanics learn the software on their own - no help required in defining objectives or quantifying any learning outcomes. The mechanics or the learners are free to pursue this software training on their own accord.  Moderate constructivists would argue that a skeletal structure of objectives these learners need to cover and learning outcomes required should be defined. Some level of instructional design should help these experienced learners identify when and how knowledge blocks need to be built from reason and then use these blocks as per their own accord to construct their own reality. Constructivism, however, does not describe the cognitive processes that occur that facilitate learning.There are three types of constructivism:IndividualSocialContextualismI will begin with individual constructivism, then move onto social constructivism, and finally contextualism.Individual ConstructivismThis philosophy believes that experiences are the building blocks of knowledge that leads to learning.The premise of individual constructivism is:Knowledge is constructed from experience.In the realm of learning, meaning is developed on the basis of individual experiences.Learning is an active process.Interpretation of knowledge leads to learning.For a radical constructivist, every learner’s experience is individualized. Therefore, it is meaningless to create a specificset of instructions for a group of learners wherein each is building and learning basis his or her own experience. The best way would be to let them interpret the existing knowledge and construct their own knowledge that will lead to learning. Moderate constructivists would have a more liberal approach - they believe that not all responsibility of what all learning needs to happen should be on the learner. Rather a blended approach would be batter based on factor pertaining to the learner, tasks to be performed, and the context in which learning takes place. Now would be a good time to go back to the mechanics example I had given earlier and see it in the light of individual constructivism!

This was a concept that was expounded by post-revolutionary Soviet psychologist, Lev Vygotsky. As with individual constructivism, social constructivism also believes that a learner constructs his or her own reality, but now it’s a group of individuals who are working in collaboration to construct multiple realities. This is because learning is now a collaborative process and every learner is bringing his or her own perspective to this learning. Therefore, learning will have multiple perspectives. From a radical social constructivist point of view, all these multiple perspectives brought forward by the multiple learners in all subjects and in all social settings are equally viable and carry equal weight. Let us give this an instructional point of view. Consider a toddler classroom. There are blocks of the same color and size. Toddlers build or play with these blocks as per their fancy. Now, the blocks can be considered learning and what a toddler (learner) does with the blocks (learning) is based on the toddler’s perspective. The teacher cannot pick any single toddler’s work of art and hold it supreme. Every perspective for learning is correct and the truth however abstract (toddler's art of work!) carries equal weight. However, it is my belief that the radical point of view cannot be applied to all subjects. Moderate constructivists believe that in certain situations, some perspectives are more viable than the others. Multiple perspectives of multiple learners condense into a single perspective for "facts". One cannot dispute a fact, such as frogs breathe using their skin. The truth about facts is usually non-negotiable. In an instructional setting, it is very much possible and even encouraged to divide learners into groups to facilitate learning. Group learning is very effective in situations where multiple perspectives are required. Consider a group of instructional designer trainees evaluating the design of an e-learning website. Multiple perspectives of these IDs can be very helpful in identifying various areas where the website can be improved and where enhancements can be made. Such an exercise works upon the premise of social constructivism that individual learning occurs when learners are in a group. There is collaboration between learners and learning at all times with the learners negotiating their perspective of learning with other learners who are part of the same group. This concept of multiple perspectives for a particular learning can also be applied to individual constructivism where a single learner is negotiating her learning or understanding of knowledge to build her own reality. For example, consider a student taking an online course. There is no instructor present but knowledge is being assimilated by the student and is being negotiated at every step to build a reality or a perspective. By negotiation I do not imply alteration of the meaning of knowledge. I merely imply the method used to construct knowledge from the text/graphics on a page to allow learning to take place. Now, individual constructivism becomes part of or rather a subset of social constructivism.  To summarize this, collaborative learning in a given social setting can be very effective and efficient as an instructional design strategy.  I will come back to the works of Vgostsky later in the blog.

For any learning to take place, the learner should be able to connect to the setting in which learning is expected to happen. For example, if you want to teach a child how to ride a bicycle, you cannot show a simulation or a video tutorial. Instead, take her to an open ground and give a real tutorial-- give her a bike, teach her to sit on the seat, then tell her to hold the handles, place her feet on the pedals, and finally start peddling. You can provide assistance by allowing the bike to have training wheels or holding her so she does not fall off the bike. Now, let her pedal away to glory…(figuratively speaking of course!). In other words, the first precept that contextualists believe in is that learning and assessment should be part of a realistic setting. The second precept is that assessment should be integrated into the learning process and should not be an isolated activity. Learners can relate to tasks that need to be accomplished and then get a fair assessment of how well he or she did if the learning context is close to their real life environment. This type of learning that happens in realistic situations is called ‘authentic learning’ and the instructions associated to facilitate learning are called ‘anchored instructions’ (Cognition and Technology Group, 1990; Streibel 1995) as the instructions are anchored to the realistic situation. Another belief of the contextualists is regarding assessment or testing. Testing should not be oversimplified, even for novice learners. Else they will believe that the concept can only be applied to simplistic situations. Continuing with our bike example, if the child rides only on a leveled ground, she will believe that cycling can only be done if the ground is leveled and without any obstacles, such as stones. So, to test whether she has learnt how to ride, take her to an uphill trail. The uphill ride on a road full of little pebbles and stones will surly test her riding skills in addition to breaking the assumption that only leveled grounds are needed for riding the bike.However, as an instructor, you also need to be careful not to put the learners in difficult situations for assessment purposes before they have mastered the basic skills. By doing so, you risk them losing interest in the learning process entirely. For example, if you let the child start with riding in a difficult terrain, she might not want to ride at all…! Let the learners master some basic skills, test them on those skills, and then move towards more difficult and complex testing scenarios. This type of strategy ensures that learners retain interest in the learning process and construct their own reality from the little knowledge blocks that they are assimilating along the way.

Often termed as objectivism, reductionism, or associationism, the basic precept of empiricism is that knowledge is attained through experience. The reality constructed basis this knowledge is singular and objective, hence empiricism is also called objectivism. When termed as reductionism, empiricists are referring to the efforts required to reduce complex objects to their more simplified components. In this case, to gain any knowledge and to construct a reality about an object that is complex in nature, the object will have to be logically broken down into simpler components.  For example, to create a software program that tells you whether a number is odd, even, or prime, you will have to break this complex object (software program) into logically three components; input component (the number entered  by the user), the processing component (the logic that decides whether number is odd, even, or prime), and output component (the result). This results in knowledge being gained about this software program. When termed associationism, it refers to the predisposition to relate ideas if they are experienced alongside in either space or time continuum. The works of John Locke are important in the field of empiricism. His works on determining the limits of the human understanding has been well documented in his famous books, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In the four books comprising the Essay, he attempts to comprehend the source and understanding of human nature. In his first book, he suggests that the human mind is a tabula rasa, or blank slate. We do not possess any type of knowledge as we do not have any experience. It is as we grow older that experience "writes" on this "blank slate" and we gain some kind of knowledge. He writes that the inherent plans or schemes can be perceived under certain circumstances and till these arise, these plans are not perceived by the human mind. In his second book, he suggests that ideas are the building blocks of knowledge and all ideas arise from experience, therefore subtly implying that experience is from where knowledge arises. There are two kinds of experiences, sensation and reflection. Sensation perceives the objects and processes in our surroundings - the external environment. Reflection perceives the processes inside our creative faculties - the human mind. The human mind is a tabula rasa until experience (sensation or reflection) creates a simple idea that will construct complex knowledge. The mind can perform three types of actions on this simple idea. First, it can combine these simple ideas to form complex ideas (substances that have an independent existence, such as humans, birds, plants and modes that have a dependent existence, such as language of politics and culture).  Second, the mind can allow viewing of two ideas (simple or complex) simultaneously and without uniting them, giving rise to the concept of relations. Third, the mind can provide abstraction of ideas and thoughts by leaving out particulars leading to the concept of generalization.  Further, the mind has an area called memory that allows storing of these ideas. Therefore, the mind can be passive where it can only receive simple ideas from experience, or it can be active where it can combine simple ideas to form complex ones.These ideas be it simple or complex are the basis from where knowledge is constructed. The third book he links the abstract ideas and classification with language and its role in the construction of knowledge. Finally, his fourth book is a conclusion that describes the nature of knowledge, its limits, probability, and the relationship between faith and reason.

Pragmatism is a philosophical perspective that takes into account a practical consequence and then traces back the underlying theory that caused this consequence. This underlying theory is then modified or reinterpreted and applied back to the practical application. Therefore, a pragmatist will evaluate the theories or beliefs by taking into account the success of their practical application.In the work of two very influential pragmatists, Charles Sanders Peirce(1839-1914) and William James(1842-1910), the most famous application of the pragmatist’s belief was to the concept of truth. Pragmatists measure knowledge in a "truth for now" frame. The truth is valid only for a certain period of time till the underlying theory for this truth is modified and the new truth becomes the "truth for now". Now, pragmatism can be considered a form of radical empiricism because it rests on the tenet that knowledge is gained from experience. Let me explain this further. Every situation that we face helps us gain experience. On the basis of this experience, which is the practical application, we gain knowledge, which is the theory. When we are faced with the same situation again, we apply this knowledge or in other words, modify the theory and act accordingly. This way, we have applied the theory (knowledge) to create new practical consequences (experiences). Therefore, knowledge is being constructed using experience and is being applied back in the same situation to gain more experience. So, again the crux of this leads to the fact that knowledge and experience are the two important facets of learning.

I was reading up on some instructional theories and it was very interesting to see how these theories have influenced and shaped up the way we design and create instructional materials today. In this post, I will share with you my understanding of some of these theories. Just to lay out a road map for you, I will be discussing the following theories:The Information Processing Theory (G. Miller)The Cognitive Load Theory ( J. Sweller)Instructional Design Theory - Nine Events of Instruction (R. Gagné)Multiple Intelligence Theory (H. Gardner)The Information Processing TheoryAccording to this theory, learning is a series of transformations of information/knowledge as it moves through various structures/containers within the brain. As information passes through each individual container, it is transformed as per the container's specifications, and then passed on to the next container for further action.However, in reality, our brain does not have any physical containers of different shapes and sizes to transform information in a unique way. The Information Processing theory tries to understand how the brain interprets and makes sense of the information being sent to it. The Information Processing theory divides the section of the brain responsible for learning into six different containers.The seventh container is the environment, which is not part of the brain.The environment triggers the input-process-output cycle. Within the brain, each container receives information or input from the previous container. It transforms or processes this information as required and then sends this transformed information or output  to the next container. The final destination of this transformed information is the environment. These seven containers are:1. External Environment2. Sensory Receptors3. Sensory Registers4. Working Memory (STM)5. Long Term Memory (LTM)6. Response Generator7. EffectorsThe external environment (1) sends information in the form of small electrochemical packets to the sensory receptors (2), also called the senses. These packets are stored for a very short span in the sensory registers (3) (one-fourth of a second for visual images [Sperling, 1960], and a bit longer for auditory messages), then are sent to the STM (4).STM and LTM are used by the brain to store information for short-term and long-term respectively. You can think of the STM as the RAM of the brain. It stores information packets temporarily and then after a particular period of time, forgets them. Now, we wouldn't want that to happen, would we? To solve this dilemma of forgetfulness, the brain takes these information packets from the STM container (4) and puts them in the LTM container (5) where they are stored for a much longer duration of time. Further, only meaningful information will reach the LTM for storage. Once these packets have been stored in the LTM, they can be retrieved anytime and put back into the STM as per demand.This poses another question - which information packets should the brain accept and which ones should it discard as it is constantly being fed with so much information all the time? Our brain is equipped to handle this information overload using a process called selective perception. Selective perception is the process of filtering selective information packets from the barrage of continuous packets being received from the external environment. Selective perception ensures the information packets being received by the brain are desired and relevant.The response generator (6) retrieves the appropriate information packets (as per requirement) from the LTM (5) and sends them to the effectors(7), such as muscles, glands, or nerves to create the desired response. This response is finally sent back to the environment (1).The key point in the Information Processing theory is "only meaningful information is stored in the long-term memory". To store this information, the learner first should be able to make sense of this information. As an instructional designer, you have to ask yourself these questions:How much information can I provide the learner at any given time, that he/she understands and retains all of it?How does a learner store all the information that I provide in his/her brain? How can I design a course that will help learners achieve their desired outcome - total learning?How can I utilize the learner's individual learning style or intelligence to help him/her achieve the desired learning outcome?Answers to these questions will come in the form of more learning theories - in my next post: The power of four- Four Time-tested Theories. In this post, I will be covering the answers to these four questions:How much information can I provide the learner at any given time, that he/she understands and retains all of it? - Cognitive Load TheoryHow does a learner store all the information that I provide in his/her brain?  - Assimilation and Accommodation in Information Processing TheoryHow can I design a course that will help learners achieve their desired outcome - total learning? - Robert Gagné's Nine Events of InstructionHow can I utilize the learner's individual learning style or intelligence to help him/her achieve the desired learning outcome? - Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory

IntroductionThis theory was proposed by John Sweller. Lets begin with a small exercise, (similar to the one illustrated by Mr Howard Soloman at http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/cognitive-load.html).Take a look at the following for only three seconds and try to memorize them and then, write them down in the same sequence (now only 3s, nothing more.. ready..go!)UC L AF I UM B AP H DHow many of you were able to write it down - all of it? Now, let's try doing this exercise again, you will again have only three seconds to memorize and write them down:UCLA FIU MBA PHDYes, this time it was so easy, wasn't it.. or so it seemed. But look carefully at both strings of text, you see it? Yes, they are made up of the same alphabets. Only, the arrangement was different. Let's dig a bit deeper. In the first string, there are ten chunks of information while the second one only has four.This leads us to the first question that I discussed in my previous post: How much information can I provide the learner at any given time, that he/she understands and retains all of it? What is the Cognitive Load Theory?To answer this question, we have to understand the Cognitive Load theory. The Cognitive Load theory is based on the premise that the most efficient way for learning to happen is under conditions that are aligned with the human cognitive architecture. As per this theory, there are two important terms associated with learning - the cognitive load and the cognitive limit. The cognitive load is the amount of information a person is trying to process in the working memory at one time. The cognitive limit is the maximum number of chunks of information a person can process in the working memory at one time, which is 7 plus/minus 2 (maximum of nine and minimum of five). That's why you were able to remember the second string much more easily than the first one.Lets try to apply this in real-life ID. I was told that while creating a powerpoint presentation, "No more than eight words per sentence and no more than five bullet points per slide." Suddenly, this makes much more sense - we have to take into consideration the cognitive load and the cognitive limit of learners before dumping a truck load of information on them. We have to provide this information in smaller chunks (cognitive limit) for easier memorization and recall.But should this be the only criteria for us to use - breakdown larger chunks of information into smaller chunks of information, or is there something else?If we were to just follow this, our learners would have silos of information, which would be meaningless. Its like having a multi-storeyed building but no staircases or elevators connecting them. Each storey is the individual chunk of information but cannot communicate with the rest of the building. Now, lets go back to the exercise that we tried doing. Remember how those four chunks were easier to remember? Can you correlate the four chunks? If yes, then congrats! You have reached the next level of understanding how the brain works.The first two chunks are acronyms of universities, and the next two the programs they might provide. See how you were able to make sense of unrelated pieces of information. How did you do that? Well, this leads us to the second question that I discussed in my previous post: How does a learner store all the information that I provide in his/her brain?I will discuss this in my next post!

IntroductionTaking off from where I left in the previous post, we were asking ourselves, "how does a learner store all the information that I provide in his/her brain?"  Before we begin, here is a question for you - what is a Komondor? Hmm, before googling it, some of you might think it’s a bird or an airplane (pun intended) or something like that, right? Well, a Komondor is an exotic dog breed. Suddenly, now you know everything there is to know about a Komondor - it has four legs, has two ears, has a tail, is loyal, is playful, and is a dog. A second ago, you were thinking this is a fruit and now you know so much about this new entity. How did your brain manipulate this incoming new information? This process of acquiring knowledge (such as what is a Komondor?) through thought, experience, and senses (touching, seeing (reading text in our case), hearing, smelling, tasting) is called cognition.  What is a Schema?The Cognitive Load theory is based on the premise that the most efficient way for learning to happen is under conditions that are aligned with the human cognitive architecture. This architecture comprises the brain’s storage structures, also called a schema. A schema, by definition is a representation of a plan or design in the form of an outline or model. For the human cognitive architecture (STM and LTM), the schema will be a series of structures that are intricately interrelated, like a big supermarket with aisles and its various shelves. You can also think of the schema as the supermarket, with each information chunk with its own aisle, and various facets of that information given its own shelf space. And, your brain is the manager of this supermarket and knows exactly what goes where.Schemas are the cognitive structures that make up the knowledge base (Sweller, 1988). This knowledge base comprises the entire learning of a person. Schemas are the main reason why we learn. They are the information storage units of the brain. These storage units are the cognitive structures that comprise the knowledge base of a learner, which is ever changing. The knowledge base is the entire supermarket of your brain, which is accessed by you all the time, either to add information, to update information, or to delete information. Since these processes are continuous, therefore learning is continuous and the knowledge base is ever changing. Ever heard the old adage, ‘only change is constant’, - think about it. But how do schemas do that? They do this through assimilation and accommodation.What is Accommodation?When any new learning (knowledge/information/concept) is introduced to the learner, the cognitive processes of the brain modify the existing schema structure to "fit" this new learning. This process of modifying existing schema structures so that new learning can fit in them is called accommodation. Revisiting the supermarket again, if you were to introduce tinned produce, such as beans for the first time what would you do? You would build a new aisle to house this new line of products by shifting the existing aisles to make more room. Here, the brand new line of products (new information) will be accommodated by adding a new aisle to the existing aisles in the supermarket (modification of schema).What is Assimilation?However, if the learning introduced is reasonably familiar to the learner, these cognitive processes will simply "fit" this learning into the existing schema structures without any modification. This process of fitting new learning into existing structures is called assimilation. Continuing with the supermarket example, if you were to add a new product -sugar free chocolate cookies to the Cookies aisle, you will only have to create space for it on the existing shelves where the other types of cookies are placed. The sugar free cookies (new information) will be assimilated in the Cookies aisle (existing schema) simply by making space for it (no modification of schema). The concepts of assimilation and accommodation introduced by Miller in his Information Processing theory, and later on used by Sweller in his Cognitive Load theory.To assimilate or to accommodate?Now, a new question arises - how does the brain make a decision - accommodation or assimilation? Well, this is based on the precept that when new information is encountered, the brain takes a quick look at its schema structures to see if this new information has any links to the already existing knowledge base stored there. If the brain finds even a remote link to this new information, it will use the process of assimilation (add information as in into the structures), else it will use the process of accommodation (modify existing structures to fit in this new information). Did you know that a Komondor is a large Hungarian dog with a long, corded coat? Ah yes! But you already know that Komondor was a dog, right? So what did your brain do with this new information that I gave you? Your brain used the process of assimilation and fit this new information as is into your existing schema structure, hypothetically labeled ‘Dogs’. No modifications required here!But when you saw this for the first time, your brain could not link this new information "Komondor" to anything it already knew, as it was new. And when you were told that it was a dog, your brain used the process of accommodation and modified the hypothetical ‘Dogs’ schema structure to add this somewhat familiar entry into the a subset of the ‘Dog’ structure, labeled ‘Dog Breeds’. What is Disequilibrium and Equilibration?What happened to your brain the first time around was disequilibrium, which is a state of confusion encountered when the brain is unable to integrate new information into any existing schema structures. However, when you were given additional information about Komondor, your brain used the process of equilibration, which is the cognitive process within your brain that causes restructuring of information for assimilation or accommodation (in our case accommodation) caused disequilibrium.We cannot assimilate or accommodate all the time, otherwise we would never be able to retain any information as our brain structures would be in a constant state of flux - and nothing would be stable anymore. Therefore, the process of equilibration is used by the brain to restructure and control the processes of accommodation or assimilation. In my next post, I will continue with our next theory, Instructional Design Theory - Nine Events of Instruction (R. Gagné).

IntroductionIn my Learning Theories article, there was a particular question we were interested in - "how can I design a course that will help learners achieve their desired outcome - total learning?"  There are three parts to this question:What conditions should we provide to facilitate learning?How can learners achieve their desired learning outcome?What should be the actual design this course?All these questions can be answered by Robert Gagné's Instructional Design theory. He is known as the father of instructional design. His early works were influenced by the behavioristic theories and later by Miller's Information Processing theory. Gagné identified five different domains of learning along with the conditions that were required for learning to occur in those domains. Further, he also provided a solid framework for designing instructions by describing nine events to create those instructions. But before we begin with describing the various facets of this theory, we need to ask a question, "what is learning"?What is learning and learning outcome?As per Gagné, learning is a change in human capability that lasts for a particular duration of time. This change in capability is measured as the change in behavior of a learner. This reminds us of the behavioristic approach to learning - that learning has only happened if there is an observable change in behavior. Gagné further adds that to measure this observable change in behavior is by comparing the 'before learning' behavior of the learner with the 'after learning' behavior. If a significant observable change has happened, only then can you safely assume that learning has occurred. Gagné proposed that there were particular types of human behaviors that could be learned. These observable behaviors are called learning outcomes and a learning theory should be able to explain how these behaviors change ( in other words how did learning happen since there was an observable change in behavior). There are three elements comprising Gagné 's Conditions of Learning theory:Conditions of LearningClassification of Learning OutcomesNine Events of InstructionConditions of LearningThere are two types of conditions that are common to all the learning outcomes: external conditions and internal conditions.  External ConditionsThese are conditions that exist outside the learner. These conditions are the learning situation, the learning environment, and any external aids such as books, videos, or audio that an instructional designer or teacher uses to facilitate the learning process. The external conditions are different at every point in the learning cycle for the same learner. This is attributed to the fact the learning might begin at a different point each time and the external environment will usually be different for that point in time. Internal Conditions These are the inherent capabilities of a learner and are already present within him or her even before any external learning begins. These internal conditions are transformed and they cause a change in behavior of a learner. This change is observable and proves that learning has occurred. These learning outcomes or observable behaviors that change are influenced by both, external conditions and internal conditions. Gagné identified different domains of learning outcomes and therefore was able to provide insight into how an instructional designer can control the external conditions of learning to facilitate learning in the appropriate classification or domain.Classification of Learning OutcomesGagné identified five classifications or domains of learning outcomes:Intellectual SkillsVerbal Skills Motor SkillsAttitudesCognitive Strategies Gagné believed that the variables associated with the learning tasks within one domain may not influence the learning tasks within another domain. However, these variables can affect other learning tasks within the same domain. For example, any learning tasks within the intellectual skills domain, such as identifying a different shape from a group of similar shapes, can influence another learning task such as identifying a different color from a group of similar colors. But this learning task cannot affect another task, such as writing a name on a piece of paper using a pen, which falls within the motor skills domain. Intellectual Skills DomainThis domain is based on the concept of cumulative learning. It means that a learner needs to have some prior information or prerequisite knowledge about a topic before adding more onto this existing knowledge base. This construction process of building new knowledge blocks on top of existing knowledge base creates a learning hierarchy, which only exists within the intellectual domain. What is Prerequisite Knowledge?This comprises knowledge that a learner already possesses. It is the foundation used by the learner to build upon as new knowledge is assimilated or accommodated. This knowledge possessed by the learner is at an easier/lower level before the learner moves onto a more difficult/higher level of the same concept in the same domain. What is Learning Hierarchy?As I said previously, this hierarchy or levels of learning exist only within the intellectual skills domain. You can imagine this hierarchy as learning pyramid, with the simple skills forming the bottom layer, the prerequisites forming the middle layer, and the complex skills forming the top layer. To solve a problem, the learner should have first mastered a set of simple rules. These simple rules become the prerequisite knowledge a learner must possess. These prerequisites enable more knowledge blocks to be constructed on top of them,in this case comibing the simple rules to form complex rules. These complex rules will ultimately be used solve the problem. For example:Simple rule: if B= A + 5; then solve the problem: A+B = A+ (A+5) = 2A +5; Prerequisites: (A+B) = 2A + 5Complex rule: If A = C - 2, solve (A+B) - (B+2A) ;  You must solve B+2A = (A+5)+2A = 3A +5 , then solve the total equation (2A+5)- (3A +5) = 2A + 5 -3A - 5 = -A, and finally substitute the value of A in the final solution = -(C - 2) = 2+C, which is the final solution.The five sub-domains within the intellectual skills domain are:Problem Solving SkillsRule Learning SkillsDefined Concepts Concrete ConceptsDiscrimination SkillsProblem Solving SkillsA learner has to find a solution to a new problem - something that the learner is confronting for the first time. The learner has to decide which set of rules to use or which combination of rules to apply to generate a solution to the problem. For example, how to increase the work productivity by 10%. Rule Learning SkillsA learner has to apply a new rule, a formula, or a principle to solve a problem. For example, convert 10 degrees Celsius into Fahrenheit or find the speed of the train if it covers 100 miles in 30 minutes ( speed = distance /time).Defined ConceptsA learner has to group objects based on a particular rule. For example, identify all the countries that have the red color as part of their flag, or identify the objects that have four sides (triangles, octagons, hexagons, pentagons, rectangles, squares, and so on).Concrete ConceptsA learner has to group objects based on their physical characteristics. For example, group the elements from the periodic table that have a positive charge on them (Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium, and so on..) or arrange the toys according to their color.DiscriminationA learner has to identify the object that is different from the rest of the objects in that group. For example, identify the object that has four wheels from a group of automobiles (trains, buses, airplanes, wagons, cars, trucks, buses, and so on..)Remember, that the variables associated with the learning tasks within one domain can affect other learning tasks within the same domain. Verbal Skills DomainThis involves the learner stating the previously memorized knowledge, which includes facts, concepts, principles, and procedures. There are certain conditions that you can provide to the learner to enable mastery over the verbal skills:Provide a meaningful context: For example, to create a secondary color such as yellow, a learner needs to know about the primary colors (red, blue, green). After this context has been established, a learner can understand that primary colors can be combined to create newer colors,  and that combining red and green colors will create the yellow color. Provide an opportunity to practice the newly mastered skills: Continuing with the previous example, you can provide learners with the primary watercolors and ask them to mix up various combinations of primary colors to see what all 'new' secondary colors they can create.Stress relationships among the content to be learned: Using the previous example, you can tell the learners that primary colors can be combined to create newer secondary colors. Here, the keyword that stresses the relationship among the content (primary and secondary colors) to be learned is 'combined'. Provide additional practice over time: For the colors example that we have discussed, you can ask the learners to create more colors by combining primary as well as secondary colors and creating collages out of their 'newly' created color palate.Motor Skills DomainA learner has to execute body movements in a coordinated manner to accomplish a learning task. For example, to write a name in cursive handwriting using a pen, a learner has to learn to hold the pen, and then connect the individual alphabets to create a cursive hand, and know the spelling of the name that he/she will be writing. Other examples include swimming in a pool (use motor muscles of entire body) or playing a game of basketball (motor muscles of hands, arms, and legs).There are certain conditions that you can provide to the learner to enable mastery over the motor skills:Observe an expert at work: For example, in soccer to hit the ball with the feet, allow a learner to observe how a professional hits the ball to score a goal.Provide an opportunity to practice the skill: Continuing with the previous example, now allow the learner to hit the ball.Provide positive reinforcement or feedback on the performance and tips to improve the skill: Using the soccer example, you can provide a note of encouragement to the learner and then go ahead and provide some tips on how he/she can hit the ball better.Attitude DomainThis pertains to the choices a learner makes that defines his or her behavior towards a particular situation. These choices a learner makes are in response to a given situation. Therefore, to enable a learner to obtain 'master' over the skills in the attitude domain, you must help them gain control over their responses to the situation, as learners will seldom have control over the variables in a given situation. There are certain conditions that you can provide to the learner to enable control over their response in terms of attitude skills:Provide a role model to show the desired response to a given situation: For example, in a situation where another person (variable) disagrees with the learner's point of view, you can show a co-worker handling the situation in an amicable manner and avoiding a full blown confrontation rather than being disrespectful and causing a scene in the office. This will help the learner understand the desired behavior (resolve situation amicably) and will reinforce the desired result (avoid confrontation).Engage the learners to make the correct choices and then reinforce the decision by providing positive feedback: Continuing with the previous example, you can provide cues and hints to guide the learners towards the choosing the correct behaviour response. If they do this, you can provide a feedback that due to resolving the situation amicably, the learner has been promoted to a team-lead position. However, if the learner is unable to make the correct decision, you still have to provide a feedback that might tell them why the decision they made was incorrect. Mostly, the attitude domain is covered under the soft skills courses that organizations provide to their employees.Cognitive Strategy DomainThis involves engaging the learner in tasks that will help them control their thinking and learning processes. Have you heard of Lumosity, or any website like that? Well, Lumosity provide 'exercises for the brain' that look like games. In reality, these exercises stimulate different parts of the brain to increase their capacity and response times for any given situation. These exercises fall under the cognitive strategy domain. You can design similar activities for your learners that will engage their brains and modify their cognitive capabilities.There are certain conditions that you can provide to the learner to enable mastery over their cognitive faculties:Introduce new problems to stimulate the learner's cognitive processesAllow learners to monitor their cognitionAllow learners to observe the experts at workDespite whichever domain your learner may fall into, one thing remains constant - the learning outcomes that need to be learned. Each learning outcome can be defined using a set of learning objectives. These objectives are of two types: enabling objectives and terminal objectives.  The enabling objectives are the smaller individual tasks that a learner must complete that will culminate towards achieving the final task -  the terminal objective. A learner must complete the enabling objectives first and then will he/she able to reach the terminal objective. For example:Terminal Objective (TO): Use MS Word to save your workEnabling Objectives (EO): Open a new file in MS WordSave a file in MS WordA learner will have to accomplish the individual tasks of opening and saving a file (EOs) that will lead to him/her being able to use MS Word to save his/her work (TO).In my next post, I will continue with Gagné and his Nine Events of Instruction.

IntroductionI have already discussed two of the three elements comprising Gagné's theory - conditions of learning and domains of learning outcomes. Now, I will discuss the remaining third and probably the most important aspect of his theory - The Nine Events of Instruction. This will answer the third question about how should we design our instructions so that the learner achieves the desired learning goals.The nine events of instruction are:Gain attention of learnersInform learners about the objectivesStimulate recall of prior learning in learnersPresent the content to learnersProvide learning guidance to learnersElicit performance from learnersProvide feedback to learnersAssess performance of learnersEnhance retention and transfer of content to the job of learnersWe will begin with an example. I will be using this example side by side with the theoretical concepts to explain each of these nine events. I hope that this will help in providing a basic case study on how to design courses using this methodology. Please note that this case study is for a fictitious company. Nine Events of InstructionConsider this, Mary is an instructional designer with CompLanguages Inc,. She has been asked to create a course - Microsoft Silverlight for beginners. She is familiar with Gagne's work and now wants to use his theory to design this new course. Assuming that Mary has gathered all the necessary external information, such as books and articles describing Silverlight, she begins her work. Her first lesson is introducing her learners to the basics of Silverlight and creating a small application in Silverlight.1. Gain Attention of LearnersThis is the first and foremost thing to do. You can gain the attention of the learners by providing adequate stimulus. Mary shows the students an application built in Silverlight and informs them that they will be creating this application by the end of the lesson.2. Inform Learners About the ObjectivesThis is an important step as an instructional designer or teacher, you can lay a roadmap for your learners. The introduction of objectives also sets an expectation and the learners know exactly what they will be able to accomplish at the end of the learning session.Mary creates the following terminal objective for her learners:By the end of this lesson, you will be able to build and run a sample Silverlight application.  Now, she needs to create the enabling objectives that will allow the learners to achieve the stated terminal objective. These objectives can be as follows:Introducing MS SilverlightUsing the Silverlight interfaceIdentifying components of the Silverlight architectureBuilding a Silverlight applicationRunning a Silverlight applicationAs you can see, informing the learners about objective will let them know beforehand what all they can expect to cover in that session. 3. Stimulate Recall of Prior Learning in LearnersBy providing a stimulus to recall previously learnt information, the learner brings in previously stored information that is relevant to the current context from the long-term memory into the short-term or working memory. This causes the activation of the short-term memory.Mary runs a similar application to the one she showed in Step 1. She asks them if they can identify the functions and properties that enabled her to create this application. She then tells them that similar functions and properties are used in Silverlight to build applications. By doing this, she is causing the learners to bring into their short-term memory any previously learnt information about building similar applications, but by using a different software. 4. Present Content to LearnersThe content has to be chunked and  presented in a meaningful manner. This is because when any information is presented to the learner, the cognitive load theory kicks into action. By applying this theory and presenting information in a way that makes sense to the learner, you are able to stimulate information retention. This means that this information has a greater chance of being transferred from the short-term memory to the long-term memory. Mary now presents the content of the course as per the enabling objectives. She uses the strategy of first presenting a theoretical concept and then showing its practical application. In the process, she is also building the sample application that the learners were shown in Step 1. This way, she is accessing the intellectual skills domain of the learners, by building cumulative learning - moving from simple rules/concepts to difficult rules/concepts. This helps the learners understand one concept (small meaningful chunks of information - cognitive load) at a time. By introducing more complex concepts, she is building on their prerequisite knowledge.Now, you can see how the domains of learning , especially the intellectual skills domain comes into play. You can visit my previous blog, Conditions of Learning to refresh your knowledge.  5. Provide Learning Guidance to LearnersTo ensure that the content that has been presented to the learner will be stored in the long-term memory, it is important to provide additional aids, such as using text, video, audio, examples/non-examples, case-studies, graphical representations, mnemonics, and analogies. Some methods to provide learning guidance include the following:Making instructional support available, such as scaffolds (cues, hints, prompts) that can be removed after the learner has understood/learned the content/task.Using different strategies such as mnemonics, content mapping, role-playing, and visualizing throughout the course.Using examples to reinforce concepts learned and non-examples to understand what not to do.Using case studies for real-world applications, analogies for knowledge construction, visual images for visual association, and metaphors for supporting learning.Such aids help the learner to fit this 'new' knowledge into the existing schemas by the process of assimilation or accommodation. You can refer to my previous post, Schemas, Assimilation, and Accommodation for further information.Mary uses a sample case study to build her Silverlight application. She provides several examples and non-examples along the way to show how they can affect the final application - by displaying an incorrect application or not displaying anything at all. Further, she uses graphical representations to explain concepts like the architecture of Silverlight. 6. Elicit Performance From LearnersTo reinforce the concepts learned, the learner is asked to practice the new skill or apply the new concept learned. It is important to ensure that the learner has understood the concepts, else they need to make corrections. Repetition of a concept enables retention of that concept, in other words, repetition facilitates the movement of concepts from the short-term memory into the long-term memory. Certain strategies, such as activities based on concepts learned or recall strategies can be used to activate learner processing.Mary asks the learners to create a visual representation their understanding of Silverlight's architecture. She asks them to write code snippets similar to what they have been taught, but changes some of the parameters of the application. By doing this, she is reinforcing the concepts taught and providing a chance to rectify their mistakes(if any).7. Provide Feedback to LearnersThe learners are provided feedback on the questions they have been asked in Step 6.  Questionnaires or quizzes can be used to test the learners on the concepts, facts, principles, or procedures that have been taught. This step stresses that the teacher must provide immediate feedback to facilitate learning.There are four types of feedback options:Confirmatory Feedback: Informs the students that they did what was expected of them.Corrective and Remedial Feedback: Informs the students about the accuracy of their performance or feedback.Remedial Feedback: Guides the learners towards the path to the correct answer in form of cues and hints, but does not provide the correct answer.Informative Feedback: Provides information (new, different, additions, suggestions) to the student as per their response.Analytical Feedback: Provides students with suggestions, recommendations, and information to enable them rectify or correct their performance.These options can be used individually or combined to provide a more comprehensive feedback.Mary provides them with informative feedback on the theoretical question about visual representation of Silverlight architecture. She provides analytical feedback on the code snippet questions to enable them to understand why a particular function/parameter was used and how can they can be tweaked so as to optimize them. This enables the learners to understand why their response was correct/incorrect. 8. Assess Performance of LearnersThis is to test the understanding of the learners regarding the objectives (enabling, terminal) of the course. This step is to ensure that the instructional designer or teacher verifies if the learning outcomes or task assessments have been fully understood by the learners. Some of the methods used for testing are:Conducting a pre-test to verify mastery of prerequisites for the courseConducting a post-test to verify mastery of the content or skills taught in the courseEmbedding questions throughout the course and testing learners using oral questioning and/or quizzesIncluding objective-referenced questioning to test learners how well they have learned a topicMary has embedded small quizzes throughout her course to ensure that the learners have understood the topics that are being taught. She has also embedded code snippets and tests the learners on their ability to spot the incorrect parameter/function that is causing the incorrect output/result to be displayed.  Finally, she gives them an online test that encompasses the entire course.9. Enhance Retention and Transfer of Knowledge to the Job of LearnersFor a skill to become stored in the long-term memory and become useful to the learner, it is important that they are able to use these newly learned concepts and apply them in real-time. Practice enables the learners retain the newly acquired information, especially with verbal information, intellectual skills, and motor skills. The instructional designers can help internalize this knowledge by providing spaced reviews.Some of the methods to help learners internalize this newly learned knowledge are:Paraphrase contentUse metaphorsGenerate examplesCreate content maps or outlinesCreate job-aids, references, templates, or wizardsMary provides her learners with job-aids and content maps to ensure that they remember this information even after they have left the classroom.