Robert Gagne (1916-2002)

Gagne was one of a wave of neo-behaviourists who pioneered the science of instruction and identified
what mental conditions were necessary for effective learning.

Gagne suggests that instruction can be represented as beginning with a phase of expectancy (motivation
to learn), proceeding to apprehension and acquisition , through retention , recall and generalisation to
performance and feedback . In this respect, he considers the instructor to be the designer and manager
of the learning process and the evaluator of outcomes.

He argues that learning has a hierarchical nature where the instructor has to ensure that the individual
has mastered the relevant lower-order parts of the process before learning at the next level can be
undertaken. The process can be represented as:

Although some critics of Gagne’s work argue that his theories are little more than an eclectic,
mechanistic mix of instructional techniques, his supporters welcome his account of the levels of learning
as a major contribution to understanding learning behaviour.

Nine Levels of Learning How to use it

Nothing could be more simple – nine easy steps to help you through the learning process. Here are a
few practical tips to help you apply the tool:

 Step 1: Grab your group’s attention by doing something novel. When I taught mathematics (a
million years ago), I had to demonstrate how to factorise an equation (yawn!). I startedby telling
the students I was going to use algebra to prove the existence of God (you can see this proof by
emailing me). Well, that got ‘em.
 Step 2: Don’t tell them what you are going to do, but what they will be able to do by the end of
the session.
 Step 3: Test prior knowledge or understanding. You don’t want to teach your granny to suck
eggs and you may want to use individuals with prior experience of the subject in group work.
 Step 4: Organise the information in a logical and easy-to-understand manner.
 Step 5: Support individuals to remember the information by using examples, anecdotes,
acronyms or metaphors.
 Step 6: Get learners to demonstrate that they have understood what is being covered. Don’t
wait till the end of the session to assess this; do it as a matter of course throughout the session.
 Step 7: Give your learners feedback throughout the session. Don’t just tell them they’re doing
something right or wrong; explain why it’s right or wrong. Try to do this in a constructive
manner.
 Step 8: If you’ve been using assessment throughout and giving regular feedback, the final
assessment of skills or knowledge should be a formality. Hopefully they respond correctly. If not,
work with them till they do.
  Step 9: This is what I refer to as ‘use it or lose it’. Getting students to understand what they have
learned is great, but getting them to apply the learning in a different context is fantastic. Didn’t I
tell you it was simple? Now go out and apply it!

In the classroom

 Explain lesson objectives in terms of what the learner will know or be able to do by the end of
the lesson.
 Look for novel ways of grabbing learners’ attention at thestart of the lesson.
 Give your learners feedback on their performance throughout the lesson.

Jerome Bruner (b. 1915)

Bruner’s notion of discovery learning held that behaviour modification is achieved through the person
participating actively in the process rather than being spoon-fed information, thus discovering important
aspects of knowledge.

In order to develop learners’ problem-solving skills, Bruner suggested that the teacher’s role is not to
impart information by rote learning but instead to facilitate the learning process by designing sessions
that help the individual to discover the relationship between bits of information. This can be
represented as:

Bruner maintained that giving the individual the essential information they need to solve a problem, but
not organising it for them, is a critical aspect of discovery learning.

Discovery Learning How to use it

There are no points for telling me that you have read something like this before. Bruner and Ausubel are
both from the cognitivist school and believe in the same basic principles that underpin cognitivism,
notably that understanding and meaning are vital for learning to take place. Both also agree that this
must be organised and structured. Where they disagree is on the degree of structure and on who
assumes responsibility for organising it.

If you subscribe to Bruner’s learner-centred approach, then your mantra is:

 Start the session by assessing what prior knowledge individuals have of the subject.
 Ask what people’s expectations of the session are.
 Organise and allow people to discover the new material to be covered so that they can make
the links with their own understanding of the subject.
 Determine what they now understand about the subject.
 Find out what they know about the subject; support them to discover more about the subject ;
then ask them what they’ve learned .
Now go through each step and work out what the italicised verbs in each step have in common.

In the classroom

 Test learners’ prior knowledge of the subject.

 Ask them how they would like to expand on this.
 Assess whether they have absorbed new knowledge.

David Ausubel (1918-2008)

Ausubel’s notion of reception learning held that behaviour modification was achieved through the
process of deduction: linking new concepts with existing understanding and knowledge, thus subsuming
previously held knowledge.

In order to be able to comprehend complex concepts, Ausubel suggested that the individual must be
presented with a series of less complex and more generalised information on the subject. This can
gradually be extended but any extensions have to be related to what was presented previously. This can
be represented as:

Ausubel maintains that new material should not be introduced unless it can be integrated into what is
already known.

Reception Learning (Subsumption Theory) How to use it

There are no points for telling me that you have read something like this before. Ausubel and Bruner are
both from the cognitivist school and believe in the same basic principles that underpin cognitivism,
notably that understanding and meaning are vital for learning to take place. Both also agree that this
must be organised and structured. Where they disagree is on the degree of structure and on who
assumes responsibility for organising it.

If you subscribe to Ausubel’s teacher-centred approach, then your mantra is: Tell them what you are
going to teach them; teach them the subject; then tell them what you have taught them .

There’s nothing wrong with this approach, providing you do it correctly:

 Start the session by recapping on what was covered in the previous session.
 Explain how you are going to expand on what has already been covered.
 Organise and deliver the new material to be covered so that the links with existing knowledge
can be established.
 Test whether the new knowledge has been understood.
 Recap on what has been covered.
 Describe what you will cover in the next session.
Now go through each step and work out what the italicised verbs in each step have in common.

In the classroom

 Recap on learning from the previous lesson.

 Explain how you intend to build on this.
 Assess whether new knowledge has been understood.