Robert Gagne

and Learning Hierarchy

(Contributions to
Science Instruction)
Prepared and Presented by :
KRISTINE ANN B. DE JESUS
BEEd 4-23
 I-TOPIC: Gagne’s Impacts to Science
Teaching
SUB-TOPICS:
A. Taxonomy of
Learning Outcomes
B. Terminal Tasks
C. Difference between Procedural

Tasks Analysis and Hierarchal

Tasks Analysis
 I-TOPIC: Gagne’s Impacts to Science
Teaching
SUB-TOPICS:
D. Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning
E. Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction
F. Curriculum Implementation of
Learning Hierarchy
G. Gagne’s Contribution to
Education- (Science Teaching)
After the discussion the students of BEEd
4-23 are expected to:

a. describe the different types of Learning

Outcomes according to R. Gagne;
b. describe terminal tasks;
c.Differentiate Procedural Tasks Analysis
from Hierarchal Analysis;
d. identify Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction
and their corresponding processes;
e. identify Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning;
f. link Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning to
Science Instruction;
g. Illustrate a Hierarchal TaskAnalysis
 GUIDE QUESTIONS:

 According to Gagne, there are different

types of Learning. What are these?
 Enumerate and describe Gagne’s 9 events
of instruction
 Illustrate Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning
 GUIDE QUESTIONS:
• What are the Learning Outcomes
introduced by Robert Gagne?
• What are internal conditions?
• What are external conditions?
• What are some of Gagne’s contribution
to science instruction?
Robert Gagne’s Theoretical Background
• Born in 1916 in North Andover,
Massachusetts
• Received Bachelors of Arts and
earned his doctoral from Brown
University
Gagne built on the work of
behavioral and information
processing theories by translating
principles from their learning
theories into practical instructional
strategies that teachers could
employ with directed instruction.
 Robert Gagne’s Background & Published
Works

• Well known for “Theory of Conditional

Learning”
• Consist of 3 distinct component :
Taxonomy of learning outcomes - learning
domain
 9 instructional events
Specific learning condition - Hierarchy of
Learning
Gagne’s 5 Types of Learning
Outcomes
 Learning Domains :
5 types of learning outcome
Outcome Meaning Performance example
or Ability

*Intellectual Ability to Identify the diagonal of a square.

skill interact with Explaining why ice freezes at
surroundings 0˚C.
using concept
Predicting the rate of growth of a
symbols
plant based on conditions of
water, soil, light, etc.

Cognitive Ability to control To draw a chart for organizing

strategy the individual’s data. To reason backwards to
behaviour to solve problem. Breaking up a
learn, remember problem into various parts.
& think.
 4LevelsofIntellectualSkills
1. Discrimination- Making different responses to
the different members of a particular class.
2. Concrete Concept-Responding in a single way to
all members of a particular class of observable
events.
3. Rule Using-Applying a rule to a given situation
or condition by responding to a class of inputs
with a class of actions.
4. Problem Solving-Combining lower level rules to
solve problems in a situation never
encountered.
 Learning Domains :
5 types of learning outcome
Outcome Meaning Performance example
or Ability

*Intellectual Ability to Identify the diagonal of a square.

skill interact with Explaining why ice freezes at
surroundings 0˚C.
using concept
Predicting the rate of growth of a
symbols
plant based on conditions of
water, soil, light, etc.

Cognitive Ability to control To draw a chart for organizing

strategy the individual’s data. To reason backwards to
behaviour to solve problem. Breaking up a
learn, remember problem into various parts.
& think.
Outcome or Meaning Performance
Ability Example
*Verbal Development of Naming the parts of an
Information information using electric circuit & the
language function of each part.
Listing objects that can be
recycled. Stating
characteristic of light.
Motor skills Manipulative skills & Preparing a microscope
carrying out routine slide. Build a model of a
work. simple machine. Measuring
the weight of an object
using a balance.
Attitude Change of attitude Making choices in the
towards an object, preparation of an insects
another person, collection. Visit science
situation & change in museum voluntarily &
effective domain. choose to borrow a book
on dinosaurs.
 VERBAL INFORMATION

1.) Labels & Facts- Naming or making a

verbal “response” to a specific unit.

2.) Bodies of knowledge- Recalling a large

body of interconnected facts.
Outcome or Meaning Performance
Ability Example
*Verbal Development of Naming the parts of an
Information information using electric circuit & the
language function of each part.
Listing objects that can be
recycled. Stating
characteristic of light.
Motor skills Manipulative skills & Preparing a microscope
carrying out routine slide. Build a model of a
work. simple machine. Measuring
the weight of an object
using a balance.
Attitude Change of attitude Making choices in the
towards an object, preparation of an insects
another person, collection. Visit science
situation & change in museum voluntarily &
effective domain. choose to borrow a book
on dinosaurs.
Internal Conditions of Learning
• essential prerequisites
-particular skills that become an
integral part of new learning
• supportive prerequisites
-capabilities that facilitate learning,
regardless of the type of outcome
External Conditions of Learning
External events are those events
outside the learner that activate and
support the internal processes of
learning. The appropriate provision of
external events is the framework for
planning instruction.
 Determining the Learning Structure

*Learning Hierarchies: Provide one of the ways to

describe the “structure” of any topic, course, or
discipline
---In the analysis of topic----
1. Begin with the statement of the terminal objectivity.
2. Identify a subordinate set of tasks or subtopics, each an
individual learning act, that must be considered pre-requisites
for the learning.
3. Analyze each of the tasks or subtopics until one has arrived at
performances that learners are known to possess, at which
point the analysis stops.
 The Learning Hierarchy :
It’s Structure
Terminal Task

TASK A TASK B TASK C

A-1 C-1

B-1 B-2
In constructing the Learning Hierarchy of
subordinate (pre-requisite) learnings for a
given task, these questions are asked:

“What must the learner already know how to

do, in order to learn this performance/task?”

and/or

“What would the learner have to know how to

do, in order to learn this performance/task,
given instructions such
as ?”
 The Learning Hierarchy :
It’s Structure
TASK ANALYSIS
-the process of
Terminal Task identifying the
subordinate/pre-
requisite tasks
Subordinate (pre-requisite tasks)

TASK A TASK B TASK C

A-1 C-1

B-1 B-2
 LEARNING HIERARCHY

TASK
ANALYSIS

Subordinate
Tasks

Terminal
Task

Terminal
Objective
Some Basic Differences Between a
Procedural Task Analysis and a
Hierarchical Analysis
• Hierarchical Task • Procedural Task
Analysis Analysis
"What must the "What are the
learner know or be mental and/or
able to do to achieve physical steps that
this task?" the learner must go
through in order to
complete this task?"
Some Basic Differences Between a
Procedural Task Analysis and a
Hierarchical Analysis
• Hierarchical Task • Procedural Task
Analysis Analysis
1. Developed 1. Developed linearly
bottom up, from and sequentially,
general to specific. step-by-step.
2. Based on learning 2. Not concerned with
taxonomies, the levels of the
starting from the learning taxonomies,
most complex to it is procedural in
the least complex nature.
Some Basic Differences Between a
Procedural Task Analysis and a
Hierarchical Analysis
• Hierarchical Task • Procedural Task
Analysis Analysis
3.Represented in 3.Represented in the
terms of levels of form of a flowchart or
tasks. an outline.
4.read from left to
4. Read bottom-up
right or from top to
bottom
Some Basic Differences Between a
Procedural Task Analysis and a
Hierarchical Analysis
• Hierarchical Task • Procedural Task
Analysis Analysis
5. You can break
5. Each task is
down some of the
a prerequisite to the tasks within the
task directly above flowchart into an
it. outline format if
those tasks have
subtasks.
Some Basic Differences Between a
Procedural Task Analysis and a
Hierarchical Analysis
• Hierarchical Task • Procedural Task
Analysis Analysis
6. List all your givens 6. You must always
or assumptions as have a START and an
prerequisites at the END
very bottom of the
hierarchy.
PROCEDURAL TASK ANALYSIS
HIERARCHAL TASK ANALYSIS
Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning
• WHAT IS LEARNING?
-Change in behavior
-A result of reinforced practice
-Consists of Stimuli, Learner and Responses

• WHAT IS HIERARCHY?
-Classification of a group
-A system in which people or things are placed in a series of levels
with different importance or status

WHAT IS LEARNING HIERARCHY?

-Set of specified intellectual capabilities according to an ordered
relationship to each other. Thus the entire set of ordered intellectual
skills formed a hierarchy that was considered to bear some relation to
a plan for effective instruction.
 Learning Hierarchies
The development of “intelectual skills requires
learning that amounts to a building process.
Lower level skills provide a necessary foundation
for higher level ones.
To teach a skill, a teacher must first identify its
prerequisite skills and make sure the students
possess them.
The list of building block skills is called learning
hierarchies.
Robert Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning
1) Signal Learning
 Learn how to respond to a signal, like Pavlov’s
dog (Pavlov’s classical conditioned response)
 Usually the response is emotional
2) Stimulus(S) – Response(R) Learning
 Learn precise response to precise signal /
stimulus
 Different from signal learning, signal learning
leads to involuntary responses, whereas the
responses in S-R learning are voluntarily
controlled.
Robert Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning
3) Psychomotor Connection Learning
“CHAINING”
 Occurs when a chain of stimuli and
responses are formed
 Lean to follow procedures
 Able to chain 2 or more stimulus-response
4) Verbal Association Learning
 Use terminology in verbal chains
5) Multiple Discrimination Learning
 Learn how to distinguish between similar
stimuli
Robert Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning
 Make different responses to each type of
stimulus, even when they may be
perceptually similar.
6) Concept Learning
 Ability to generalize, or classify

7.) Principle/RULE Learning

 Viewed as a chain of two or more concepts.
 “PROCESS SKILLS”
 Learn to apply rules
 PROCESS SKILLS
Basic Science Processes Integrated Science
o Observing Processes
o Classifying o Formulating
o Measuring Hypothesis
o Using space-time o Defining Operationally
relations o Controlling variables
o Communicating
o Interpreting data
o Inferring
o Predicting
o Experimenting (most
complex)
 Robert Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning

8)Problem Solving
 Highest learning type which lead to the
discovery of higher order rules
 All other types of learning must have been
completed for it to be present.
 4 Important Types of Learning to
Science Teaching
1. Stimulus-response learning (S-R)
-Learners concentrate on linking names &
objects, objects & events, actions &
reactions
2. Multiple Discrimination Learning
-Learning depends on concrete materials
and rich experiences
 4 Important Types of Learning to
Science Teaching
3. Concept Learning
- If the learners have the skill in
separating and identifying the
characteristics of objects and events,
they will be able to infer and create
concepts.
4. Principle Learning (Process Skills)
A. Basic Science Processes
B. Integrated Science Processes
 PROBLEM SOLVING
Elements necessary for problem

Characteristics of Learning Hierarchy

• Terminal task • “Smoothly guided tour”
• Sub-tasks to terminal of a constructed
tasks learning hierarchy
solving

• Pre-requisites to • Highly structured and

subtasks arranged in a organized learning
systematic way from • Instructional objectives
simple to complex stated in behavioral
terms

Facts, Concepts, Principles

*PROBLEM- SOLVING IN
LEARNING
Robert Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning
• Set of component skills that must be learned before
the complex skill of which they are a part can be
learned
• Classifying different types of learning in term of the
“degree of complexity” of the mental involved.
• Higher orders of learning build upon the lower levels.
• The lowest 4 orders tend to focus on the more
behavioral aspects.
• The highest 4 focus on the more cognitive aspects
Robert Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning
Problem
Solving

Principle
Learning
Increasing complexity

Concept Learning More to cognitive

aspects
Multiple Discrimination
Learning

Verbal Association Learning

More to behavioral
Psychomotor Connection Learning
aspects

Stimulus – Response Learning

Signal Learning
 Curriculum Implementation of the
Learning Hierarchy
 AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of
Science) curriculum- Science-A Process Approach
(S-APA)
-The development of intellectual skills (process
skills) relevant to science in a systematic manner
 Gagne’s approach is that of “behavioral learning
engineering”
-A smoothly guided instructional sequence, which
starts from the simple stimulus-response and ends with
problem-solving
 His Contributions
Gagne has had considerable influence on
education and training in corporate and
government sectors as well as some influence in
public schools.

*Field of instructional design that seeks to take what is

known about human learning and apply it to
instruction.
*“Father of instructional design.” He had wide influence
on people who follow a systematic approach to
designing instruction.
*His ideas about domains of learning
*His concept of instructional events.
 The Nine Events of Instruction
Event of Instruction Learning Process
• 1. Gaining attention • Attention
Giving learner a stimulus
to ensure reception of
coming instruction

Methods for gaining learners’ attention include:

— Stimulate students with novelty, uncertainty and
surprise
— Pose thought-provoking questions to the students
— Have students pose questions to be answered by other
students
49
 The Nine Events of Instruction
Event of Instruction Learning Process
• 2. Informing the learner
of the objective • Expectancy
Telling learner what they
will be able to do for the
instruction
• 3. Stimulating recall of
prior learning • Retrieval to working
Asking for recall of memory
existing relevant
knowledge

50
 The Nine Events of Instruction
Event of Instruction Learning Process
• 4. Presenting the stimulus • Pattern recognition;
Displaying the content selective perception

Ways to present and cue lesson content include:

— Present vocabulary
— Provide examples
— Present multiple versions of the same content, e.g.,
video, demonstration, lecture, podcast, group work
— Use a variety of media to address different learning
preferences
51
 The Nine Events of Instruction
Event of Instruction Learning Process
• 5. Providing learner • Chunking, rehearsal,
guidance encoding
Supplying organization and
relevance to enhance
understanding
Methods to provide learning guidance include:
— Provide instructional support as needed
— Model varied learning strategies
— Use examples and non-examples
— Provide case studies, analogies, visual images and
metaphors
52
 The Nine Events of Instruction
Event of Instruction Learning Process
• 6. Eliciting performance • Retrieval, responding
Asking learners to respond,
demonstrating learning

Ways to activate learner processing include:

— Elicit student activities

— Elicit recall strategies
— Facilitate student elaborations
— Help students integrate new knowledge
53
 The Nine Events of Instruction
Events of Instruction Learning Process
• Reinforcement, error
• 7. Providing Feedback correction
Giving immediate feedback
on learner's performance.

54
 The Nine Events of Instruction
Events of Instruction Learning Process
• 8. Assessing performance • Responding, retention
Assessing and providing
feedback to learners
Methods for testing learning include:
— Pretest for mastery of prerequisites
— Conduct a post-test to check for mastery of content or skills
—Embed questions throughout instruction through oral
questioning and/or quizzes
—Include objective or criterion-referenced performances
which measure how well a student has learned a topic
55
 The Nine Events of Instruction
Events of Instruction Learning Process
• 9. Enhancing retention and • Retention, retrieval,
transfer generalization
Providing diverse practice to
generalize the capability
Methods for helping learners internalize new knowledge
include:
— Paraphrase content
— Use metaphors
— Generating examples
— Create concept maps or outlines
— Create job-aids, references, templates, or wizards
56
REMEMBER!

• According to Robert Gagne, there are nine

events and corresponding cognitive processes
that activate processes needed for effective
learning. Gagne believed all lessons should
include this sequence of events.
• He believed that basic concepts must be
understood first before moving to a higher
level.
Gagne’s structured learning hierarchies has greatly
influenced the new elementary science curriculum.
-Analyzing a task into subtasks and this analysis
continues until the simplest pre-requisite is identified.
Task Analysis is the heart of Instructional Design
-New level of skill and knowledge are attained if
process and product skills are developed in proper
sequence
 Although Gagne proposes 8 Types of Learning,
there are 4 that are most relevant to science
teaching.
1. Stimulus-Response Learning
2. Multiple Discrimination Learning
3. Concept Learning
4. Principle Learning (Process Skill)
a. Basic Science Processes
b. Integrated Science Processes
 Gagne’s Approach is that “Behavioral
Learning Engineering” (smoothly guided
instructional sequence starting from
stimulus-response learning and ends with
problem solving
THANK YOU!