SIDEBAR 1 Gagné’s 9 Events of Instruction
(Adapted from Gagné, R., Briggs, L. & Wager, W. (1992). Principles of Instructional
Design (4th Ed.). Fort Worth, TX: HBJ College Publishers.)
1. Gain attention
2. Inform learner of objectives
3. Stimulate recall of prior learning
4. Present stimulus material
5. Provide learner guidance
6. Elicit performance
7. Provide feedback
8. Assess performance
9. Enhance retention and transfer

SIDEBAR 2 10 Questions that will lead to cathartic instructional introspection
Principle 1: What cognitive processes (if any!) do your interactions elicit from the
learners?
Principle 2: What (if anything!) can learners get from your course that they could
not get from reading a training manual and taking a multiple-choice quiz
afterwards?
Principle 3: What types of questions did you pose in the analysis phase of the
course, and to whom did you pose them?
Principle 4: How closely (if at all!) do the culminating activities of your course
mirror what learners are required to do on the job?
Principle 5: How much (if any!) of your course content is presented in the form of
contextual feedback on the learners’ performance?
Principle 6: How much ability (if any!) do learners have to choose the sequence and
amount of content they wish to access?
Principle 7: How hard did you really try (if at all!) to devise experiential learning
activities that could fit within your course’s budget?
Principle 8: Is there enough variety among your course activities to garner and
maintain learner engagement?
Principle 9: Aside from the fact that their job may depend on it, is there anything in
the course itself that motivates learners to retain, apply (or for that matter, even pay
attention to) the content being presented?
The $64,000 Question: Would learners who just completed one of your courses
rather be gouged in the eyeball with a hot poker than have to sit through a second
one?

Nice article from eLearning Guild