On How Learning Happens - 2
The subtle dance between Linearity and Non-linearity of Learning Process
Previous Post: On How Learning Happens - 1 on this series.
Learning is Complex, therefore we need Models
How learning happens? When you pose this question to teachers, most of them will give several answers. A lot of them will be vague and confusing, ranging from philosophical level to moral to psychological to mechanical.
I tend to look at learning from a process perspective, the science point of view.
Does learning happen in a linear way? As in a continuum or direct steps. Or, in an non-linear way? As in an unpredictable curve.
The simple answer is:
Learning happens in both linear and non-linear way. That’s why it’s complex. And it’s messy.
However, in most of the formal contexts, like in a classroom with a group of students with a similar level of prior knowledge, the process is usually linear first, until the students gain a certain mastery of the knowledge and skill.
Linear to Non-linear
Concrete to Abstract
Simple to Complex
Part to Whole
Inside the box to Outside the box
Incompetent to Competent
Conscious to Unconscious
Logical to Intuitive
Since learning is quite messy, instructional designers, teachers, trainers, researchers experiment with different models of instructions. So that they can focus on building the content part (factual and conceptual knowledge) and automatize the process part (procedural knowledge) as much as possible.
I’m sharing one such model here in this post.
Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction
So, Robert Gagne, who was an American educational psychologist, in his book “Conditions for Learning” proposed this model which consists of nine sequential events or instructions. With these, a teacher can build a framework to plan, prepare, and deliver instructional content based on the set goals and conditions.
Gain student’s attention
Inform them the lesson objectives
Stimulate recall of prior knowledge
Present the content
Provide learning guidance
Elicit performance/practice
Provide feedback
Assess performance/knowledge
Enhance retention and transfer
(Read about these steps in details here.)
For my own understanding, I like putting these nine events into three chunks.
Make them curious. Help them learn and master. Support their learning transfer.
Interestingly, I came across this fun video of cats going through these nine event. Just cats doing cat things. It’s a good explanation of the instructional stages.
Know the Rules, then Break the Rules:
As with other instructional models, I find this one quite handy to understand how learning happens, and then to design the sequence of learning process.
Ideally, first, use it in a linear way - to understand how learners move from beginning to intermediate to near expert levels.
Then, improvise it in a non-linear way - to experiment with it by blending explicit instruction and discovery approach or the Inquiry approach. Depending on where the students are at in the continuum of cognitive complexity, fluency, and internalization.
What I love about instructional frameworks and models is that they are meant to be used as a guideline. Not as a strict manual. So, there’s always a subtle dance between the linear and non-linear aspect of learning.
For instance, sometimes you might want to grab the students’ attention, share them the learning objectives, and then swiftly move to the performance part, knowing that they have already mastered the necessary content knowledge and skills.
Personally, I usually don’t inform the students about learning objectives in every class. Mainly for ‘surprise’ or ‘prediction’ purpose. I jump to the third step. Sometimes I start the class with students’ doing or performing a task and then I build on top of it. Sometimes I give them guidelines. Sometimes I push them into unknown. This creates “fun and engagement” automatically, and I don’t have to be a stand up comedian in the class.
A Very Handy Model:
Overall, I would recommend any beginning level teachers to use this model to design their instructions and classroom activities. And then experiment with it along the way.
When a teacher knows the reason behind making a particular instructional decision, the teacher is truly able to design learning experience for their students. And, this model enhances that skill of a teacher.
I have written about how a teacher can make an informed instructional choice based on the learning continuum of students. Check this and this post. I have also written in length about Transfer of Learning here.
If you want to explore further, check out the following resources here and here.