Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Educ 639: Most Important Theory Blog
The theory that I have found interesting to distance education is Gagne’s Nine Steps of Instruction Theory. This theory is important to me because it set up a framework that instructors can use to help develop their course. This theory focuses on all aspects of the development of the student and tracking their progress. The nine steps for the theory are as follows:
1.Gain Attention. 2. Inform Learner of Objective. 3. Stimulate Recall of Prior Knowledge. 4. Present the Material. 5. Provide Guidance for Learning. 6. Elicit Performance. 7. Provide Feedback. 8. Assess Performance. 9. Enhance Retention and Transfer.
This theory did change a small perspective on my views of education because I had not really previously thought in-depth about pre (assessing prior knowledge) and post assessments in a distance education program. Since being a student at Liberty University, I do not recall any assessments of these two types. Hence it changed my perspective about the effectiveness of assessments at the distance education level because they are rarely seen and could be beneficial in tracking a student’s progress. In a prior research effort it was found that some online universities were trying to adopt a video system where students are recorded while taking assessments online, therefore ensuring that the student is the one taking the assessment and not someone else taking it for the student. This theory could be used by me in the future when I start my outline of assignments to develop the structure of my online courses. Hence I would try to include the steps, at times in a different order, to meet the overall needs of my course and blend in the aspects of a traditional classroom setting.
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Great post! I agree with you that this is a very useful theory - and I have not witnessed it much in distance learning. I have not seen much recalling of prior knowledge. I think with distance learning I have experienced informing the learner of the objective, presenting the material, elicit performance, provide feedback, and assessing performance. A few courses have worked with transfer. Your post allowed me to look at this theory in a new light as well. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHI Tysheonna,
ReplyDeleteInteresting choice for a theory! Specifically, how can you use this theory in the development of your literature review? How will it impact your search for articles and your synthesis of research findings?
Looking forward to your thoughts :)
Dr Courduff
Hi Tysheonna,
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that! I'm going to put those 9 steps on a sticky by my desk. Even experienced educators need to be reminded of those basic, and important steps in educating students of all ages. When creating lesson plans or professional development projects for my courses here at LU, I make sure to include pre- and post-assessments. I've found in working with grants at the community college where I work, the reporting is a bear, and every measurement and assessment helps tremendously in attempting to validate what we do.
Great post, I look forward to working with you on our group project. :)
Take care,
Dyan
Tysheonna--Gagne's Nine Steps of Instruction Theory are interesting. I tend to "jump into a new unit" too quickly and miss an important part of the learning process for my students, namely # 3 Stimulate recall of prior knowledge. High school students, especially upper classmen, have had several years of history. When teaching a new American Literature unit, I could easily set up a "What do you already know about this era" discussion to get them thinking in the correct historical time frame. I make use of a wonderful timeline provided in our text, but letting the students do the thinking would be more effective. Thank you for your ideas. I will work on that this week.
ReplyDeleteTysheonna, nine steps sound like nine lives. I am curious about online assessments and how instructors know the authenticity of assessment taker. I have test anxiety and I don't know if I could have someone watching me via the internet taking an assessment. I believe like you stated in your post, there is going to be a time in distance education where live streaming is going to be required for assessment taking.
ReplyDelete