5.1 Events 1-3: Preparing the Learner

Unit 5: Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction

Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction provide a lesson-plan framework for structuring each learning experience. Originally designed for face-to-face instruction, these events can be adapted for self-paced online courses. At Saylor Academy, these events map to the sub-unit level of course design.

5.1 Events 1–3: Preparing the Learner

Event 1: Gain Attention

The first event is capturing the learner’s interest before presenting content. Strategies include posing thought-provoking questions (“Have you ever wondered…?”), presenting surprising facts, or providing a compelling reason to learn the upcoming material. The goal is to move beyond dry descriptions like “This unit covers X” to something that makes learners genuinely curious.

Event 2: Inform Learners of Objectives

Learners need to know what they are expected to learn. While learning objectives are typically included in blueprints and assessments, they are often not prominently shared with learners in the instructional prose. Strategies include writing objectives into sub-unit introductions (“By the end of this section, you should be able to…”) and including objectives on assessment prompts.

Event 3: Stimulate Recall of Prior Learning

Before introducing new content, connect it to what learners already know. This creates cognitive “hooks” that make new information easier to absorb. Strategies include unit conclusions that summarize what was learned and preview the next unit, end-of-course conclusions that review all major concepts, and explicit references to prior units (“In Unit 1, we learned about X. Now we will build on that by…”).