Robert M. Gagné facts for kids

Robert Mills Gagné (born August 21, 1916 – died April 28, 2002) was an American educational psychologist. He is famous for his book Conditions of Learning. He was a pioneer in the science of teaching.

During World War II, he helped train pilots for the Army Air Corps. He then created many studies and ideas. These ideas helped explain what "good teaching" really means. Gagné also used his ideas to design computer-based training and multimedia learning.

His main idea, sometimes called the Gagné assumption, is simple. It says that people learn in different ways. Because of this, different teaching methods work best for different types of learning.

Robert Gagné: A Life of Learning

His Early Life and Education

Robert Mills Gagné was born on August 21, 1916. His hometown was North Andover, Massachusetts. When he was in high school, he decided to study psychology. He wanted to use this science to help people.

Gagné earned a scholarship to Yale University. He got his first degree there in 1937. Later, he studied at Brown University. He earned his master's and Ph.D. degrees there. For his Ph.D., he studied how white rats learned.

His Career and Contributions

Gagné's first teaching job was in 1940. He taught at Connecticut College for Women.

His studies were paused by World War II. He worked with the US Army Air Corps. He helped choose and train aviation cadets. He gave them tests to find out their skills.

After the war, he taught at Pennsylvania State University for a short time. Then he went back to Connecticut College. In 1949, he joined the US Air Force. He became the research director for a lab that studied how people learn skills.

In 1958, he became a professor at Princeton University. Here, he started to focus on how people learn to solve problems. He also studied how people learn math. In 1962, he wrote his first important book, Conditions of Learning. He also worked with students at the University of California, Berkeley.

Later, in 1969, he found a long-term home at Florida State University. He wrote more books there. These books included new versions of The Conditions of Learning.

His Personal Life

Gagné's wife, Pat, was a biologist. They had two children, a son named Sam and a daughter named Ellen. In his free time, he liked to build wood furniture. He also enjoyed reading modern books. He retired in 1993 and moved to Signal Mountain, Tennessee.

How We Learn: Gagné's Ideas

Gagné believed that there are many ways and levels of learning. He thought that teaching should be special for each type of learning. His ideas focus on how we remember and improve our thinking skills. His theory has been used in many areas, especially in military training.

He said that different skills need different teaching methods.

Eight Levels of Learning

In 1956, Gagné described eight different levels of learning. These levels go from simple to complex. He believed that harder learning builds on easier learning. This means you need to know simpler things first to learn more complex things.

The first four levels are about how we act and behave. The last four levels are about how we think. Gagné showed that how smart someone is can affect how they learn.

Steps for Planning Good Teaching

Gagné suggested a clear way to plan lessons. Here are the steps:

• Find out what students need to learn. What skills or knowledge will they gain?
• Think about what students already know. What internal skills do they need?
• Decide what teaching methods will help students learn best.
• Think about where the learning will happen.
• Understand the students who will be learning.
• Choose the best tools for teaching, like books or computers.
• Plan how to keep students interested and motivated.
• Test the teaching plan with students to see if it works well.
• After teaching, check if the plan was effective.

Nine Events of Instruction

Gagné also created nine steps for a good lesson. Teachers can use these steps to help students learn better.

• Get attention: Start with something interesting to grab students' focus.
• Tell the goal: Let students know what they will learn in the lesson.
• Recall old learning: Ask students to remember what they already know about the topic.
• Show the content: Present the new information clearly.
• Give guidance: Help students understand the new material.
• Let them practice: Have students try out what they've learned.
• Give feedback: Tell students how they did and help them improve.
• Check understanding: Give more practice and feedback to make sure they learned.
• Help them remember: Show students how to use what they learned in new situations.

Checking if Teaching Works

Gagné also talked about how to check if teaching was good.

• Did students meet the learning goals?
• Is the new teaching method better than the old one?
• What other good things came from the new teaching?

The goal of checking is to make teaching better. It helps make sure students are learning what they should. Gagné said that good teaching must always think about the student. It needs to consider what students already know and what they can do.

Awards and Honors

Robert Gagné received many awards for his work. Some of them include:

• Membership in important groups like Phi Beta Kappa and the National Academy of Education.
• The E. L. Thorndike Award in Educational Psychology.
• The Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professorship, which is Florida State University's highest award.
• The American Psychological Association Scientific Award for Applications of Psychology.
• The Educational Technology Person of the Year Award.
• The AECT Outstanding Educator and Researcher Award.

See also

In Spanish: Robert M. Gagné para niños

• Instructional design#Robert Gagné