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Robert Mills Gagne: The Father Of Instructional Technology

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Wager (n.d.) suggests that Gagne’s legacy was inspired by his fascination for the studies of both teaching and learning, which encouraged him to create a theory of instruction that has since been used to form a strong foundation for research and can be adapted to guide further research in the future. Robert Mills Gagne (1916-2002) was a pioneer within the multidisciplinary field of educational psychology, specifically specialising in instructional technology. In fact, he is often informally referred to as the ‘father of instructional technology’ due to the nature of his research being some of the first in his particular field of expertise. This commentary intends to present a short biography of Robert Mills Gagne, including his background, …show more content…

Gagne has created an in-depth but simplistic theory that is easy for educators to follow, making his work accessible to all. Firstly, his model details a step by step process a facilitator can follow to produce an effective lesson plan, module outline or even a course curriculum. Furthermore, the nine instructional events have provided the basis for a number of lesson planning techniques, for example PPP (presentation, practice & production) which is a straightforward lesson planning style, used by teachers for various different subjects. Moreover, Gagne’s theoretical framework addresses all aspects of learning; five types of learning, eight conditions of learning and nine events of instruction, this implies that it is an extensive model that can be used alone successfully. By applying the nine-step model for lessons, the educator ensures that they are creating an effective learning program, this is due to the structure of the model. The consequence of this can be a holistic style of teaching, which essentially encourages autonomy within the learners. However, as with every theory and model, there are advantages and disadvantages to using Gagne’s conditions of learning. The final edition of the book was published in 1985 so is considered out of date now, which could affect the reliability of the contents and model. This is primarily due to the rapid advancements in technology since the last edition was published. Another reason is that there has been a distinct lack of empirical evidence proving that this is indeed the best method of instructional practice since Gagne passed away in

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