Introduction

Robert Gagne, an American educational psychologist, identified the mental conditions revolving around learning. He highlighted the mental events that happen when different stimuli are presented to human adults. He curated the nine events of instructions related to the learning conditions. These instructions can serve as a beacon to design an effective corporate eLearning solution. Robert Gagne believed in ‘good instruction’ and is known for his book The Conditions of Learning.

Gagne’s nine events of instructions are an important instructional design strategy for eLearning at the workplace.

According to a report by Acumen Research and Consulting, the global corporate eLearning market is expected to reach USD 550 billion by 2030. In 2021, this market was pegged at USD 97 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR above 21.6% from 2022 to 2030.

In the ever-changing business landscape, corporate eLearning gains immense value. Some of the benefits of eLearning at the workplace include:

• Higher knowledge retention
• Increased employee engagement
• Productivity boost
• Narrowing the skill gaps in the organization
• Retainment of the talent pool
• Receiving feedback
• Staying competitive

With the spiraling costs of eLearning at the workplace, it becomes imperative to have a higher return on investment (ROI). Gagne’s nine levels of instructions will help your corporate eLearning solution hit the bull’s eye.

Nine Events of Instructions

Here are the nine events of instructions propounded by Gagne.

• Gain the attention of the learners
• Inform learners of the objectives
• Stimulate recall of prior learning
• Present the content
• Provide learning guidance
• Elicit performance (practice)
• Provide feedback
• Assess performance
• Enhance retention and transfer

Gain The Attention of The Learners

As a first step, a good corporate eLearning module will converge the scattered mind of the learners and draw their interest to the training course. The online training module can begin with a story, scenario, thought-provoking question, interesting situation, problem, or intriguing statistics. This instantly hooks the learner to eLearning at the workplace. If it is a blended learning solution, then icebreaker activities can be included to create interest among the employees.

Inform Learners of The Objectives

Once the learners’ attention is on the corporate eLearning course, they can be apprised of the objectives and the specific learning outcome of the eLearning at the workplace.

Globally, employees have rued the fact that the online training courses hardly equip them with the skills required to progress in their careers. This is a key reason that corporate training programs cannot engage the learners nor give positive ROI.

This level of instruction will state what the employees will learn. Additionally, they will know which tasks or behavioral changes they will be able to accomplish with the learning imparted in the session.

Stimulate Recall of Prior Learning

Meet the learners where they are and take them forward from that point. In a corporate eLearning course, it is a good practice to recall information that they already know before introducing them to the new knowledge. This helps them to connect the dots and relate to the new information.   It prepares them to absorb the knowledge that is to be presented in eLearning at the workplace

Present the Content

At this stage, the content is explained in an engaging and motivating manner. Long chunks of information can be curated into bite-sized nuggets of standalone content punctuated with interactivity. The templates, such as videos, images, virtual reality, and gamified elements, make eLearning at the workplace more experiential and interesting.

Provide Learning Guidance

Once the content is presented, the learner can be provided further guidance to understand the subject matter thoroughly. Corporate eLearning modules can include extra documents for further studies, such as case studies, recorded videos of experts, and so on. Employees can learn collaboratively from each other through discussions and forums inbuilt in the learning platform. Streaming live webinars from experts is a masterstroke to make eLearning at the workplace successful.  In the blended learning environment, role-playing and demonstrations can also be included at this level.

Practice

Practice makes a man perfect. In eLearning at the workplace, practice activities can be incorporated into the training module. The learning can also be practiced live in various job roles.

Customer handling at retail stores, insurance product explanation to the customer, use of eCommerce software, and others are examples of immediate applications at work. Whereas in corporate eLearning modules, case studies and quizzes can help to practice the lesson learned.

After the training course, it can usually take 3 to 4 months to exhibit behavioral change. Therefore, creating a learning path that helps reinforce knowledge is a great way ahead.

Provide Feedback

The feedback given after various activities, quizzes, or tests should not just be limited to merely stating right or wrong. They should lay down the rationale behind the correct and incorrect answers. In fact, after feedback in the corporate eLearning module, subsequent topics can focus on explaining the right information.

Assess Performance

It is important to check the understanding of the learner at regular gaps. This will help the employees assimilate the content before learning the next step.

Enhance Retention and Transfer

Knowledge retention is best aided by memory boosters and remediation embedded in the corporate eLearning solutions. The employees are encouraged to revisit the lesson after every few days to reinforce the learning. If they miss correctly answering the knowledge check, they are supported by remediation references.

Adopting the right instructional design practices, such as Gagne’s nine events of instruction, helps to build a corporate eLearning solution that helps the organization stay ahead of the curve.