Teaching and Instruction by Design

A Critical Analysis of the Similarities and Differences Between Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction and Merrill's First Principles of Instruction In our EDU 657 course, we are discussing instructional design and the approach taken by various models. Robert Gagne developed a model for instructional design following a sequence called Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction.   The diagram is from https://www.mnsu.edu/its/academic/mavlearn/models/gagne.html and lists each step with details explaining the outcomes along the path. The instructor begins by gaining the attention of the learner.   This could be as simple as changing the tone in your voice to showing a video clip related to the lesson.   The next step is to state the objectives or goal of the lesson followed by linking the learning to prior knowledge.   The next three steps are presenting the lesson content, providing guided practice to learn the material, and promoting independent practice to apply the new ...

Thoughts on Universal Design for Learning Reading the descriptions of the Universal Design for Learning framework brought back thoughts of my first teaching assignment in a learning styles school. Providing choice was a predominant theme and that is what I see in the UDL model because of the emphasis on multiple means for creating opportunities for representation, action and expression, and engagement. In my own teaching, I have noticed that I naturally use several of the UDL principles while others are not as easy to incorporate. For example, two of the UDL principles I have most regularly applied are “provide options for comprehension” under REPRESENTATION and many of the subheadings under ENGAGEMENT.   As a math teacher, I was constantly focused on activating background knowledge and linking to new concepts. It is almost a natural process in teaching math to look at big ideas, develop relationships, and guide information processing. Math is very much lik...