The 1970's: ID Models and Maturation

Cognitivism and Gagne's Model of Learning

Cognitivism has its roots in cognitive psychology and Information Processing Theory.

Information Processing Theory emphasizes the identification of the internal processes of learning and concentrates on how the learner comes to know rather than respond in an instructional situation. This theory was a landmark in the field of instructional design since it represented a major paradigm shift from Skinner's behaviorist approach to learning. The behaviorist approach did not investigate the internal states of the learner claiming that such states cannot be directly observed and instead focused on stimulus-response strategies (Pavlov's Classical Conditioning Theory and Thorndike's Laws of Effect) by reinforcing the desired learning behavior through reward and/or punishment. The learner was a reactive rather than a proactive agent of instruction and learning.

The best way to introduce this theory is through Gagne's model which describes the set of factors that influence learning and that collectively may be called the conditions of learning. They include internal as well as external conditions that shape the learning processes. The figure below is a widely accepted framework that incorporates the ideas of Information Processing Theory by modeling the process of how a learner comes to know.

A learner's environment activates the receptors (senses) and information is then transmitted through the sensory registers to short-term memory in selected and recognizable patterns (7 + or - chunks of information). The information is held in short-term memory for about 20-30 seconds (unless rehearsed) and then the information to be acquired is transformed by a process known as semantic encoding to a form that enters long-term memory. This information now becomes meaningful because it is related to existing information and it takes the form of a schema or a collection of related propositions which can be later retrieved into working memory (another way of referring to short-term memory) when needed. Finally information passes through a response generator which activates the necessary effectors that transfrom the information into action. Executive control and expectancies are structures that govern this flow of information and how it will be stored and retrived by the learner. It represents the learner's use of cognitive strategies that are affected by external cues in the learning environment. The way that the learner uses those cognitive strategies will determine how the information is encoded and later retrieved.

Based on this model, Gagne developed what he called the nine events of instruction to influence the process of learning effectively and efficiently. The table below shows the nine events and the learning process that it relates to in the above model.

The above events can be translated into specific instructional tactics that can be implemented in any teaching-learning environment in order to efficiently and effectively achieve the desired performance or learning outcome.