✸ Related Information

• Nine Events of Instruction

  Level 1: Gaining Attention (Reception)

  Begin each lesson by gaining the attention of your students. It is important to get your students motivated to learn and engage in activities. This is generally accomplished by introducing the lesson with a question, video, or any appropriate activity that stimulates attention and interest. Below are other example strategies for gaining learners' attention:

  • Give students a challenging problem to solve
  • Tell an inspiring or intriguing story
  • Create a discussion activity based on pertinent topic
  • Present an analogy
  • Display a controversial or thought-provoking image
  • Cite a statistic or fact

  Level 2: Informing Learners of the Objective (Expectancy)

  Once you've garnered students' attention, advise them of the learning objectives and other details necessary for student success. This event promotes a spirit of expectancy and enables students to develop an appropriate mind set. Specifically indicate what the students will be able to accomplish during the lesson and how the knowledge gained will help them in the future. Below are additional examples of how and where objectives can be communicated:

  • Syllabus
  • Rubrics
  • Guidelines
  • Checklists
  • Discussions

  Level 3: Stimulating Recall of Prior Learning (Retrieval)

  Assisting students to apply new information with prior knowledge facilitates the learning process. Students encode and store information more efficiently when they are able to make connections between knowledge and experience. Stimulating recall of prior experiences is best accomplished by asking students questions or presenting a known fact about their experience. Other methods are:

  • Journal assignments
  • A game of review
  • Pre-tests or surveys
  • Past video coverage

  Level 4: Presenting the Stimulus (Selective Perception)

  At this level, students are officially exposed to the instructional content. Strategically present the content in meaningful chunks. Carefully display content in ways that will stimulate student's senses. The senses of students must be activated for learning and retention to occur. Use a variety of different media to appeal to different learning styles. Below are examples of how to present stimulating content:

  • E-books
  • Videos and slideshows
  • Links to fascinating online resources
  • Audio lectures

  Level 5: Providing Learning Guidance (Semantic Encoding)

  To provide guidance, instructors should incorporate additional tools and strategies to support and reinforce learning. To help your students comprehend and retain information, provide alternative approaches that illustrate the content. This event can be accomplished by providing examples, hints, tips and tricks. More specially, the following strategies can be employed:

  • Graphic Organizers
  • Case Studies
  • Analogies
  • Mnemonics
  • Job aids or cheat sheets
  • Threaded discussions

  Level 6: Eliciting Performance (Responding)

  In this event, the learner is allowed to put into practice the new skill, knowledge and/or behavior. Eliciting performance provides an opportunity for students to activate the learning process and correct their understanding. The repetition of practice further improves the likelihood of retention. This is a good opportunity to create interactive activities. Other practice activities might include:

  • Creative writing prompts
  • Discussion prompts
  • Group work
  • Online games
  • Practice quizzes
  • Brainstorming activities

  Level 7: Providing Feedback (Reinforcement)

  At this point, it is important to provide your students with feedback as well as reinforce important points. Be certain to provide additional guidance as necessary and correct any incorrect notions exhibited by students. Feedback should be prompt to reinforce retention and encourage scaffolding of information. Feedback may be communicated directly to the class as well as indirectly within assignments. Feedback may also be given as follows:

  • Peer reviews
  • Class polls
  • Rubrics
  • Instructor-led discussions

  Level 8: Assessing Performance (Retrieval)

  After completing instructional activities, students must be assessed to determine if learning objectives were achieved. Your students should be able to complete an exam or project to demonstrate their level of learning. This assessment should be conducted without further instruction or feedback. Students should have been advised of the required level of mastery in level two. Below are examples of final assessments:

  • Portfolios
  • Slideshow presentations
  • Video productions
  • Finished products
  • Term papers

  Level 9: Enhancing Retention and Transfer (Generalization)

  The final step is necessary to help students internalize new knowledge and enhance their understanding of the instruction. Activities that create opportunities for students to reflect on their learning are encouraged. Reflection is a powerful way to improve student retention and long term storing of new knowledge. Reference materials may also be provided as tools students can use to activate their learning. Below are specific methods you may utilize to enhance retention and transfer of information:

  • Written summaries
  • Journal reflection
  • Graphic organizers
  • Recommending readings
  • Job aids or cheat sheets