Gagné's Nine Levels of Learning
Take Your Team's Learning to the Top Level

Do you need to teach your team a new process or skill?

Are you ready to offer the best learning opportunity for everyone?

Educational psychologist Robert Gagné identified nine ways to help make learning effective. These are the "Nine Levels of Learning."

9. Enhancing Retention and Transfer (Generalization)
8. Assessing Performance (Retrieval)
7. Providing Feedback (Reinforcement)
6. Eliciting Performance (Responding)
5. Providing Learning Guidance (Semantic Encoding)
4. Presenting the Stimulus (Selective Perception)
3. Stimulating Recall of Prior Learning (Retieval)
2. Informing Learners of the Objective (Expectancy)
1. Gaining Attention (Reception) [1]

Let's explore how you can use these to train your team.

1. Get Their Attention!

Move into a different room, provide an introductory handout, or show a short video. Make it clear that learning is about to take place.

2. State Your Objectives.

Explain to your team members what they're going to learn, and why. Motivate them by describing how it will benefit them and your organization.

3. Stimulate Recall.

Match the information you are about to provide with things your people already know about.

4. Present the Stimulus.

Talk about the new process or skill in a logical and easy-to-understand way. Use visuals, activities and verbal instructions to suit different team members' learning styles.

5. Provide Guidance.

Include case studies, analogies and storytelling, to pull your team members in and offer them further understanding.

6. Respond to Performance.

Ask your team members to demonstrate what they've learned. Ask questions or run role plays to ensure the correct message has been received.

7. Provide Feedback.

Praise your team members on information they've successfully retained. Reinforce any points that are still unclear with prompts and extra coaching.

8. Assess Performance.

Measure your team's knowledge with a test or short questionnaire.

9. Enhance Retention.

Provide "practice runs" so that your team members can use what they've learned in different situations. This will help them to remember the information effectively.

Use Gagné's "Nine Levels of Learning" as a checklist when you teach your team something new.

It'll help you to present the information in the most effective way and give team members the best possible learning experience.


References
[1] Gagné R., M. (1985). 'The Conditions of Learning and Theory of Instruction,' Nashville: Southwestern Publishing Group.


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