Application of Gagnes Conditions of Learning Theory Tonya K.

Schauwecker Purdue University

POETRY LESSON PLAN APPLYING GAGNES CONDITIONS OF LEARNING THEORY

Abstract Learning theories are an integral part of teaching that help as guides to ensure learning happens. With the increasing demands on teachers to prove their abilities to produce effective lesson plans, where learning and students are the focus, learning theories are there to help the novice teacher through the rough first years or to help seasoned teachers introduce innovations in a structured manner. While most teachers must work within the constraints of a budget, short class periods, school board regulations, and a planned curriculum (which often stifles creativity), Gagnes Conditions of Learning will allow teachers to act within these restraints and actually use them to their benefit. This paper will demonstrate the practical application of Gagnes Conditions of Learning on a high school English II (10th grade) poetry lesson. This application can be translated to a full unit plan or to other lessons and units in any school setting. Keywords: Gagne, 9 Stages of Learning, Poetry, Lesson Plans, English Education, Secondary Education

POETRY LESSON PLAN APPLYING GAGNES CONDITIONS OF LEARNING THEORY

Background Robert M. Gagne created a theory of instruction partially based on cognitive information processing theory and in conjunction with Blooms taxonomy of learning outcomes that many schools use as a model for ideal lesson planning. Robert Marzano advocates many practices utilized
in Gagne's theory. Marzano's Action Steps include the following: "anticipatory set, objective and purpose, input, modeling, check for understanding, guided practice and independent practice" (Marzano, 2003). These steps are used at Horizon Science Academy Toledo as the basis for teacher lesson planning through Rubicon-Atlas software. According to Gagnes theory, there are three components that create an

effective learning environment: a taxonomy of learning outcomes, specific learning conditions required for the attainment of each outcome [objectives], and the nine events of instruction (Driscoll, 2005). The five categories of learning outcomes are: 1. Verbal information 2. Intellectual skills 3. Cognitive strategies 4. Attitudes 5. Motor skills In order for any task to be performed in accordance with the specific learning conditions (aka objectives), the learner must be able to carry out some or all of the functions in the five categories of learning outcomes. For instance, for this poetry lesson plan, the teacher would assume that all students have the motor skills necessary to use a pen and paper to write a critical analysis of the poem; unless, of course, a student has a physical impairment. For the other

POETRY LESSON PLAN APPLYING GAGNES CONDITIONS OF LEARNING THEORY

processes, the teacher must use pre-testing or their ability to communicate with students to determine if students have the: verbal capabilities (Can they talk about poetry in an academic setting, using academic terminology?); intellectual skills (Can they read the poem without difficulty?); cognitive strategies (Can students think critically about the text in an effort to discuss and write reflectively about the various aspects of the piece?); and attitudes (Does the student feel like they can understand the text and are they willing to learn about it?) necessary to effectively teach the lesson. The nine events of instruction that facilitate a specific cognitive process during learning are: 1. Gaining attention 2. Informing the learner of the objective 3. Stimulating recall of prior learning 4. Presenting the stimulus 5. Providing learning guidance 6. Eliciting performance 7. Providing feedback 8. Assessing performance 9. Enhancing retention and transfer These nine events of instruction will be used to facilitate an engaging, motivating, and productive lesson on A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

POETRY LESSON PLAN APPLYING GAGNES CONDITIONS OF LEARNING THEORY

Subject: English II American Literatures Topic: A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Standards: Phonemic Awareness, Word Recognition and Fluency Acquisition of Vocabulary Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies Reading Applications: Literary Text Academic Vocabulary: Psalmist Author of the biblical Psalms, a book of the Bible; The Book of Psalms were numbered sets of virtues, prayers, and statements. Mournful Expressing or feeling great sadness; a sad youth Bivouac Military camp or brief overnight stay Strife Hardship Sublime So awe-inspiringly beautiful it seems almost unreal or heavenly Solemn Having or showing no joy or humor; sad Forlorn Lonely, miserable, desolate, hopeless, deprived Essential Questions: 1. What does the poem mean? 2. How can you translate the poems meaning into a meaningful self-expression?

POETRY LESSON PLAN APPLYING GAGNES CONDITIONS OF LEARNING THEORY

Objectives: 1. Given the poem, A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, students will be able to conduct a classroom discourse in order to determine the meaning behind the poem with less than five instances of teacher intervention. 2. Given the poem, A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, students will be able to accurately answer low to higher-level questions from Blooms Taxonomy on a printed worksheet with 90% accuracy. 3. Upon completion of the classroom discourse and interpretation questions, students will be able to create an artistic representation of their interpretations or reflections with 100% class participation. Assessments: Participation in discourse Worksheet questions Reflective artistic representation Accommodation, Modifications, Differentiations: Students with Individual Education Plans (IEP) will be seated next to students with Talented and Gifted (TAG) abilities in order for the IEP students to receive additional help and for the TAG students to further enhance their own understanding through assistive teaching. IEP students will be given a modified version of the worksheet. TAG students will receive a worksheet with six questions from the top three levels of Blooms Taxonomy instead of all six levels.

POETRY LESSON PLAN APPLYING GAGNES CONDITIONS OF LEARNING THEORY

Lesson and Strategies: 1. Gaining Attention Have the song Live Your Life by Rhianna playing to gain the attention of students. Pass out Bellwork handout with lyrics to the song, asking students to determine the songs meaning by using interpretation skills learned earlier in the week. Collect Bellwork after 5 minutes

2. Informing the Learner of the Objective Prior to class starting, write the following objectives on the board: 1. Given the poem, A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, students will be able to conduct a classroom discourse in order to determine the meaning behind the poem with less than five instances of teacher intervention. 2. Given the poem, A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, students will be able to accurately answer low to higher-level questions from Blooms Taxonomy on a printed worksheet with 90% accuracy. 3. Upon completion of the classroom discourse and interpretation questions, students will be able to create an artistic representation of their interpretations or reflections with 100% class participation. Interpret the objectives for the students: During this class, and upon completion of the lesson, you will be able to:

POETRY LESSON PLAN APPLYING GAGNES CONDITIONS OF LEARNING THEORY

1. Discuss through argumentative discourse the meaning of the poem, A Psalm of Life 2. Answer literal as well as inferential questions on a homework assignment 3. Create an artistic representation of your interpretation 4. Stimulating Recall of Prior Learning Remind students that they have the tools to decipher any text; that weve been working on interpreting their favorite songs for a week, so poetry interpretation is just the next step. Remind students that they need to ask questions What do the words mean? Do the words have different connotations or denotations? What do you already know about the subject? What does the title tell you? What would Mrs. Schauwecker ask you to help you understand the meaning? 5. Providing Learning Guidance Day I Pass out vocabulary o Inform students that they will need to understand these words in order to interpret the poem Pass out a copy of the poem, A Psalm of Life

POETRY LESSON PLAN APPLYING GAGNES CONDITIONS OF LEARNING THEORY

Ask students how to read poetry (This is also recalling previous knowledge.) o Anticipate student responses: Stop at periods, exclamation points, and question marks; Pause at dashes, commas, colons, and semi-colons; Go on when there is no punctuation at the end of a line

Ask how many times do you have to read a poem to understand it? o Anticipate student responses: three times o Remind students that the first reading is just to get the general tone and meaning. The second time is to decipher the story and to find twists. The third time is for a line by line reading to decipher figurative language.

Ask a student to read the poem out loud, reminding them to follow the rules of reading poetry.

Ask students what the tone or mood is. o Anticipate responses o Ask students to identify words that would give them the sense of the tone o Anticipate responses

Remind students that due to our short class periods and the short amount of time they have on the OGTs, they will only have time to read the poems twice. However, in the future, especially in college classes and on homework assignments, they should take the time to read each poem three times.

Read the title and ask students what it means o Inform students or ask if anyone in the class knows what a psalm is

Break students into groups of three according to their ability levels and educational needs

POETRY LESSON PLAN APPLYING GAGNES CONDITIONS OF LEARNING THEORY

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Inform students that they will complete a line by line analysis of the poem in an effort to discuss the poem as a class through an argumentative discourse

Allow 30 minutes for group discussion Prior to the end of the period, remind students that they will have to finish their interpretations for homework if they were unable to complete them in class.

6. Eliciting Performance Day II Remind students that we were interpreting A Psalm of Life yesterday and that we will continue the activity today Ask students to take out their interpretations from the day before Ask students to move their desks into a circle so we can have a conversation about their interpretations 7. Providing Feedback Guide students through the discussion, making sure that all lines and stanzas are clearly interpreted, and that students are aware of their performance proficiency After the teacher is satisfied that students understand the poem, hand out the worksheet with literal and inferential questions, making sure to give the modified assignments to students on IEPs and with TAG status. Inform students that this will be for a homework grade and that the information they gain from completing the assignment will help them with the final assignment for the lesson.

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8. Assessing Performance Pass out final project assignment sheet and explain to students that they will use their interpretations to express their feelings about the poem. Students will be given the opportunity to artistically express their interpretations through any form of art (traditional, technological, written, or musical) that they feel most comfortable with. 9. Enhancing Retention and Transfer As part of the project, students will have to find another poem or song that relates to the mood / tone or theme of the poem and synthesize the two poems into one artistic representation. (This will ensure transfer of interpretation skills to other forms of literature and standardized test questions.) All assignments must include a brief written interpretation of both poems that follows that demonstrates their ability to interpret and comprehend difficult texts.

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References Driscoll, M. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction. (3 ed.). Pearson Education, Inc. Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50-72. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Psalm of Life. Poetry X. Ed. Jough Dempsey. 27 Sep 2004. 27 Feb. 2013 <http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/6347/>. Marzano source: Marzano, R. J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Appendix Items Vocabulary handout Poem handout Analysis handouts M, RE, TAG Literary Analysis Final Assignment handout