Professional Education · The School Curriculum
Instructional Design Models — Part 2 of 2
Gagné’s Nine Events and Understanding by Design (UbD)
Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction
Robert Gagné proposed that effective instruction follows a sequence of nine events that activate the internal learning processes of the learner. Each event corresponds to a specific cognitive condition that supports learning. This model guides how individual lessons are planned and delivered (Gagné et al., 2005).
| # | Event | Classroom Example |
| 1 | Gain Attention | Teacher shows a surprising video clip or poses a provocative question to open the lesson. |
| 2 | Inform Learners of Objectives | Teacher writes or states: “By the end of this lesson, you will be able to…” |
| 3 | Stimulate Recall of Prior Learning | Teacher asks review questions about the previous lesson before introducing new content. |
| 4 | Present the Content | Teacher delivers the new material through lecture, demonstration, or multimedia. |
| 5 | Provide Learning Guidance | Teacher provides worked examples, analogies, mnemonics, or guided practice to support understanding. |
| 6 | Elicit Performance (Practice) | Students apply what they learned through exercises, problems, or activities. |
| 7 | Provide Feedback | Teacher gives specific, corrective feedback on student practice — not just “correct” or “wrong.” |
| 8 | Assess Performance | Teacher administers a quiz, test, or performance task to check mastery of the objectives. |
| 9 | Enhance Retention and Transfer | Teacher assigns activities that extend learning beyond the lesson — real-world applications, projects, or follow-up practice. |
Exam Tip: LET items on Gagné’s model usually describe a classroom activity and ask which event is illustrated. The most commonly tested events are Event 1 (anything that “gets the class’s attention”), Event 3 (review questions at the start), Event 6 (student practice), and Event 9 (real-world application or transfer tasks).
Sample LET Item — No. 1
Before presenting new content on photosynthesis, Teacher Mario asked his Grade 5 students questions about what they already knew about plants and sunlight from their Grade 4 Science class. Which of Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction is Teacher Mario applying?
A. Gain Attention
B. Elicit Performance
C. Stimulate Recall of Prior Learning
D. Provide Learning Guidance
Answer: C
Asking students what they already know from a previous grade level, before new content is presented, is Event 3: Stimulate Recall of Prior Learning. The purpose is to activate existing schema so new content can be connected meaningfully. Choice A (Gain Attention) would involve something surprising or engaging that hooks the students — not a review question. Choice B (Elicit Performance) would require students to practise or apply new content, which has not yet been presented. Choice D (Learning Guidance) involves the teacher providing support like examples or mnemonics during the presentation of new content.
Understanding by Design (UbD) / Backward Design
Developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Understanding by Design — commonly called UbD or Backward Design — challenges educators to design curriculum and instruction by starting with the end in mind. Instead of planning content and activities first, you begin by identifying the desired results (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).
UbD follows three stages in this exact order:
Stage 1
Identify Desired Results
What should students understand, know, and be able to do by the end? What are the big ideas and essential questions that give the unit its meaning? This stage establishes the long-term transfer goals and enduring understandings.
Example: Students will understand that geometric shapes have properties that determine their real-world applications.
Stage 2
Determine Acceptable Evidence
How will you know if students have achieved the desired results? What assessments will serve as evidence of understanding? This stage is planned before instructional activities are designed.
Example: Students design a scale model of a building applying geometric properties, assessed by a rubric on accuracy and explanation.
Stage 3
Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
Only after Stages 1 and 2 are complete do you design the actual lessons, activities, and instructional strategies. Everything is chosen because it builds toward the desired results and the evidence of understanding.
Example: Teacher plans hands-on geometry activities, direct instruction on properties, and peer teaching — all aligned to the building model assessment.
Exam Tip: The key phrase that identifies UbD in a LET stem is “beginning with the end in mind” or any description of a teacher who plans assessment before planning lessons. If a teacher designs the unit test before writing lesson plans, that is Backward Design (UbD). This is the opposite of the traditional approach where lessons come first and tests are written at the end.
Sample LET Item — No. 2
Teacher Gina begins her unit planning by first identifying what she wants her students to truly understand about the water cycle — not just recall facts but explain how it affects local weather. She then decides how she will assess that understanding before she writes any lesson plan or selects any teaching activity. Which instructional design approach is Teacher Gina using?
A. The ADDIE Model
B. Understanding by Design (Backward Design)
C. Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction
D. Taba’s Grassroots Approach
Answer: B
Two signals in the stem: (1) Teacher Gina starts by identifying desired understanding, and (2) she determines the assessment before planning any lesson or activity. Planning assessment before instruction is the defining feature of Backward Design (UbD). Choice A (ADDIE) is a valid instructional design model but its first phase is Analysis of the learning gap, not identification of desired enduring understanding, and ADDIE does not specify that assessment planning comes before lesson planning. Choice C (Gagné) is a lesson-delivery framework, not a unit planning model. Choice D (Taba) is a curriculum development approach focused on teacher-driven, grassroots curriculum building, not the sequence of unit planning.
References
Branch, R. M. (2009). Instructional design: The ADDIE approach. Springer.
Gagné, R. M., Wager, W. W., Golas, K. C., & Keller, J. M. (2005). Principles of instructional design (5th ed.). Wadsworth.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). ASCD.