Conditions of Learning PDF
Preview Conditions of Learning
THE CONDITIONS OF LEARNING KS Robert M. Gagne NUNC COCNOSCO EX PARTE THOMAS J. BATA LIBRARY TRENT UNIVERSITY Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/conditionsoflearOOOOgagn The Conditions of Learning ROBERT M. GAGNE The Florida State University The Conditions of Learning SECOND EDITION HOLT, RINEHART and WINSTON, Inc. New York Chicago San Francisco Atlanta Dallas Montreal Toronto London Sydney lb io5 Copyright © 1965, 1970 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. All rights reserved Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 78-115178 ISBN: 0-03-080330-6 Printed in the United States of America 34567890 074 9876543 Preface The first edition of this book was in¬ tended to answer the question, What is known about the process of learning that can be put to use in designing better education? This aim has not changed in the present edition, and the answer I give continues to have the same basic structure. The point of view of this text is that learning must be linked to the design of instruction through consideration of the different kinds of capabilities that are being learned. In other words, the external events that are called instruction need to have different characteristics, depending on the par¬ ticular class of performance change that is the focus of in¬ terest. The book describes eight distinguishable classes of performance change (learning) and the corresponding sets of conditions for learning that are associated with them. Additional studies and sources of evidence are cited in this volume for areas that in the last edition depended upon observations of a less systematic nature. An attempt has been made to provide a somewhat more complete and con¬ temporary view of the process of learning by the inclusion of a more adequate treatment of contingency-of-reinforce- ment theory, a chapter describing common features of learn- v 211981 Preface VI ing events, and description of a number of other relevant findings of modern learning research. In addition, I have attempted to fill gaps, wherever these have been pointed out to me by students and instructors, and to clarify the meaning of such difficult terms as “concept" and “rule.” The topic of learning hierarchies has been given increased prominence in this edition, including additional description and, I hope, clarification. This conception, which in its fun¬ damental form proposes that the types of learning are de¬ pendent upon each other in a prior learning sense, may be viewed as a theory. Chapter 9 treats learning hierarchies primarily as tools for instructional technology, particularly in connection with the design of sequences of instruction, courses, and curricula. The relevance of these hierarchies to questions of learning readiness and intellectual develop¬ ment is described in Chapter 10. The book is intended for students in psychology and edu¬ cation who have gained some acquaintance with the phe¬ nomena of learning in an earlier course of study. I am told that the book in its first edition has seemed particularly appropriate for students who have had such a background, and I trust this will continue to be the case. Use of the book in courses in psychology, as well as in education, is gratify¬ ing for an author who identifies firmly with the former discipline. The orientation of the book toward educational problems is, of course, deliberate, but the demonstration of its applicability to fundamental research in learning is a task that may well require the efforts of many bridge builders. As for the relation of the ideas contained in this text to educational planning and practice, I have had many heartwarming examples described to me, frequently accom¬ panied by helpful criticisms, and I am most grateful for them. Tallahassee, Florida R.M.G. February 1970
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