Conditions of Learning

424 Pages·1970·15.417 MB·English

by  Robert M. Gagne

THE CONDITIONS
OF LEARNING KS
Robert M. Gagne
NUNC COCNOSCO EX PARTE
THOMAS J. BATA LIBRARY
TRENT UNIVERSITY
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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