Explain a topic
A classic, well-paced explanation — hook, goal, content, practice and a step to take at work.
Based on: Robert Gagné's nine events of instruction — the best-known model of how a good lesson flows: get attention, say the goal, connect to what people know, explain, guide, practise, give feedback, check and help transfer to work.
When to use it
- People need new knowledge: a new product, a rule, a policy, how something works.
- You aren't sure which approach fits. This one is a safe default.
It's less suited to experienced people who already know the basics. Try Solve a real problem for them.
How the lesson flows
| # | Card | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Card — Why this matters | Hook: a surprising fact, a question or a situation from work. |
| 2 | Card — What you'll be able to do | 1–3 goals phrased as actions. |
| 3 | Poll — How do you do this today? | Connects to what learners already know. |
| 4–6 | Card — Key idea | The content: one idea per card, each with an example. |
| 7 | Quiz | Checks the key ideas; the comment explains the answer. |
| 8 | Card — From practice | A real example or a tip from someone who does it every day. |
| 9 | Matching | Practice with the new terms (or Ordering for steps). |
| 10 | Card — Summary | Three things to remember. |
| 11 | Checklist — Try it tomorrow | A small step to take at work. |
Add or remove Key idea cards as the topic needs. Keep a question after every 3–5 content cards.
Example
New expense policy: the hook says how many claims were returned last month. Goals: "submit a claim that's approved the first time". Key ideas: what you can claim, which receipts you need, the deadline. Quiz: "Which receipt is enough for a taxi?" Matching: expense type ↔ limit. Checklist: "Scan your receipts the same day".
Tips
- The hook is about the learner, not the company: "you'll get your money faster", not "we're introducing a new policy".
- Make wrong quiz options plausible — typical mistakes, not jokes.
- The summary repeats the goals from card 2.
Where it comes from
Robert M. Gagné (1916–2002) was an American educational psychologist. During and after the Second World War he worked on training for the US Air Force, where training had to be fast, reliable and the same for thousands of recruits. That experience led him to ask what conditions make learning happen.
He set out his answer in The Conditions of Learning (1965). Gagné drew on the information-processing view of memory, popular at the time: the mind takes in information, holds it briefly and stores it for the long term. Each of the nine events supports one step of that process, from catching attention to moving knowledge into long-term memory and applying it in new situations. Later, with Leslie Briggs and Walter Wager, he turned the model into a full method in Principles of Instructional Design (first published 1974).
Did you know?
- The nine events are still one of the most widely taught models in instructional design, more than half a century after they were published.
- Gagné also sorted what people learn into five kinds: verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills and attitudes. Each kind needs slightly different conditions. You can't learn to ride a bike just from reading about it.
- The model doesn't require all nine events to fill one card each. Many lessons cover several events on one card, and that's how it works in Grizlet too.