Robert Mills Gagné (August 21, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American educational psychologist best known for his Conditions of Learning.
He instructed during World War II when he worked with the Army Air Corps training pilots.
Gagné was also involved in applying concepts of instructional theory to the design of computer-based training and multimedia-based learning.
In his valedictory speech of 1932, Gagné professed that the science of psychology should be used to relieve the burdens of human life.
and Ph.D. at Brown University where he studied the conditioned operate response of white rats as part of his thesis.
1, Maxwell Field, Alabama, he administered and scored aptitude tests to choose and sort aviation cadets.
He was commissioned a second lieutenant, and assigned to School of Aviation Medicine, Randolph Field, Fort Worth, Texas.
He spent additional time in academia at the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked with graduate students.
[6] The theory has been applied to the design of instruction in all fields, though in its original formulation special attention was given to military training settings.
Development of rationally sound instructional procedures must take into account learner characteristics such as initiate capacities, experimental maturity, and current knowledge states.
"[12] Robert Gagné's work has been the foundation of instructional design since the beginning of the 1960s when he conducted research and developed training materials for the military.
[15] Gagné believed in internal learning and motivation which paved the way for theorists like Merrill, Li, and Jones who designed the Instructional Transaction Theory,[16] Reigeluth and Stein's Elaboration Theory,[17] and most notably, Keller's ARCS Model of Motivation and Design.
[18] Understanding and designing instruction based on a learning style defined by the individual brought about new theories and approaches to teaching.
[18] For example, Gagné argued that instructional designers must understand the characteristics and functions of short-term and long-term memory to facilitate meaningful learning.