Mager, Robert F. (1962-present)
Robert Mager is a long-standing and well-respected member of the educational technology community. He has written many books as well as workshop courses and instructional films. He has an engaging writing style and his books are relatively easy to read.
In 1962 Mager published Preparing Instructional Objectives. This book helped popularize the use of performance objectives by educators and others. He described useful objectives as having three characteristics (Mager 1984):
1) Performance. An objective always says what a learner is expected to be able to do; the objective sometimes describes the product or the result of the doing.
2) Conditions. An objective always describes the important conditions (if any) under which the performance is to occur.
3) Criterion. Wherever possible, an objective describes the criterion of acceptable performance by describing how well the learner must perform in order to be considered acceptable.
Mager held that an important part of writing good objectives was to use "doing words." These are words which describe a performance (e.g., identify) which can be observed and measured. Words to avoid are those which describe abstract states of being (e.g., know) which are difficult to observe or measure.
Mager's model is still a basic part of many approaches to writing objectives.
Some other titles by Mager:
Measuring Instruction Results
Analyzing Performance Problems
Goal Analysis
Developing an Attitude Toward Learning
Making Instruction Work
Dr. Robert F. Mager is an accomplished author and world-renowned expert on training and human performance improvement issues. Arguably the most well-known and respected figure in his field, he is credited with revolutionizing the performance improvement industry with his groundbreaking work. Dr. Mager holds a doctorate in psychology.
One of Dr. Mager's most significant contributions to the performance improvement field is his work on the Criterion-Referenced Instruction (CRI) training methodology. Developed by Dr. Mager in conjunction with Peter Pipe, CRI is used to develop training guaranteed to work and has become the standard for excellence in training and performance improvement. To teach this methodology to others, Dr. Mager has authored or co-authored three train-the-trainer workshops. To date, thousands of training professionals worldwide have been trained.
In addition to his work on CRI, Dr. Mager is a well-known author. He has written nine books on issues relating to training and performance improvement, and over three million copies of these classic works have been sold. He is perhaps best known for Preparing Instructional Objectives, the largest-selling book ever written on this subject. It is recognized as the standard work in its field and is the basis for many graduate level instructional design courses.
Dr. Mager's work has garnered him numerous honors and awards, including:
Distinguished Contribution to the Field of Human Resource Development (American Society for Training and Development)
Instructional Technology Ronald H. Anderson Memorial Award (American Society for Training and Development)
Distinguished Professional Achievement (International Society for Performance Improvement)
First-round inductee into TRAINING Magazine's HRD Hall of Fame
Selection as the most respected leader in the training and development field by readers of TRAINING Magazine
Selected by a poll of his peers, conducted by the International Society for Performance Improvement, to be the most influential individual in the field of instructional technology
Publication by Robert Mager