Learning Task Analysis

Dr. LamTECM 5180

Last week…

• We discussed the analysis phase of ID• Needs Analysis is primary function (focus on

identifying a problem that can actually be solved by learning)

• Discussed different analysis steps involved in establishing a need for training

This week…

• Assume you’ve completed the analysis phase

• Move to learning task analysis• Walk through the process of conducting a

learning task analysis • Tie this analysis into design and the design

document deliverable

About learning task analysis

• Systematic method for determining the individual tasks, goals, and objectives of a course

• One of the biggest steps to move into the design/development stage of ID

• Close to the act of outlining content for a paper

Learning Task Analysis

According to Ragan and Smith:1. Write a learning goal2. Determine the types of learning in the goal3. Conduct an information-processing analysis4. Conduct a prerequisite analysis5. Write learning objectives for the learning

goal and each of the perquisites

Write a learning goal

• After needs analysis, you should have a “general” list of learning goals (e.g., “

• Specific learning goals are statements of purpose or intention, what learners should be able to do at the end of instruction

• After this module (or unit or session or program), learners should be able to…

A word about learning goals vs. objectives

• Learning goals are broad goals that describe what learners should know at the end of the course.

• Learning objectives are subparts of goals (more detailed than goals).

• Goal: “When given four options, learners will select the best student loan for their context”. • Objective: “Learners can outline three key

differences between a parent plus loan and a Stafford loan in their own words.”

PracticeWhich of the following goals are unambiguous so that they can clearly guide further design activities? How can we fix the ambiguous examples?1. Students will hear lectures and attend discussions on future trends in

technology, philosophy, and business. 2. The student can select examples of the concept conservative (in the political

dichotomy of liberal vs. conservative) from a list of examples and nonexamples.

3. The student will understand the procedure for applying for welfare. 4. The student will administer an allergy injection following the sterile

technique. 5. The student can compute the mean, range, and standard deviation of a

series of ten numbers. 6. The student has acquired the ability to deal with angry parents. 7. Each student will be able to view clear, precise, and correctly demonstrated

examples of the A-4 technique as presented in the video, “The A-4 Technique in Action”.

Gagne’s Types of Learning Outcomes

• Declarative Knowledge• Intellectual Skills• Cognitive Strategies• Attitudes• Psychomotor Skills

Declarative KnowledgeDefinition Bloom’s

equivalentExample

Require learners to recall in verbatim, paraphrased, or summarized form facts, lists, names, or organized information.

Recall and understanding

In your own words, write the definition of probability.

Intellectual SkillsDefinition Bloom’s

equivalentExample

• Application of rules to previously unencountered examples.

• Differs from declarative knowledge in that learners not only recall information, but they apply it.

Application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation

When given three scenarios, select the scenario that requires a T-Test and what scenario requires an ANOVA.

More about intellectual skills

• Discriminations- Ability to perceive that something either matches or differs from other things.

• Concepts- idea that is generalized from particular instances. Think if it as a “container”. (e.g., smart phone) Learners shouldn’t simply be able to define concepts, but apply the definition to unencountered examples.

• Principles- Also known as “relational rules” can usually be expressed as “if/then” statements. (E.g., “If demand goes up, then supply goes up”)

• Procedures- Tell us in what order certain steps should be taken. • Problem solving- Learned capability of applying multiple rules.

E.g., “selecting a research methodology when given a specific research question”.

Cognitive StrategiesDefinition Bloom’s

equivalent

Example

• Learning how to learn• Rehearsal strategies• Elaboration strategies• Organizational Strategies• Metacognitive strategies• Affective strategies

None • Use the acronym RoyGBiv to remember the order and colors of a rainbow.

• Summarize the research article.

• Reflect on and identify what you know and what you don’t know about the topic.

• Develop a personal reward system to encourage yourself to complete the project.

Attitudes Definition Bloom’s

equivalentExample

• Mental state that predisposes a learner to choose to behave a certain way.

• Attitudes influence key choices (e.g., if you dislike math, you’ll avoid taking math classes)

• Hard to design directly in a training setting

None • Describe the relevance of this information to you personally.

Psychomotor SkillsDefinition Bloom’s

equivalentExample

• Coordinated muscular movements that are typified by smoothness and precise timing

None Shoot a basketball correctly.

PracticeIs it declarative knowledge, discrimination, concept, principle, problem solving, cognitive strategy, pscychomotor skill, or attitude?1. The student must be able to select the beakers from a set of laboratory

equipment. 2. The learner must be able to type sixty words per minute. 3. The student teacher must choose to utilize positive reinforcement rather

than punishment. 4. The student must select the appropriate pronoun so that the noun and

pronoun agree in number. 5. The student must select curtains that exactly match the color of the

carpet. 6. When given a series of poems, the learner must tell which ones are

examples of haiku. 7. The student must invent a way to remember people’s names.

Information-Processing Analysis

Helps us determine the necessary content for instruction and occurs in two-steps: 1. Information processing analysis of a goal2. A prerequisite analysis of the steps identified

in the information-processing analysis.

Information Processing Analysis

• First step in breaking down the goal into its constituent parts, identifying what the students need to learn to attain the goal.

• Example: Given a topic in the area of “technical communication”, the learner will be able to locate journal articles relevant to that topic.

10 Steps for Information-Processing Analysis

1. Read and gather as much information as possible about the task and content implied by the goal.

2. Convert the goal into a representative “test” question. 3. Give the problem to several individuals who know how

to complete the task and do one or several of the following: observe them completing the task (think aloud OR videotape); have them complete and write out steps; ask them to write out steps.

4. Review the written steps or replay the tape and ask questions about the process.

10 Steps for Information-Processing Analysis

5. If more than one expert is used in steps 3 and 4, identify commonalities.

6. Identify the shortest, least complex path for completing the task, noting factors that require this simpler path.

7. Note factors that may require a more complex path or more steps.

8. Select the circumstances, and the simpler or more complex paths, that best match the intentions of your goal(s).

9. List the steps and decision points appropriate to your goal(s). 10. Confirm the analysis with other experts.

Perquisite Analysis

• For each step you identified in the information-processing analysis, determine what a learner must know or be able to do to complete the step.

• Example: Log into the UNT library site. 1. The URL to the UNT library site2. Username and password3. When you need to login and when you don’t. 4. ???

Writing Learning Objectives • Basically, we want to create a learning objective for steps and

perquisites that we identified in the information-processing analysis.

• Three essential parts to a good learning objective:1. Description of the terminal behavior.• Describe w/ action verb (use Bloom’s)• E.g., Identify an empirical article in technical communication journals.

2. Description of the conditions of demonstration of that action. • Describes the tools or information that the learners will be given

when they demonstrate their learning. • E.g., Given four articles, identify an empirical article…

3. Description of the standard or criterion. • Describes how well the learner must do for you to say the learner has

achieved the objective. (accuracy, number of errors, time, etc.)• E.g., Given four articles, identify the two empirical articles.

Hypothetical example…

Scenario: We’re designing a short course overviewing how to conduct an experiment and statistically analyze data. We’ve already determined there is a need and outlined the following general learning goals:

1. Students should know when to conduct an experiment.2. Students should know how to conduct an experiment. 3. Students should know how to choose the correct

statistical tests and conduct the tests. 4. Students should know the advantages and

disadvantages of experiments.

Go through the process…

1. Write a learning goal2. Determine the types of learning in the goal3. Conduct an information-processing analysis4. Conduct a prerequisite analysis5. Write learning objectives for the learning

goal and each of the perquisites

What’s next?

Now that you have an outline of your course content, what’s next?• Learning strategy analysis – It’s

essential to determine what the optimal delivery methods are for each type of learning.

• Writing the design document – Outlines your major design decisions and provides a detailed design matrix for the entire course.