Task Analysis

Task analysis is often considered the most critical part of instructional design because it provides important information about the content and tasks.

What should learners know or able to do after the instruction?

Morrsion defined 3 main problems instructional designer face is this phase:
1. define the content
2. observe SME who goes through the steps
3. take the learners perspective

Even though there are many approaches to task analysis, they all share a common goal: pinpoint the content and skills that have to be included in the instruction

I liked Jonassen, Hannum, and Tessmer's approach the most. Basically, you have 5 activities:

1. inventory tasks
2. describe tasks
3. select tasks
4. sequence tasks
5. analyze tasks and content level

SME's play a crutial part during task analysis - content and how to sequence.
I feel this is the part sometimes missing at schools. Teachers, who are SME's, are not included in the process.

Finally, you come up with a document - flowchart or outline that describes the content and tasks. Maybe even both? I like the simplicity of a flow chart --> easy to follow. But also the more detailed outline --> more specific .

After reading this article I feel little bit better about the analysis document. I now have an idea where I should be headed with this project.

Understanding by Design - Chapter 1

"Our lessons, units, and courses should be logically inferred from the results sought, not derived from the methods, books, and activities with which we are most comfortable"

- Sometimes we, as teachers, just do a lesson because we did it last year and we like it and the kids liked it. Well, that's all great but does this lesson have a purpose?

I feel that with only so few hours a day to teach, I really have to make sure everything I do has a purpose.

"Too many teachers focus on the teaching and not on the learning"

- Teaching does not equal learning. I sometimes wish it did but id does not. The fact that I teach a lesson does not mean that students learned the material. I have to have something in place to check for understanding and then go from there - either moving on or going back and figuring out a different way to teach it.

"Content-focused design instead of result-focused design"

- Do we want to get through the content or do we want to understand and it?

"Hand on without being minds-on"

- Hand on activities are great but we have to make sure that "mind are on" at the same time. I admit that I have done activities that were just hands on. Oh well, it happens. But I won't do the same activity again without figuring out how to get the mind involved also.

"Engagement is necessary, but not sufficient, as an end result."

- Of course students have to pay attention and be engaged in order for learning to take place. But a lesson that is just fun and exciting without having any purpose is not going to improve their understanding.

"Routinely using the template and design tools, users will likely develop mental template of key ideas presented in this book"

Conducting Goal Analysis - my thoughts after reading chapter 3

knowing vs. doing = SME vs. ID

What exactly would be learners doing if they were accomplishing the goal successfully?

- It is a step-by-step description of what will happen. It could be fairly easy for simple tasks like brushing your teeth but way more complicated for mental tasks like prime factorization. Some tasks have "pre-requisites". This reminds me a situation from couple of days ago when I received a note from a parent telling me that her son needs more help understanding the concept of prime factorization. However, the parent fails to understand that a prerequisite skill to prime factorization is understanding prime and composite numbers and before that can happen, a student must be able find factors of a number and before that, they must know their multiplication facts. Therefore, the first step for him is to practice his multiplication facts. I gave my best trying to explain this but I am afraid she did not get it.

2 fundamental steps:

1. Classify the goal statement

4 domains of learning:

- attitude

- intellectual

- verbal information

- psychomotor skills

Bloom Gagne

Psychomotor	Psychomotor skills
Affective	Attitude
Knowledge	Verbal information
Comprehension	Intellectual
application	Intellectual
Analysis	Intellectual
Synthesis	Intellectual
Evaluation	Intellectual

2. Identity and sequence major steps

What is technology? What does an “instructional designer” do? How would you explain to your friends, work associates, or mother-in-law what it is that you are learning and what you will be able to do with your future degree?

After reading chapter one I have a somewhat of an understanding what an instructional design is. I would like to compare it to designing a kitchen (which I am currently also doing). In order to design a well functioning kitchen I must think of many things - functionality, cost, aesthetics, time. I cannot just go to Ikea or Home Depot and buy things that will not match and go together. Instructional designer does the same thing when planning a curriculum for example. Instead of just piling together several lesson plans, instructional designer has a vision in mind how it will all come together. They start with end in mind. What do we want to accomplish?

I had to read Understanding By Design book for one of my classes when I was finishing my teaching credentials. Honestly, I did not get it. I liked the idea and thought behind it but I did not understand how I, as a teacher, was going to use it in my classroom. This was 3 years ago. I am so excited to pick up this book again and give it a second try. Someone mentioned in class that as a beginning teacher you focus so much on just getting the curriculum done and managing the classroom. You never have time to really plan thoughtful units. I completely agree. After teaching for 3 years I finally feel that I can do it. Hopefully.

One of the key words to me from chapter 1 was SYSTEMATIC. When I think of instructional designer, I think of someone who plans everything very systematically. There is a process which they follow (ADDIE) and they must be willing to go back at any given time if something does not work.

These where my first thoughts about instructional design. I think once we get going with our ADDIE project I will have more to add from more hands on perspective.