Children in a first-grade class who were taking their first steps in formal mathematical knowledge were given a sequence of five modelling tasks during their regular mathematics lessons. These tasks were different in nature from the problems they encountered in their textbooks. They are more complex and challenging, requiring analysis of the…

Within the phenomenographic research tradition, the "object of learning" depicts the capability that is to be learned by the learner. It has been argued that the object of learning cannot be fully known in advance since what is to be learned depends on the learners as well as on the content taught. The object of learning and its nature…

Governments in Australia claim that standards-based reforms to schooling will result in greater use of assessment for and as learning. This study analyses the assessment practices that evolved within the planned curricula for senior secondary schooling in the Northern Territory of Australia during standards-based reforms. Case-study methodology…

The phrasing of task instructions can facilitate or hinder the learning process. In this study, three groups of participants (N = 526) performed a foreign vocabulary memorization task, with modified instructions for each group. The instructions were either learning oriented, encouraging participants to improve their abilities; outcome oriented,…

The purpose of this study was to design and develop a set of guidelines for multimedia learning objects to inform instructional designers (IDs) about the procedures involved in the process of content analysis. This study was motivated by the absence of standardized procedures in the beginning phase of the multimedia learning object design which is…

Students in an undergraduate psychology course on Learning and Cognition used SKO (formerly AutoTutor Lite), an Intelligent Tutoring System, to create interactive lessons in which a pedagogic agent (animated avatar) engages users in a tutorial dialogue. After briefly describing the technology and underlying psychological theory, data from an…

We traced the impact of a sequence of five research-based professional development sessions on a cohort of mathematics teachers' Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching. The sessions focused on task design and implementation as a means of building teachers' pedagogical capacity. Findings revealed that teachers' pedagogical knowledge pertaining to…

The Comprehensive Assessment of Leadership for Learning (CALL) is a multi-source assessment of distributed instructional leadership. As part of the validation of CALL, researchers examined differences between teacher and leader ratings in assessing distributed leadership practices. The authors utilized a t-test for equality of means for the…

Not all knowledge and skills that educators want to pass to students exists yet in textbooks. Some still resides only in the experiences of practicing engineers (e.g., how engineers create new products, how designers identify errors in calculations). The critical incident technique, CIT, is an established method for cognitive task analysis. It is…

Describes a study that used survey research techniques to identify duties and tasks related to work performed by data entry operators. Based upon survey findings, a catalog of performance objectives and guides was developed, which is especially useful for instructors, as well as administrators and curriculum specialists. (NRJ)

Describes the beginning of a study of the cognitive processes required for applying financial accounting knowledge to specific problem solving situations. Task analysis is used to describe the cognitive components of accounting, and algorithms for the tasks are appended. Eighteen references are listed. (Author/CHC)

Suggests that trainers take innovative approaches to training clients who work in high-risk jobs such as the military and recommmends that external needs assessment, front end analysis, and task analysis be used to establish training goals and objectives. Nine references are listed. (MER)

The purpose of this project was to develop a prototype expert instructional design system (ID Expert) which would demonstrate the feasibility of a consultation system for use by inexperienced instructional designers. The prototype gathers information from the designer and then makes recommendations for instructional design decisions. The output of…

Examines differences between needs assessment (process of determining the gap between what is and what should be) and task analysis (definition and classification of tasks to improve job performance), and discusses the human productivity model NEBEAT (Needs Education and Training Model), which defines competency as synthesis of processes and…

Results are presented of the Nursing Delineation Pilot Study, which was conducted in 1981-1982 as part of a nursing project to develop a coordinated statewide system of nursing education in Kentucky. Gilpatrick's Health Services Mobility Study Method of Task Analysis and Curriculum Design (1977) was used to identify and describe tasks of different…