Five premises necessary for the formulation of instructional theory are stated. As a suggested elaboration of the "behavior classification" premise, a two-way (content and behavior) classification scheme for higher order tasks is described. The content dimension includes paired associate, concept, principle, and problem tasks. The…

The Health Services Mobility Study is engaged in the development of generic methodology to analyze health occupations at the professional, technical, and aide level, with the aim of providing a data base that could result in the design of job ladders, curriculum guidelines for educational ladders, and the design of performance evaluation…

An analytical method for defining and describing the behavioral elements of those tasks that are inherent in the operation of large cargo trucks for mission durations ranging from four to eight hours was developed and validated in this study. The preliminary analysis of task elements was subjected to validation by several means: structured…

Research on nonprofessional personnel in special libraries is reviewed with particular emphasis on the emerging paraprofessional--library technical assistant (LTA)--category, and conclusions are drawn from relevant research on paraprofessionals in other human service fields which may have implications of importance to special librarians. While…

The report describes the development and evaluation of a Tactical Air Command (TAC) C-130E transitional aircrew training program based on a systems approach. The systems approach to training emphasizes the importance of specifying objectives derived from a task analysis of the aircrew member's job. A training program was prepared to develop…

A study investigated the relationship between avionics subsystem design characteristics and training time, training cost, and job performance. A list of design variables believed to affect training and job performance was established and supplemented with personnel variables, including aptitude test scores and the amount of training and…

The purpose of this federally-funded interim report is to present the results of a task inventory analysis survey of automotive mechanics completed by project staff within the Instructional Systems Design Program at the Center for Vocational and Technical Education. Intended for use in curriculum development for vocational education programs in…

The purpose of this project was to explore and more carefully design studies of adjective-related structures and processes as they emerge during development in children between the ages of 4 to 8, since the salient characteristics in speech at this age tend to compare and contrast objects encountered in their environments. A group of 40 black and…

Describes a study comparing nine different methods of data collection with nine different kinds of data sought. Each was assigned a value on a scale of 0 to 5. The resulting chart indicates the method of collection having the highest probability of success for the purpose required. (Author/JEG)

Planning the menu for a dinner party, which involves problem-solving with a large body of knowledge, is used to study the daily operation of human memory. Verbal protocol analysis, a technique devised to investigate formal problem-solving, is examined theoretically and adapted for analysis of this task. (Author/MV)

Reports the results of a study designed to measure any changes in the Piagetian level of intellectual functioning of students after taking one introductory college physics course for one semester. No developmental progress was found as a result of taking such a course. (Author/GA)

Shows how task analysis helps reading teachers to understand the learning processes that are required for developing specific comprehension skills. Gives an example whereby task analysis is applied to teaching children to remember the sequential events from a reading selection. (RL)

Over the past decade, increasing numbers of educators have used diagnostic/prescriptive instruction as a remedial system when working with problem learners. A basic philosophical controversy exists regarding two fundamentally different models--task analysis and ability training--which popularly serve to undergird diagnostic/prescriptive…

Presents a framework for analyzing academic tasks based on task conceptions formulated in cognitive psychology and research on classroom interaction. Using this framework, an analysis of a single task in a high school English class is presented. Issues raised by the study are addressed. (CJH)

The contextual determination of cognitive activities was investigated in a primary school naturalistic experiment. Performance at a group level on an elementary arithmetic task is influenced by the immediate context. Use of analogies as heuristic aids and the functional meaning of the task as a pedagogical praxis are assessed. (TJH)