The concept of an algorithm derives from the physical sciences, but it has often been misunderstood and misapplied in the social sciences and in education. The theoretical and practical significance of algorithms stems from their applicability to problems of learning, instruction, and instructional design, and they may potentially provide the…

A total of 72 kindergarteners received eight conservation of number trials which varied in the degree of perceptual support for one-to-one correspondence (four levels) and type of stimuli (toy animals or corks). A between-subjects variable was the method of presentation (standard conservation presentation, a partially fixed array, or a fixed…

Discussed in this report is a technique used in cross-cultural research for measuring cognitive processes in children and youth. The research strategy aims at evaluating the subject's performances on problem solving tasks by having subjects become active agents in the discovery process while experimenters remain as passive and neutral as possible.…

Presented for diagnosticians and referral agents is an overview of four major types of diagnostic procedures utilized in the assessment of mental retardation: differential, etiological, diagnostic-remedial, and behavioral-task analysis. The rationale, definition, method, assets, and limitations of each method are discussed and are summarized in…

On May 8 and 9, 1970, 170 people from six provinces and four states gathered in Thunder Bay, Ontario, at Lakehead University, for a two-day workshop on the subject of library technicians. The objectives of this workshop were: (1) to consider the role of library assistants or technicians and the type of post-secondary school training which they…

This discussion of transitive inferences (if A greater than B & B greater than C, then A greater thean C) emphasizes an information processing analysis of logical thought. The two basic factors considered in such an analysis are (1) the task environment, including its structure, demands, decisions required, and information given; and (2) the…

Task analysis is a procedure having the purpose of identifying different kinds of performances which are outcomes of learning, in order to make possible the specification of optimal instructional conditions for each kind of outcome. Task analysis may be related to content analysis in two different ways: (1) it may be used to identify the probably…

This report relates principles of system analysis and work study techniques to library activities in order to aid librarians in their assessment of library work. The meaning and methods of system analysis and work study are explored and the system concepts of organization purpose, work goals and performance objectives are defined and applied to…

The second phase of a project designed to further analyze the factors contributing to the task difficulty in Naval jobs and to determine the optimum training methods for these jobs is reported. A telephone survey of experts attempted to gather data regarding task difficulty. The results of the survey were inconclusive. As a result of the problems…

Presented is the task analysis for "Developing Mathematical Processes, Arithmetic, Book 1: Comparing and Equalizing Objects and Sets." This task analysis consists of identifying the behavioral objectives necessary for comparing and equalizing objects and sets and arranging them in a logical sequence for instruction. The 52 items in this task…

The training requirements associated with equipment and systems utilized in underwater salvage operations and with the diving activities which are a part of underwater salvage operations are examined. The major emphasis of the study was on the training conditions suitable for the diver. It was found that divers are best trained in a tank or in…

This study was designed to assess the conceptual structure of the Task of Public Education Opinionnaire (TPE). Since the development of the instrument, several psychometric techniques have been formulated. Two of those methods, image component and alpha factor analysis, were applied to the items of the TPE after the correlation matrices were…

This report describes the overall work of the project and the first 10 months of its current demonstration phase, Phase IV. It presents an overview of the project's history and objectives, a description of the methodologies involved, the steps taken in applying the methodologies in task analysis and curriculum design, the approach to…

The second volume of an eight-part series on a task-based management system for special education programs offers detailed procedures for use of the task base composite (TBC), a listing of approximately 700 task descriptions classified under 20 functions and divided according to whether the task is necessary to support a program or directly…

Two studies attempted to determine whether a programed instruction booklet on a task in algebra would be more effective if the units in the program were presented in a sequence suggested by a hierarchical analysis of the task than if units were presented in a reverse or a random sequence. In the first study, a program was made up, based on the…