Task Analysis for Instructional Design:

an introductionGanesh Padmanabhan

3/19/2004

Instructional Design Its hallmark is congruency between

instruction, assessment, and learning outcomes.

Different outcomes require different assessments and instructional strategies.

Need for Task Analysis “…if you cannot describe how learners

should be able to think and perform, how will you be able to design instruction or assessment?”

What is Task Analysis? A process of analyzing and articulating the

kind of learning that you expect the learners to know how to perform.

Kinds of Task Analysis Job/Procedural Analysis Content/Subject Matter Analysis Learning Analysis Cognitive Task Analysis Activity Analysis

What do you do in Task Analysis?

1. Inventory Tasks and Content

2. Select Tasks for Analysis

3. Describe/Decompose Tasks

4. Sequence Task Components

5. Classify Tasks into Learning Outcomes

Factors in Selecting Tasks Criticality Universality/Frequency Standardization Feasibility Difficulty

Task Classification Act of identifying tasks according to the

specific type of learning outcome Taxonomies of Learning Critical link between analysis and use in

instruction

Knowledge Elicitation Techniques Documentation Analysis Observation Survey Questions Interviews Think-Aloud Protocols Unstructured Group Interviews Structured Group Interviews

Questions and Discussion