Learning and Task Analysis

Summary

This course was a meticulous study of the ways to identify the kinds of learning and prerequisite skills necessary to achieve learning goals. Writing instructional objectives on all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning to use with the assigned projects was required. Focus in this course included performing procedural analysis to develop hierarchical, conceptual, and subject-matter organizing structures.

Artifacts

Hierarchical Task Analysis - Quatrain

Conceptual Analysis - Universal Design for Learning

Process

My project, the quatrain prerequisite analysis required use of the increasingly complex cognition associated with writing a quatrain. We were required to look at specific learning/task and where it lies on the Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning. We linked learning/task associated with learning on the lower levels of the taxonomy, understanding, and work our way up to more complex skills involving evaluating and creating. I worked from the bottom-up to identify the hierarchical skill necessary to create a quatrain. Simply looking at the structure of a quatrain, I identified the most basic components, recognizing a quatrain, patterns, rhyming words and syllables. Next, it is required that comprehension of patterns, rhyming words and syllables is demonstrated by describing, providing examples, selecting and identifying these components. The application of compare/contrast and predicting these components in a new context was next. Then it is necessary to determine how the application of these components are used to create a quatrain.

Reflection

Completing the projects in this course gave me a greater awareness of the intricacies physical and cognitive skill acquisition. The impact that skill or learning deficits have on the learning process was demonstrated when we applied Bloom’s taxonomy to procedural and conceptual analysis; any skill not mastered, whether it is on the bottom of the taxonomy or towards the top, effects higher levels of learning. Physical and cognitive skill deficits have significant influences on learning and production. The application of task analysis in course development and training creates a more efficient and effective way of learning and working.