Showing papers on "Task analysis published in 1978"
TL;DR: The authors explored the role of information storage in working memory in performing mental arithmetic and showed that interim information is forgotten if it is not utilized immediately, and that forgetting increases as a function of the number of calculation stages intervening between initial presentation and subsequent utilization of information.
417 citations
TL;DR: Hareter et al. as discussed by the authors found that children derive maximum pleasure from optimally challenging tasks, and that a curvilinear model may best describe the relationship between task difficulty and task difficulty for correctly solved items.
Abstract: HARTER, SUSAN. Pleasure Derived from Challenge and the Effects of Receiving Grades on Children's Difficulty Level Choices. CmLD DEVELOPMENT, 1978, 49, 788-799. In order to examine the hypothesis that children derive maximum pleasure from optimally challenging tasks, sixth graders were given anagram problems at 4 difficulty levels. The results suggested that a curvilinear model may best describe the relationship between pleasure and task difficulty for correctly solved items where the subject has no choice of the problems to be solved. Active choice of optimally challenging items was also assessed in a second phase of the study, where half of the subjects were instructed that the task was a game and half were instructed that it was a schooltype task for which they would receive letter grades. Under the game condition children chose and verbalized their preference for optimally challenging problems. Those children working for grades chose significantly easier anagrams to perform. Not only did the latter subjects respond below their optimal level, but they manifested less pleasure and verbalized more anxiety. The findings are discussed in terms of the need to refine existing models of the relationship between task difficulty and pleasure as well as to consider the effects which such extrinsic motivators as grades may have on attenuating intrinsic motivation.
173 citations
TL;DR: This article found that pupils' involvement in tasks was a necessary condition for school achievement and that pupil involvement was different for high, middle, and low achievers and that certain types of classroom activities were associated with higher or with lower levels of pupil involvement.
Abstract: ? 1978 by The University of Chicago. 0013-5984/78/7803-0010$00.88 Pupils who fall behind their classmates academically fall further behind each year they remain in school (1). Part of the explanation for their continuing failure to keep pace with other pupils may lie in the fact that they spend less time on academic tasks than other pupils. The reason for such self-defeating behavior may be the desire to maintain self-esteem. If a pupil expends less effort on schoolwork than the average pupil, any resulting failure may be easier to accept. Pupils who try but fail may conclude that they do not have the ability to succeed. Pupils' involvement in tasks would seem to be a necessary condition for school achievement. If pupils are to master material, they must engage in it and react to it-read, make response. Indeed there are data to suggest that achievement is related to time for learning and opportunity to learn (2, 3). Similarly, there are data to suggest that learning is also positively related to low rates of time lost because of poor management of classrooms, for example, lengthy transitions (4). The major purpose of the present study was to find out whether pupil involvement was different for high, middle, and low achievers. Also, we wanted to find out whether pupils generally were more involved in some subjects than in others and whether certain types of classroom activities were associated with higher or with lower levels of pupil involvement. We selected two different types of schools to find out whether pupils' characteristics affect involvement. School 1
129 citations
TL;DR: A classroom program to teach public transportation usage (bus-riding skills) to retarded persons indicated that up to 12 months after termination of training, each subject exhibited appropriate bus-r riding skills on actual city buses.
Abstract: This study evaluated a classroom program to teach public transportation usage (bus-riding skills) to retarded persons. Based on a task analysis of specific skills, five retarded male students were taught each of the components of locating, signalling, boarding and riding, and exiting a bus. These skills were taught sequentially, using training procedures consisting of role playing, manipulating the actions of a doll on a simulated model, and responding to questions about slide sequences. Before, during, and after training, subjects were tested on generalization probes in the classroom and in the natural environment. Results of a multiple-baseline design across subjects indicated that up to 12 months after termination of training, each subject exhibited appropriate bus-riding skills on actual city buses. Two other subjects were trained on each skill component in vivo, on city buses, in order to compare the relative effectiveness and efficiency of classroom versus in vivo training. Both of these subjects acquired appropriate bus-riding skills; however, the in vivo training procedure was both more time consuming and expensive than classroom training. These findings further demonstrate the effectiveness and practicality of properly designed classroom training procedures for teaching community survival skills to retarded persons.
105 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between integrative complexity of managers' perception of their information environment and the volume, breadth, and balance of their use of information sources.
70 citations
70 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of cognitive style and training on tasks requiring the separation of variables Schema has been investigated and it has been suggested that cognitive style interacts with task context rather than with the underlying formal thought processes.
Abstract: LINN, MARCIA C. Influence of Cognitive Style and Training on Tasks Requiring the Separation of Variables Schema. CmLD DEVELOPMENT, 1978, 49, 874-877. It has been suggested that cognitive style interacts with performance on tasks measuring formal thought. Conceivably cognitive style interacts with task context rather than with the underlying formal thought processes. Experiments are reported to clarify the type of task that elicits an interaction and to determine whether such interactions can be altered by instruction in formal thought processes.
70 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that 3-to-5-year-old children can compare part with whole with an included part and non-included set, and that the errors which occur in inclusion tasks are similar to errors that occur in tasks involving comparison of nonincluded sets.
69 citations
TL;DR: Considering communication as an organizational task, this article suggests three variables (availability, uniformity, and independence) that characterize the information task at the work unit level and explicates their dependence on strategic choices by work units.
Abstract: Considering communication as an organizational task, this article suggests three variables (availability, uniformity, and independence) that characterize the information task at the work unit level and explicates their dependence on strategic choices by work units. Three sets of propositions are developed relating information task characteristics to: (a) organizational task variables; (b) the organization's communication structure; (c) power and influence in the organization. Implications of the framework are considered.
57 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a framework for selecting general intervention strategies based on an analysis of the group task is presented, and studies which have tried to assess the effects of various intervention strategies on group performance are reviewed and findings shown to be consistent with predictions made by the framework.
Abstract: A framework is presented for selecting general intervention strategies based on an analysis of the group task. Using this framework, studies which have tried to assess the effects of various intervention strategies on group performance are reviewed and findings shown to be consistent with predictions made by the framework; seemingly contradictory findings are shown to be reconcilable.
51 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the influence of leadership structuring style and task ambiguity on group member satisfaction has been investigated, and it was found that participative leaders were more interesting and satisfying for group members than laissez-faire leaders.
Abstract: The problem posed in this study wasto determine the influence of leadership structuring style and task ambiguity on group member satisfaction. Group member satisfaction has been measured after manipulations of either leadership style or task ambiguity, but the relationship between the two variables has not been previously investigated. The relationship between leadership style .and group performance has been studied for some time. Studies by Lewin et al. (1939) and Lippitt and White provided striking evidence that the same individuals behave in markedly different ways under autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire leadership styles. Baumgartel (1957) reported that groups with participative leaders were more active in decision-making and were more cohesive than groups with laissez-faire leaders. Similarly, Preston and Heintz (1949) and Graen et al. (1970, 1972) have concluded that structuring, participative leaders were more interesting and satisfying for group members. In the present study, the structuring leadership style was considered as, behavior which was considerate, described goals and steps toward goal attainment, clarified alternatives, stimulated self-direction, volunteered task information, and stressed equalitarian behavior among group members. Unstructuring leadership style involved problem presentation to the group followed by nonparticipation in group activities, unless information or contributions were specifically requested. Another aspect of this study involved consideration of the ambiguity of group tasks. Fiedler (1967) defined a task as ambiguous, to the extent that the goal was clear, there was a single path to the goal, there was only one correct solution or decision, and the decision was easily
TL;DR: The technique appears to be valid and useful for the study of individual differences in processing resources when the additional task is secondary, presents discrete stimuli which impose constant load, is carried out at a forced pace and competes with the primary task for processing resources only.
Abstract: Various applications and design factors of dual task situations are critically surveyed. It is concluded that many applications make questionable assumptions and that many frequently used features of design are unsatisfactory. However, the technique appears to be valid and useful for the study of individual differences in processing resources, when the additional task is secondary, presents discrete stimuli which impose constant load, is carried out at a forced pace and competes with the primary task for processing resources only.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study the difficulty of primary grade teachers in managing classroom and seatwork and find that less effective teachers appear to have most of their trouble in the management of classrooms and the seatwork.
Abstract: Managing seatwork-indeed, managing classrooms so that students spend most of their time on the assigned task-is a difficult job for many primary grade teachers, particularly when they are usually expected to both manage seatwork and work with a small group of children. Less effective teachers, in particular, appear to have most of their trouble in the management of classrooms and the seatwork. This area merits more study. The first task is to describe what is going on. Such description could include the percentage of time spent on seatwork in different educational contexts and the percentage of assigned seatwork time that children spend in actual on-task work.
01 Jul 1978
TL;DR: This paper analyzed the new methods of teaching skiing in terms of a computational paradigm for learning called increasingly complex microworlds (ICM) to achieve insight into the complex issues of skill acquisition and design of learning environments -- especially computer-based ones.
Abstract: : Today, millions of people are learning to ski in just a few days instead of the months it took to learn twenty years ago. In this paper, we analyze the new methods of teaching skiing in terms of a computational paradigm for learning called increasingly complex microworlds (ICM). Examining the factors that underly the dramatic enhancement of the learning of skiing led us to focus on the processes of simplification, debugging, and coaching. We study these three processes in detail, showing how the structure of each is affected by the basic skills required to perform a task, the equipment involved in its execution, and the environment in which the skill is executed. Throughout, we draw parallels between the process of learning to ski and learning computer programming and problem-solving. Our goal is to achieve insight into the complex issues of skill acquisition and design of learning environments -- especially computer-based ones -- through the analysis of the intuitively understandable domain of ski instruction. (Author)
TL;DR: In this article, a practical guide for teachers of handicapped children who wish to make task analysis a functional part of their teaching repertoires is presented, along with general guidelines for task analysts.
Abstract: T his article is designed as a practical guide for teachers of handicapped children who wish to make task analysis a functional part of their teaching repertoires. A brief rationale for task analysis within a behavioral approach to instruction is presented followed by general guidelinesd for task analysts. Six different methods of task analysis are outlined and their applications are explained. The methods of analysis described should better enable teachers to break down the myriad goals encountered in special classes. Guidelines for checking the adequacy of task analyses are included.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a research on the development of a theoretically and scientifically sound basis for the creation of specialized instructional materials for the mentally retarded using a mnemonitechnic approach designed to teach children and adults a basic reading vocabulary in which the central feature is the use of associative strategies to facilitate word recognition.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter summarizes a research on the development of a theoretically and scientifically sound basis for the creation of specialized instructional materials for the mentally retarded. This research is regarded as the beginning of the development of a mnemonitechnic approach designed to teach retarded children and adults a basic reading vocabulary in which the central feature is the use of associative strategies to facilitate word recognition. The results of the research suggest that mentally retarded persons can be instructed in the use of mediating strategies and that these strategies have a facilitating effect upon verbal associative learning. The results also demonstrate that retarded subjects can learn faster and retain more information. The task analysis approach and inquiry into efficient ways of learning provide a fruitful approach for the diagnosis and remediation of learning difficulties.
TL;DR: Application of commonly-used task analysis procedures to the affective domain leads to difficulties with instructional design, specification of intermediate objectives, and completeness of analysis.
Abstract: Application of commonly-used task analysis procedures to the affective domain leads to difficulties with instructional design, specification of intermediate objectives, and completeness of analysis. Analysis of objectives in six domains is presented as an alternative. Basing analysis on cue sensitivity, without directly specifying stimulus conditions, can serve as a useful technique in domains other than the cognitive.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The supplantation model for instructional design is presented as an instrument for helping to produce predictable performance outcomes through the analysis of learners and learning tasks, and the joining of learnersand tasks through the use of instructional treatments which assist learners in performing task requirements.
Abstract: Drawing on concepts from such areas as information processing and cognitive processes in learning, learning task analysis, and interactive research techniques, this paper discusses a model for inst...
TL;DR: The traditionally low level of expectancy of persons with moderate, severe, or profound mental retardation in industrial work settings is reviewed from a human factors viewpoint and a case is made for interfacing the retarded worker into the human machine system by evaluating performance in terms of information processing ability.
Abstract: The traditionally low level of expectancy of persons with moderate, severe, or profound mental retardation in industrial work settings is reviewed from a human factors viewpoint. A case is made for interfacing the retarded worker into the human machine system by evaluating performance in terms of information processing ability. Data are reviewed which suggest that there are many industrial tasks at which such a worker can perform well and earn a wage comparable to his nonretarded co-worker. The issue of training workers versus screening workers is discussed as an additional factor in maximizing the role of workers with retardation in industry. The view of the retarded worker as a communication channel and his ability to process information is regarded as a central issue when discussing the optimization of the person-machine interface. The importance of task analysis in breaking down the task into sub-tasks of acceptable information processing demand is also discussed.