Task analysis

About: Task analysis is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 10432 publications have been published within this topic receiving 283481 citations.

The acquisition of robust and flexible cognitive skills.

Abstract: The authors introduce a model of skill acquisition that incorporates elements of both traditional models and models based on embedded cognition by striking a balance between top-down and bottom-up control. A knowledge representation is used in which pre- and postconditions are attached to actions. This model captures improved performance due to learning not only in terms of shorter solution times and lower error rates during the task but also in an increased flexibility to solve similar problems and robustness against unexpected events. In 3 experiments using a complex aviation task, the authors contrasted instructions that explicitly stated pre- and postconditions with conventional instructions that did not. The instructions with pre- and postconditions led to better and more robust performance than other instructions, especially on problems that required transfer. The parameters of the model were estimated to obtain a quantitative fit of the results of Experiment 1, which was then successfully used to predict the results of Experiments 2 and 3.

Dimensionality Of Task Design As Measured By The Job Diagnostic Survey

Abstract: Twenty, widely-varied samples of workers (n=5,945) responded to the core characteristics items from the Job Diagnostic Survey. Factor analyses identified two, three, four, and five-factor solutions...

Event analysis of systemic teamwork (EAST): a novel integration of ergonomics methods to analyse C4i activity

Abstract: C4i is defined as the management infrastructure needed for the execution of a common goal supported by multiple agents in multiple locations and technology. In order to extract data from complex and diverse C4i scenarios a descriptive methodology called Event Analysis for Systemic Teamwork (EAST) has been developed. With over 90 existing ergonomics methodologies already available, the approach taken was to integrate a hierarchical task analysis, a coordination demand analysis, a communications usage diagram, a social network analysis, and the critical decision method. The outputs of these methods provide two summary representations in the form of an enhanced operation sequence diagram and a propositional network. These offer multiple overlapping perspectives on key descriptive constructs including who the agents are in a scenario, when tasks occur, where agents are located, how agents collaborate and communicate, what information is used, and what knowledge is shared. The application of these methods to live data drawn from the UK rail industry demonstrates how alternative scenarios can be compared on key metrics, how multiple perspectives on the same data can be taken, and what further detailed insights can be extracted. The ultimate aim of EAST is, by applying it across a number of scenarios in different civil and military domains, to provide data to develop generic models of C4i activity and to improve the design of systems aimed at enhancing this management infrastructure.

Effects of Pretask Modeling on Attention to Form and Question Development.

Abstract: Over the last two decades, a growing body of research has shown positive impacts for task planning in task-based instruction (e.g., Ellis, 2005; Foster & Skehan, 1996). However, what learners plan during pretask planning, and whether any specific planning strategies are more beneficial in encouraging learners to attend to linguistic forms and facilitating second language development, have not been systematically investigated. The present study examined the effects of pretask modeling as a planning strategy on learners' attention to question structures and their subsequent question development. Korean junior high school students from two classes were assigned to either pretask modeling or no modeling groups. They completed a pretest, three tasks in pairs, and two posttests over a period of 5 weeks. The modeling group viewed pretask modeling videos as a part of their guided planning, whereas the no modeling group was provided with unguided planning time. The individual learners' think-aloud protocols during planning time and learner–learner interaction during task performance were audio-recorded, and the data were analyzed in terms of language-related episodes. Question development was determined based on Pienemann and Johnston's (1987) developmental sequence. Results indicate that pretask modeling facilitated learners' attention to form, especially during planning time, and their question development.

Self-Perceived Knowledge: Some Effects on Information Processing for a Choice Task

Abstract: The distinction between actual and perceived knowledge is discussed and the effects of the latter are empirically investigated in a choice task. Findings suggest that the level of perceived knowledge affects the comprehension and use of interrelationships among new pieces of information in subjects' choicedecision task. It also influences subjects' assessments of the importance of old and new information. Subjects with low perceived knowledge were better at detecting the similarity relationship among new items of information than were subjects with high perceived knowledge. Subjects with low perceived knowledge also value old and new information in a different way than those with high perceived knowledge, depending on the relationship between the old and the new information. Implications of the results of the present study and suggestions for future research are discussed.