Chapter 6 Summary Decision Maker

Part C Decision Maker Summary

Performance objectives are commonly used to help people achieve goals. Determining clear performance expectations helps ensure that everyone understands what is expected and what the end results should be. The process of setting performance objectives also helps stimulate conversations during which key stakeholders can agree upon goals. The format for written performance objectives can vary widely. Some companies have detailed forms to capture performance objectives. Others use part of their performance review documentation to create performance objectives. Smaller companies often create performance objective documents from scratch as part of their performance review and/or compensation planning processes.

          Once you have a general idea of what you wish learners to know and be able to do, the next step is drafting the text that will clearly and specifically tell them what they can expect to learn. Experience indicates that the text of effective instructional objectives includes three parts. These parts are best described in the work of training and human performance:

·        Description of a performance - what the learner is to be able to do. Example: be able to write a news article. The performance must be observable. Question to ask when writing this part: What do I want students to be able to do?

·        Conditions - important conditions under which the performance is expected to occur Examples: Given a list of... (Sort into stacks); when provided with standard tools... (Construct a table); without using references... (know the state capitols) Questions to ask when writing this part: What are the important conditions or constraints under which I want them to perform? What the learner will be provided? What will the learner be denied? Are there special conditions which occur on the job or when performing?

·        Criterion or standard - (the quality or level of performance that will be considered acceptable). Examples: include measures of speed (in less than 30 minutes...), direction (according to manufacturer’s specifications...), and accuracy (without error...), and quality (all cuts must be smooth to the touch). Question to ask when writing this part: How well must learners perform for me to be satisfied they've accomplished the objective?

          Performance objectives should focus on the end result of an activity. This end result can be described in terms of products created, services provided, or accomplishments achieved. Because objectives are either quantifiable or verifiable, someone should be able to easily determine whether or not the objectives have been obtained. Objectives are not always products. They can also focus on intangible results. For example, higher quality intelligence is an important objective that can be verified by the consumer. In addition to indicating to learners what they will know and be able to do at the successful completion of a course, well-crafted learning objectives are also the touchstones guiding the rest of the course development process. The choice of course materials, assignments or activities, and assessments should all reflect the learning objectives.
          The question to consider when building a course from learning objectives is: How does this element of the course relate back to one or more of the learning objectives? For example, learners should not be asked to read or review material that is not relevant to one of the objectives. Nor should they be assessed on skills or knowledge which is not specifically outlined as important in one or more of the objectives.

Chapter 6 Terminology/Glossary of Terms

Part A Terminology/Glossary of Terms:

·        Performance Objectives  -  a detailed description of what students will be able to do when they complete a unit of instruction. Performance objectives are derived from the skills in the instructional analysis.

 

·        The Function of Objectives  - is objectives serve a variety of purposes, not just as statements from which test items and task derived. Objectives have quite different functions for designers, instructors, and learners, and it’s important to keep distinctions in mind.

·        Parts of an Objective - the first part of an objective describes the conditions that will prevail while a learner carries out the task. The second part of an objective describes the conditions that will prevail while a learner carries out the task. The third part of an objective describes the criteria that will be used to evaluate the learner performance.

·        Derivation of Conditions  - refers to the exact set of circumstances and resources that will be available to the learner when the objective is performed.

·        Derivation of Criteria - is the final part of the objective for judging acceptable performance of the skill.

·        Process for Writing Objectives  - in order to make objectives and subsequent instruction, consistent with the context analysis, designers should review the goal statement before writing objectives.

·        Evaluation of Objectives  - is the rubric at the end of this chapter contains a list of criteria for evaluating objectives.

·        Psychomotor Skills  - execution of a sequence of major or subtle physical actions to achieve a specified result. All skills employ some type of physical action; the physical actions in a psychomotor skill are the focus of the new learning and are not merely the vehicle for expressing an intellectual skill.

 

 

Chapter 5 Summary

In addition to general characteristics such as age, grade level, and topic being studied, I am able to describe my learners in terms of these characteristics:

• Entry Behaviors - These are skills associated with learning the goal that must already be mastered. What should learners already know how to do in order to be successful with the new instruction? In the last lesson I determined specific entry behaviors related to my goal, but there may also be some general entry behaviors that were overlooked in the instructional analysis yet would be useful to mention at this point. For example, the ability to read, or the ability to perform basic math functions.
• Prior Knowledge of the Topic Area - What must learners already know about the topic?
• Attitudes toward Content and Potential Delivery System - What are the learners' impressions and attitudes about a topic and how it might be delivered? In other words, will they have any preconceived notions about the topic or the delivery system?
• Academic Motivation - How motivated are learners to learn the topic, and how much is it likely to interest them? I asked my potential learners these questions:

§  How relevant is the instructional goal to you?

§  What aspects of the goal interest you most?

§  How confident are you that you could successfully perform the goal?

§  How satisfying would it be to you to be able to perform the goal?

      Educational and Ability Levels - What are the achievement and general ability levels of the learners? This helps me determine the kinds of instructional experiences they may have had and their ability to cope with new and different approaches to instruction.

• General Learning Preferences - What types of learning approaches do the learners prefer? For example, lecture, seminar, case study, small-group, or web-based?
• Attitudes Toward Training Organization - How do the learners feel about the organization providing the training? Do they have a positive view of management and peers, or are they cynical about leadership? As a teacher, I already know my students' attitudes about school, but I will keep in mind that some students actually like school, while others may hate it. It's important to know which kind of students I will be interacting with.
• Group Characteristics - Is there heterogeneity within the target population? If so, you want to make sure to accommodate any diversity. Also, I got a general overall impression of the target population based on interactions with them.

This may seem to be like a lot of information to collect about my learners, but it will aid me immensely in providing more meaningful learning experiences for my learners. Some of it I already know, but much of it I culled by talking with my learners. Other helpful methods include surveys, questionnaires, and pretests. Collecting this type of data was much easier because I am their regular teacher as I immersed in the environment, and thus I already knew many of the students that I teach. However, I didn’t immediately assume that I knew the answers to these questions. Remember, when you assume too much you make a ... oh well, we're all familiar with that cliché saying.

The list of learner characteristics I end up with will be used throughout the remainder of the instructional design process to make decisions regarding the various steps. It will help me determine the objectives (next step), as well as play a major role in the instructional strategies I will employ later on. According to Dick and Carey, "They will help the designer develop a motivational strategy for the instruction and will suggest various types of examples that can be used to illustrate points, ways in which the instruction may (or may not) be delivered, and ways to make the practice of skills relevant for learners".

     By now I've assessed my needs to determine the skills and knowledge I want my learners to acquire. From this came a goal statement, and after that I analyzed that goal to identify substeps, subordinate skills, and entry behaviors. The next thing I want to look at is the learners themselves, the context in which learning will take place, and the context in which the learners will eventually use their new skills. This is done by conducting both a Learner Analysis and a Context Analysis. There are three things I want to accomplish by doing this. First, I want to describe the characteristics of my target population. Then I want to describe the contextual characteristics of eventual setting where the learners will use their new skills. This could be a classroom setting, a work setting, or the real world. Finally, I want to describe the contextual characteristics of the setting where the actual instruction will take place.

 

Chapter 5 Terminology/Glossary Terms

Part A Terminology/Glossary of Terms:

1.   Learner Analysis - is the determination of pertinent characteristics of members of the target population. Often includes prior knowledge and attitudes toward the content to be taught, as well attitudes toward the organization and work environment.

2.  Data for Learner Analysis - involves a site visit for structured with managers, instructors, and learners.

 

3.  Performance Context Analysis - an analytical process used to locate, analyze, and correct job or product performance problems.

4.  Data for Performance Context Analysis - is the basic data gathering procedures include interviews and observations.

5.  Learning Context Analysis - the actual physical location (or locations) in which the instruction that is under development will be used. Learning context is defined as the situation in which something is learned or understood, a situation that can impact how something is learned or what is taught.

6.  Data for Learning Context Analysis - is to schedule visits to one or more training sites and schedule interviews with instructors, managers of the sites, and learners.

 

Decision Maker Summary

Part C Decision Maker Summary

As a change agent, I reflect on the identification of subordinates and entry skills. I evaluate and expanded my knowledge and experiences on the hierarchical approach that is used to analyze individual steps in the goal analysis that are classified as intellectual or psychomotor skills. It is an approach of identifying the subordinate skills and based on Gagne’s classification of intellectual skills from easy skill to higher-level skill. By asking the question “What must the student already know so that, with a minimal amount of instruction, this task can be learned?” the designer can identify one or more critical subordinate skills that will be required of the learner prior to attempting instruction on the step itself. Repeating that we can reaches a very basic level of performance. That’s the principle of the hierarchical approach. In other words, when we are faced with a problem, we should first consider the rules required to solve the problem. If it is complex higher-level rules, we should dig out the rules it contains. And then analyze each rule independently. The subordinate skills required for any given rule are typically classifying the concepts that are used in the rules. Finally, take the concept as our analyzing goal. To master a concept, one may need to discriminate whether a particular example is relevant to the concept. Sometimes, I find that the goal skill is not a problem-solving skill but a single rule is being taught, then only the subordinate concepts and discriminations would be taught.

Cluster approach is used to analyze verbal information. Verbal information can’t be divided into different levels, because no logical procedure is inherent in the goal. Cluster approach is to identify the major categories of information that are implied by the goal. Ways could be found to cluster the information more efficient. For example, the state capitals might be clustered according to geographic regions and if you are studying economics, you can also cluster them according to the development of the capitals from the undeveloped to the developed. Subordinate skills analysis techniques are right for attitudes analysis. Attitudes can’t be observed. Goal analysis of an attitude identifies the behaviors that would be exhibited if someone held that attitude. That’s to say an attitude can only be identified through getting learners to choose to do a psychomotor or an intellectual skill. If an intellectual skill is chosen, then hierarchical analysis techniques will be applied. If a psychomotor skill is the target, then it is necessary to teach the learner to do the psychomotor skill.

Becoming a lifelong learner, I will continue to learn and grow through my career as an educator. It is common that I find that I’m identifying a combination of subordinate skills from several domains for a goal that was classified as belonging to only one domain. When it happens, I have to combine different analysis techniques. The next part the context discusses is learners’ entry behaviors what learners will already have to know or be able to do before they begin the instruction. Why we have to analyze learners’ entry behaviors? There are many reasons. It is only after I do the analysis, could I be able to teach the skills that fall directly below the skills the already mastered. If learners only know the concepts, I can’t expect them to solve a complex problem directly; if they already have complex rules in mind, I don’t have to teach the basic concepts and it will save a lot of time.

Understanding the discipline and how learners learn, I am becoming a reflective practitioner. I understand why identifying entry behaviors are important. I make a set of assumptions about the learners. But my assumptions may appear to be worry in one or two directions. I try-out sample of group members first by testing and interviewing to determine if most of them have the entry behaviors derived from the sub skills analysis if time is available. It also depends on the purpose; my purpose is to teach a specific group of learners, the test is needed and some modification is necessary. However, if my purpose is just to teach a specific content, then little or no change is required. I get the students’ entry skills by teaching by investigating what curriculums they have learned previously. Maybe an inquiry is needed. Then some extra assignments I will eliminate. The key, however, is actually reaching the goals we set; the different steps that we need to take in order to reach our goals. Conducting a performance analysis, a needs assessment, or a job analysis; identifying problems; listing solutions; setting goals and reaching them... all of those definitely lead to success!

Chapter 4 Terminology/Glossary Terms

Chapter 4

Part A Terminology Glossary of Terms:

1.  Hierarchical Approach - a technique used with goals in the intellectual skills domain to identify the critical subordinate skills needed to achieve the goal and their interrelationships. Hierarchical Approach is used to analyze the individual steps in the analysis of goals involving intellectual or psychomotor skills. At this point you want to focus on one goal step at a time, starting with the first one. Look at each goal step and think about what skills and knowledge a learner must possess to be able to perform that step. Gagne suggests beginning with the question, "What must the student already know so that, with a minimum amount of instruction, this task can be learned?" The answer will likely be one or more subordinate skills. These subordinate skills are what the learners will need to know to be able to perform that step.

2.  Procedural Analysis - this process of listing chronologically, in a step-by-step manner, all the substeps required to perform an instructional goal. Unlike learning a concept or a principle, procedures are strictly defined so that each step is clear and unambiguous to the learner. Procedures can be simple, whereby the learner follows one set of steps in a sequential fashion. However, procedures can also be complex, with many decision points that the learner must make. Regardless of the complexity of the procedure, a procedural analysis breaks down the mental and/or physical steps that the learner must go through so that the task can be successfully achieved. The steps that make up a task are arranged linearly and sequentially, illustrating where the learner begins and ends. Oftentimes, the steps throughout the task, from start to finish, as well as any decisions that the learner must make are arranged in a flowchart, but they can also be done in an outline form. See examples below. Examples of learning outcomes that are procedural in nature are:

·        balancing a checkbook

·        changing a tire,

·        formatting a disk

·        bathing a dog

3.  Cluster Analysis - a technique used with goals in the verbal information domain to identify the specific information needed to achieve the goal and the ways that information can best be organized or grouped. If your goal falls in the domain of verbal information there will probably not be any specific sequence inherent in the information. In other words, it may not involve going from one step to the next. With verbal information you are not identifying a sequence of steps, but mainly you are just identifying the information that is needed to achieve your goal. In this case a cluster analysis is generally used. This involves identifying and grouping major categories of information that are implied by the goal, and then deciding how the information can be clustered together best.

 Diagramming a cluster analysis can be achieved by using the hierarchical technique with the goal at the top and each major cluster as a subskill. Because your information is in clusters, and there is no explicit sequence, it is not considered a hierarchy.

4.  Analysis Techniques for Attitude Goals - goal analysis of an attitude identifies the behavior that would be exhibited if someone held that attitude. What must leaners do when exhibiting this attitude? And why should they exhibit this attitude? The answer to the first question is almost always psychomotor skill or an intellectual skill. The purpose of the goal is to get the learner to choose to do either psychomotor or an intellectual skill. The first half of the analysis for an attitudinal goal requires hierarchical analysis techniques.

5.  Analysis Techniques for Combination Domains - the instructional analysis process results in identifying a combination of subornate skills from several domains for a goal that was classified as belonging to only one domain. The combination of intellectual skills and verbal combination.

6.  Instructional Analysis Diagrams - the procedures applied to an instructional goal in order to identify the relevant skills and their subordinate skills and information required for a student to achieve the goal.

7.  Entry Skills - specific competencies or skills a leaner must have mastered before entering a given instructional activity. Entry skills are key components in the design process.

8.  The Tentativeness of Entry Skills - the identification of entry skills is one of the real danger spots in the instructional design process, because the designer is making assumptions about both what the leaner must know and should already know.

9.  Subordinate Skills Analysis of a Psychomotor Skill - psychomotor skills usually require a combination of intellectual and motor skills, and the intellectual skills often require supporting verbal information. In the diagram that the subordinate skills required to plan the stroke are all intellectual skills- the psycho component of the psychomotor skills. The motor component occurs when the golfer translates the plan into action.

10. Subordinate Skills Analysis of an Attitudinal Goal - the attitudinal goal analysis example that follows will illustrate one technique you could use to develop an instructional analysis for such a goal. Starting with the goal statement, the necessary skills and information are identified in a step-by-step sequence. It generally involves asking the following two questions:

 1. What must learners do when exhibiting this attitude?

 2. Why should they exhibit this attitude?

·        First you should identify the behavior that you will look for to determine if the attitude is being demonstrated. What would people be doing if they were demonstrating that they were following the desired attitude? This will most likely be an intellectual skill or a motor skill. From there you should determine the goal steps and the accompanying subordinate skills just like you do for any other intellectual or psychomotor goal. You will then end up with a hierarchical analysis of skills that represent what learners will be doing if they choose to exhibit the desired attitude.

·        The second part involves explaining to a learner "why" they should make the choice to exhibit that attitude. The answer to this usually involves verbal information. For an attitudinal goal, it's not enough that you teach a learner how to do it; they have to choose to do it, and this is the information that will assist them in making that choice. The verbal information can be arranged in its own separate cluster analysis, or integrated into the overall hierarchical analysis. On an instructional analysis flowchart, attitudinal goals are represented by attaching the attitudinal box to the intellectual or psychomotor skill that learners will choose to demonstrate. This is done using an "A" connector. From there you then list the necessary steps and skills necessary to achieve the desired skill. For the supporting verbal information (the "why"), you can either provide a separate cluster analysis, or integrate it into the hierarchical analysis by attaching each verbal "skill" in a box beside the psychomotor or intellectual skill that it supports. This is done using the triangular "V" connectors described earlier.

11.Identification of Entry Skills - identifying appropriate entry skills depends on the current skill level of learner.

12.Group Leadership Training -  case study on leadership training for

 Neighborhood Crime Watch Group leaders.

13.Hierarchical Analysis of an Intellectual Skill - hierarchical analysis should be used with intellectual and psychomotor skills. Sometimes sequences of procedural steps will be included in a hierarchical analysis.

14.Cluster Analysis for Verbal Information Subordinate Skills - verbal information required to perform either the intellectual or psychomotor skills would be placed within the framework to support the related steps in the hierarchy.

15.Identification of Entry Skills - the skills identified in the analysis that will not be taught are referred to as entry skills.

Conducting a Goal Analysis Powerpoint

Conducting A Goal Analysis from cdjhaigler

Conducting Goal Analysis Questions and Answers

 

1.   Define educational goal and educational objective, give an example of each.

a.      Educational goals are the level of educational accomplishment, which are acknowledged as reasonable and pleasing for a specific child at a specific time. These goals help a student to know his weaknesses and thus enable him to work on these weaknesses. Goal setting is a powerful way to improve educational performance by helping to focus effort on specific objectives. Effective goals are specific, measurable, and moderately difficult but still attainable. Writing, reflecting, sharing, and planning for goals increase the likelihood of reaching them. Educational goals should be general statements of intent and purpose.

           Examples:

o   I will start working on assignments the day they are assigned.

o   I will turn in every assignment on time.

o   I will be on time for all my classes this semester.

o   I will start my research paper by the end of the week.

                

b.      Educational objective are objective with an outcome statement that captures specifically what knowledge, skills, attitudes learners should be able to exhibit following instruction. Objectives are statements which describe what the learner is expected to achieve as a result of instruction. Educational objectives articulate what we aspire for student learning, help to establish campus priorities and guide decision making related to student development and guide academic programs in the review of how their classes and course requirements interact with the goals to demonstrate educational effectiveness. Educational objectives should be specific, measureable and precise.

      Examples:

o   After the unit, the student will measure one side of a square and correctly calculate the square's perimeter in inches. This example contains all required parts: it is student-centered, contains a condition (after the unit), and adds an actionable verb (will measure) and states the outcome that demonstrates successful completion (calculates perimeter correctly).

o   After the unit, the student will be able to identify and describe a square, circle and triangle.

o   After completing the activities, the student will present his point of view in a 3-minute class presentation.

o   After completing all six steps of the lesson, the student will repair a flat tire by himself.

o   When given a list of 20 words, the learner will be able to identify correctly all the cognitive action verbs.

 

2.   List the differences and similarities between a goal and an objective. The terms "goal" and "objective" often are used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. 

      Generally, a "goal" is used for a vague, long-term ideal, but "objective" is used for short-term, specific outcomes. Goals are typically long-term aims of an organization. Goals are more general and less structured than objectives. Generally, a goal is more of an abstract idea that a person or company works toward achieving." Goals are ongoing procedures that are never completed. Objectives are specific actions that must be taken to achieve desired outcomes. Objectives are generally outlined into steps or actions, and often include deadlines and budget limitations. Both, goals and objectives, play an important part in a person’s life. These determine what the person wants to achieve during his lifetime. Goals and objectives often go hand-in-hand as goals determine the objectives, while objectives without goal is simply following blindly in a direction. They both work to together to help a person achieve what he desires.

 

3.   Describe the relationships among educational goals, human capabilities, objectives, courses, and instruction.

Educational goals are more general and less structured than objectives. Both, goals and objectives, play an important part in a person’s life. These determine what the person wants to achieve during his lifetime. Goals and objectives often go hand-in-hand as goals determine the objectives, while objectives without goal is simply following blindly in a direction. Instruction is a set of events or activities presented in a structured or planned way, through one or more media, with the goal of having learners achieve prespecified behaviors. Human capabilities is a talent or ability that has potential for development or use. Courses are program of study: a program of study or training, especially one that leads to a degree or certificate from an educational institution. They all work to together to help a person achieve what he/she desires.

 

4.   List the five major categories of learned capabilities. Next to each, write its definition with one example. Both Bloom and Gagne believed that it was important to break down humans' learned capabilities into categories or domains. Gagne's taxonomy consists of five categories of learning outcomes - verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, attitudes, and motor skills.

 

Learned Capabilities	Definitions	Examples
Verbal Information	The organized bodies of knowledge that we acquire.	Reciting a poem from memory.
Intellectual Skills	Knowing how to do something.	Remove the old memory chip and insert the new chip into the computer.
Cognitive Strategies	A manner in which learners guide their attending, learning, remembering, and thinking.	Adopting a strategy of asking oneself questions at the end of each paragraph in a textbook.
Attitudes	An acquired internal state that influences the choice of personal action toward some class of things, persons, or events.	Preferring Shakespeare to Milton as a topic for an English composition.
Motor Skills	The ability to do precise, smooth, and accurately timed performances with muscle movements.	Playing a song correctly on the alto saxophone.

 

5.   Briefly describe the major reasons why teachers or instructors or trainers should develop the ability to tell the differences among the types of learning.

As a teacher educator I found that the conditions of learning proposed by Gagne were very beneficial. I saw them as guidelines to follow. I didn't take them to be algorithmic in nature but more heuristic. They seemed to make logical sense and in fact I think they helped me better structure my lesson plans and my teaching. Once again however, even though I viewed the conditions as heuristics, I did feel that I was somewhat of a robot carrying out commands. I always felt as though I was being driven by the conditions. This leads directly to a discussion of the events of instruction. I felt that the events of instruction really helped me the most as a teacher. The events gave me the skeleton on which I could hang my lesson. The events not only provided me with a road map to follow, but also a way to look at my lesson plans in a more holistic nature. I was able to see how the parts of the lesson fit together to achieve the ultimate goal.

 This part of Gagne's theory seemed to be the least rigid to me because you did not have to follow it as rigorously as other parts of the theory. For example, Gagne explains that most lessons should follow the sequence of the events of instruction, but that the order is not absolute. While I appreciated the fact that this was less rigid than other parts of the theory, I always had one important question. If the events of instruction follow the cognitive learning process, then why would it be advisable to change the sequence of the events or to leave events out? Wouldn't this have a great impact of the learning process? Would learning still take place? This leads me to the learning theory upon which Gagne bases his instructional theory. As a teacher early in my career who was very enamored with computers, cognitive information processing theory seemed like a great explanation of the learning process (I am not sure I still feel the same way). However, those who do not understand or agree with cognitive information processing theory might not feel the same. For those people, I believe that Gagne's theory might not work very well for them. Gagne's theory does provide a great deal of valuable information to teachers like myself. I believe it is mostly appealing to those teachers who may be early in their teaching careers and are in need of structure for their lesson plans and a holistic view of their teaching. The theory is very systematic and rigid at most points. It is almost like a cookbook recipe to ensure successful teaching and ultimately learning by the students. However, the systematic nature of the theory may be a turn-off for many teachers, particularly those who like to be creative, don't like rigidity, and who don't believe in a cookbook approach to ensure learning. An additional point to cover is that the theory is not always easy to implement. I am sure I am not alone in my feeling that many times it is difficult to take the goals I had for my students, put them into the correct learning outcome category, and then create objectives using Gagne's standard verbs.

 The final point I would like to cover deals with the learning theory upon which Gagne bases his theory. First of all, if the events of instruction really match up with the learning process, then I do not believe it would be advisable to change the sequence of the events or to leave certain events out of the sequence altogether. Second, cognitive information processing is not acceptable to all teachers. Many teachers would not agree with this idea of how learning takes place. For those who disagree with cognitive information processing, Gagne's theory of instruction would not fit their needs.