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Valdosta State University |
UNIT 2 |
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Valdosta State University |
UNIT 2 |
Objectives and the Task Analysis (pp. 474-486)
1. Rewrite each of the following study questions as behavioral objectives.
A. Write two complete behavioral objectives on content in the chapter for which there are NO study questions. Give the page #'s where the content is located in parentheses after the BO.
2. List and describe the three types of objectives used to specify "what to teach." Explain how one can objectively determine if a statement is a BO, IO, or EO.
A. Describe the features of a good behavioral objective (i.e., ABCD).
B. All 3 types of objectives can be written for each of the three domains of human activity. Describe these three domains, and explain why what one says/does is the common thread among each of them.
3. Describe at least four reasons/advantages for using BOs.
4. Describe why BOs are important to assessment.
5. List and describe the six levels of objectives associated with Bloom's taxonomy.
A. According to the sage Ambrose Bierce, "Knowledge is the small part of ignorance that we arrange and classify." React to his statement with respect both to Piaget's and Ausubel's concept of how schemes/structures are organized, and the Bloom et al. (1956))
6. Explain (a) why tests should be developed either before or after one develops BOs, but certainly before constructing lesson plans; (b) why are these tests usually not the same as the ones good teachers actually give to students.
7. A. Describe the steps associated with a task analysis.
B. Construct a task analysis for:
1. writing a complete simple sentence;
2. getting ready for math class (e.g. transition from 1 topic to another)
8. List and describe the features of a well-organized (physically) classroom.
9. Explain how teachers can
assess the entering behaviors of students and why this is important to
do.
PSY 310: Objectives and the Task Analysis
Review
I. Professionals in the field have two main questions concerned with their educational practices: What to teach and how to teach it. Organizing for instruction provides the information that allows the professional to determine what to teach.
II. Different types of objectives can be developed for each of the three areas/domains of human functioning. The affective domain involves are feelings; the psychomotor area includes coordination and other physical skills. The cognitive domain includes those activities directly associated with doing academically relevant work.There are three types of objectives used in education that specify what we should teach: Educational (aka "goals"), Instructional, & Behavioral. Instructional and behavioral objectives are not the same.
a. Educational objectives/goals describe global outcomes in general terms (at best, they reflect a macro orientation to what should be taught). Ex.: Students should exit their teacher education program knowing how to teach their subject matter.
Goals for Education in Georgia
(This is
a handout provided by Richard Owen, Chair, Georgia State Board of Education,
April, 1995).
Effective school planning
and operations at all levels depend on clear understanding of the specific
responsibilities of public schools and on consensus as to society's expectations
for the young adults who are products of the public schools. Accordingly,
the Georgia Board of Education periodically reviews education goals for
Georgia to be sure that they still reflect the intent of the board and
are congruent with the expectations of the citizens of Georgia. Beginning
in 1970, at five-year intervals, the board has, in cooperation with the
state superintendent of schools, examined the societal trends that appear
important to education planning for the future, reexamined the existing
goals for education in Georgia, sought citizen participation and, finally,
adopted goals which reflect the values of the Georgia Board of Education
and the citizens of the state. In doing so the broad recognizes that it
bears a major responsibility for educating Georgia's citizens. At the same
time the board acknowledges that many other institutions-the family, church
and business community-also have important responsibilities for education.
The board's student goal
statements identify the ideals of skills and attitudes a graduate of Georgia's
education system should strive to achieve through instructional programs
in the state's public schools. The state board believes that the instructional
program in the public schools should provide each individual with opportunities
to develop abilities so that he or she
* communicates effectively.
* uses essential mathematics skills.
* recognizes the need for lifelong learning.
* has the background to begin career pursuits.
* participates as a citizen in our democratic society.
* makes responsible decisions.
* respects and seeks to understand himself or herself.
* possesses a personal value system which emphasizes consideration for others.
* understands that the quality of human life is enhanced by a harmonious relationship with the natural environment.
* has the skills to function as an intelligent consumer of goods and services.
* functions effectively as a family member.
* seeks to maintain sound physical and mental health.
* respects creativity,
beauty and excellence.
b. Instructional objectives describe general outcomes associated with specific topics (e.g., 1 or 2 topics). Ex.: Teachers should both understand the value of, and know how to use, behavioral objectives.
c. Behavioral objectives are student-centered statements that are typically developed by the instructor. Behavioral objectives (BOs) state what students should be able to do or say after an instructional lesson (a micro orientation). BOs always have three parts that: (a) identify a terminal behavior that is observable/measurable; (b) specify the conditions under which the performance must occur (excluding acts that will not be accepted as evidence that the learner has achieved the objective); and (c) state the criterion of acceptable performance. Use the ABCD approach; that is, A specifies the audience to whom the objective applies, B is the overt/measurable behavior the audience is to do; C is for the conditions which are where and when the audience is to do the behavior; and D is degree, how well the audience has to do the behavior for the teacher to conclude that the skill/behavior has been mastered. Ex. A: After completing chapter 7 and answering the study questions, students will discriminate, with 90% accuracy, between complete and incomplete behavioral objectives. Ex. B: At the end of the lessons on chapter 7, students will write , on tests, at least five complete behavioral objectives for sample instructional tasks provided to them.
There are several good pedagogical/philosophical (and pragmatic) reasons for all teachers in all disciplines (despite their underlying philosophical orientations) to develop and use BOs. 1. Teachers will know where they are going and the route to take to get there. 2.Teachers will be less likely to overlook critical junctions/behaviors along the way if BOs are employed 3. BOs provide detailed criteria against which instructional effectiveness and students' terminal performance can be objectively evaluated. This particular point bears expansion. Teachers are held accountable for what their students learn. Teachers also must assign grades based on student achievement. Good BOs provide the linkage between instruction and assessment, especially since assessments of all sorts can only represent samples of what the student has learned and been taught. [Some sampling, however, is better than others.] 4. A complete, sequentially arranged set of BOs allow one to pinpoint intermediate behaviors that can be monitored during instruction (formally and informally). Thus, BOs provide a framework for an on-going system of instructional quality control. 5. Good BOs serve as guides to studying for mature students. Research has shown that BOs decrease the amount of time required for students to learn material.
III. There is an either/or sequential heuristic for educators concerned with the order in which one develops the stuff you teach and assess: BOs, test items, lesson plan(s), instructional strategies; or, test items, BOs, lesson plan(s), instructional strategies.
IV. B. Bloom and colleagues (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, & Krathwohl (1956) ) have developed a hierarchy of types of objectives. Knowledge-rotely memorized information; comprehension-paraphrasing/summarizing information; application-using information to solve novel problems; analysis-reducing wholes to their component parts, synthesis-using learned skills to produce something; and evaluation-judging something against a standard. While not frequently recognized by its users, each of these levels can (should) be stated behaviorally to avoid vagueness. [Note: Many people today feel that (a) synthesis is a higher level than evaluation, and (b) objective items can tap all levels of the taxonomy except synthesis.]
V. The lesson plan.
1. Setting up a course requires three levels of objectives: immediate, short-term, and long-term. Development of these levels requires a backward planning process. First, specify the course objectives (instructional objectives). Then break these down into topic objectives (again stated instructionally). Finally, specify individual lessons. (Each individual lesson will have its own set of behavioral objectives.) Of course, at each of the three levels you must determine how much time (e.g., classes) it will take to accomplish the goals/objectives.
Tests should be developed as part of the planning process (see III). Tests developed as part of the planning process, though, are not necessarily the same ones you will give to students. The tests you actually give students will usually be modified versions of them that more accurately reflect the objectives/content actually taught.
A. The daily lesson plan (LP). This is the heart of your teaching. The LP consists of one or more interrelated BOs, specific strategies [Note: In your lesson plan, use the expository teaching strategy] for presenting the deductively-organized information/material, demonstrations and practice opportunities for students (when appropriate), assessment technique(s)-formal and informal, and hopefully during and after instruction, and a remedial/recycling option for students who do not master the objective(s).
As you will have already prepared your BOs for the lesson, your next step, prior to teaching the information, requires that you conduct task analyses (TA) for each BO. A TA is done to analyze the skill (task-the information you are teaching) to be able to teach it so that students meet objectives.
Steps involved in developing a task analysis
1. Identify/specify the prerequisite skills necessary to master the task.
2. Operationally/behaviorally define the task or terminal goal (i.e., break the terminal goal down into its component behaviors). 2.a. This step must continue until it includes the entry-level skills of all of your students. [This requirement can be either a powerful argument for homogeneous grouping of students by abilities in their classes, or an argument for individualized instruction for both homogeneous and heterogeneous groupings.] 3. Specify the discrete steps one must follow (sequentially and completely) to perform the task. 4. Teaching method to be used to teach these steps (expository). 5. Specify/develop materials for students and/or demonstrations. 6. Consequences for each step.
VI. Effective instruction also requires you to physically arrange your classroom to optimize learning. A. Areas where students move (walkways, doors, etc.) should be accessible (keep them open) B. Arrange student work areas (includes desks) so students can see (face) the teacher. C. Keep your materials well organized and easily accessible. D. Present information in a way that all students can see/hear it.
VII. Effective instruction requires that you assess/know the entering behaviors of your students since these are necessary for the learner to succeed (e.g., your starting presentations must begin at this point if the students are to be successful). This can be done through standardized and teacher-made tests and exercises. (This is especially problematic since it occurs at the beginning of the year when Ss have often not practiced their acquired skills during the summer. Thus, you can productively use the first weeks of the school year reviewing while you are formally/informally assessing your students' entering behaviors.)
Additionally, one must consider
the students' readiness and maturation levels (part of entering behaviors),
their individual differences/race/SES (overcome by individualized instruction;
compounded by group instruction), and personality characteristics (motivation
which can be channeled via your class' behavioral management program).
Exercise on identifying and producing BOs.
For each of the following objectives, (a) identify whether it is an EO, IO, or BO; (b) indicate which level of Bloom's taxonomy it taps, and why you believe it taps that level; and (c) rewrite EOs and IOs as BOs.
Heuristics: Use the "ABCD"
approach; All BOs must specify each of the these four components. If a
statement doesn't have all four, it is either an IO or EO. If a non-BO
covers a lot of content (e.g., 3 or more topics) it is an EO; if it covers
only 1 or 2, it's an IO.
1. Students will write a two-page book report.
2. By the end of the lesson on using the library, students will know how to look up/find books.
3. On the first division test, students will correctly divide single-digit numbers into double-digit ones with 90% accuracy.
4. On a seatwork assignment with 5 double-digit addition problems, students will correctly answer four of the problems.
5. Students will comprehend the relationship between good objectives and test items.
6. After the research unit, students will understand how educational research impacts public school teaching practices.
7. After the quarter, students will appreciate the relationship between preinstructional activities and instructional ones.
8. By the end of the lesson, students will identify tense disagreements between subjects and verbs (predicates) with 90% accuracy.
9. Students should know when to use the apostrophe s (or s apostrophe) correctly.
10. Students should summarize an article in 600 words or less.
11. Students will write a
6 page paper with no more than 5 APA errors.
Exercise on Constructing
a Task Analysis
A task analysis (TA) is a mini-lesson designed to teach the target behavior specified in a BO. To do a TA, one follows a series of steps:
1. Identify entry level skills needed (and that we assume all Ss possess) to do the behavior
2. Operationally define the target/terminal behavior specified in the BO. Generally this will be a complex behavior so you have to break the TB down into its component parts (hence the "analysis") making sure that each component is measurable/observable. Continue this process until all students can already do the last component you've identified.
3. Sequence the component behaviors in the order they must occur in order for the students to do the TB. In the TA, you will teach the Ss each component skill associated with the TB and, in the process, "chain" these simple responses together to form the more complex one.
4. Describe how you will teach the 1st component. Reinforce acquisition.
5. Describe how you will teach the 2nd component. Reinforce acquisition.
6. Describe how you will teach the students to combine these components. Reinforce acquisition.
7. Continue steps 4, 5, and 6 until students have mastered the TB.
An Example:
"After the lesson on possession, students will, with 90% accuracy, be able to identify possession errors and use the 'apostrophe s' and 's apostrophe' associated with possessive nouns."
1. The TB in the BO is using the proper form for possession in one's writing and/or identifying possession errors in statements they read.
2. and 3. Components of the TB in a logical sequence.
A. Possession is associated
with speaking and writing. In one's writing, both nouns (e.g., "names"
for people, places, ideas/concepts, and things), possessive adjectives
(e.g., their and theirs), and pronouns (e.g., mine, his, etc.) can illustrate
"ownership."
Students list the 3 parts of speech that can denote "ownership."
Students develop an example (not one given above) of an adjective and pronoun. Students will develop an example of the 3 types of nouns.
B. When writing, a possessive noun is indicated by using an apostrophe.
1. An apostrophe looks like a comma superscripted next to a letter in a word and is used in contractions and to show possession. For example, the contraction of do not uses an apostrophe: Don't. Possessive nouns also use an apostrophe.
Students will convert the is not to its contraction properly placing the apostrophe.
C. If the noun is singular (e.g., one person, place, or thing) use the apostrophe s form. Example: I want to say something about the performance of Bill on a test. To show that this performance is "owned" by Bill (and not Margaret, etc.), after his name I use apostrophe s. "What was Bill's test score?"
Students will correctly rewrite the following sentences using the apostrophe s correctly: Standardized tests measure a persons aptitude or ability.
The cost of freedom is respect for everyones rights , even those we dislike.
D. If the noun is plural you generally use the s apostrophe form. For example, I want to know where I have put your test papers. "Has anyone seen my students' tests?"
Rewrite the following sentence using the s apostrophe correctly: The students performance on the dependent variable was analyzed.
1. If the conversion of the
noun to the plural form is not an instance where you simply add an s, convert
the noun to its plural form followed by the apostrophe. For example, country
is singular so its possessive form is: country's, as in, "My
country's educational system." If we were indicating the educational
system possessed by several countries (the plural form of country) we would
use the possessive plural in this way: "These countries' educational
systems are computer intensive."
Rewrite the following
sentence to show plural possession for the following concept: The
babies crying was heartwrenching.
Do a task analysis for each of the following BOs:
1. By the end of the lesson on using the subject index of the card catalog in the library, students will find at least one book for each subject with 90% accuracy when given a listing of 10 subjects.
2. On the first division test,
students will correctly divide single-digit numbers into double-digit ones
with 90% accuracy.
Chapter 7: Effective Instruction: the Lesson
1. Define the following: lesson; mental set; wait time/limited hold; seatwork.
2. List and describe (using complete sentences) the seven parts that all good lessons contain.
A. Describe 4 ways to communicate and use objectives with students.
B. Describe the 5 questions one addresses when engaged in "lesson planning."
3. When presenting new material, one needs to follow the precepts of: organization (expository teaching), clarity, explanations, demonstrations, & maintaining attention. Describe what each of these mean (complete sentences).
A. List the 12 teaching methods one uses when presenting new content.
B. Why do teacher often use these methods in combination rather than alone?
4. Describe the three types of learning probes most commonly used in a lesson.
5. Describe how teachers often ask questions poorly, and how they should ask questions.
6. List the disciplines in which seatwork is often appropriate. Explain why seat work is "often overused and misused." Describe the 6 recommendations governing the effective use of seatwork.
7. Describe the difference between formal and informal assessments. Describe when each should be used. Why is feedback important for students?
8. Briefly describe the two (i.e., master teacher and systematic instruction) direct instruction models according to Slavin (1991). Relate Bloom's Mastery Learning Model (pp. 322-328), and Keller's PSI model to (a) Carroll's Theory of Instruction and Learning (pp. 308-313), and (b) to the teaching and learning environments discussed in Unit 1.
9. How is DISTAR (e.g., the systematic instruction example) different from the "master teacher" programs?
A. What disciplines and grade levels has DISTAR, as yet, been developed for?
10. Describe the characteristics
of cooperative learning and the 6 specific steps associated with STAD.
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Last Updated: May 20, 1997