There are several different techniques you can use to develop detailed learning content for each module. With experience you will discover which techniques you find the most useful.
Task analysis
Knowledge auditing
Rule sets
You can use all three in this order if necessary.
Task analysis
Starting from the objective for the desired
performance, ask the question "What do you have to do in order to
do that?" to ever increasing levels of detail.
This diagram shows an extract from a task analysis pyramid applied to a fire
safety project.
The bottom of level of the pyramid provides the information you would present
to the learner about how to evacuate safely.
At points in the task analysis you may find that the learner has to make a decision between alternative courses of action, such as how to decide whether to evacuate or stay where they are. If this happens, simple flowcharts can be useful.
This flowchart shows the different actions the learner would have to take depending on the type of alarm they hear. Not only will a flowchart help you to clarify your thinking during the design process, but you can also use it as a graphic in the course itself. Task analysis is useful for breaking down objectives into enabling tasks but you must be able to use it flexibly when dealing with complex decision-making tasks. |
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You can build on a task analysis looking at higher-level analytical skills such as those requiring actions such as 'select', 'decide', etc by doing a knowledge audit.
For each such task ask your high performer the following series of questions to identify:
- what strategy the expert follows
- why learners find it difficult
If it seems appropriate, explore these questions by presenting the high performer with a real or hypothetical example, and ask them to work through the process.
- What patterns and clues do you look for?
- Do you ever start this task and feel that you know exactly what is going to happen?
- When you start this task, what are the main elements you must consider?
- What special ways or shortcuts do you have for doing the task?
- Do you ever notice yourself monitoring your own performance, and how do you do this?
- What do you do when you see that a particular situation is different to normal?
- If you rely on equipment to do the job, do you ever find yourself disagreeing with it, and if so, how do you resolve this?
As you work through these questions, the high performer will give you information on how they make their decisions and carry out the task. They will also give you ideas about why learners can find it difficult.
Another useful technique that can help you move from objectives to text is the use of rule sets. Consider this example.
One objective identified during a house buying process might be to 'Acquire written confirmation that your offer has been accepted by the vendor'. The set of rules associated with this objective would be:
- The purchaser writes to the estate agent with details of their offer.
- The estate agent replies with written confirmation that the offer has been accepted.
- The estate agent asks the purchaser for a deposit.
- The purchaser sends the estate agent a cheque as a deposit.
Rule sets provide a clear statement of the material, and can easily be reviewed and amended by subject matter experts. They then provide a good starting point for writing the primary text.
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(C) Bryan Hopkins, 2005