Students and novice practitioners of instructional design; a required or supplemental text for courses in instructional design, task analysis, and front end analysis.

Task Analysis Methods for Instructional Design is a handbook of task analysis and knowledge elicitation methods that can be used for designing direct instruction, performance support, and learner-centered learning environments. To design any kind of instruction, it is necessary to articulate a model of how learners should think and perform. This book provides descriptions and examples of five different kinds of task analysis methods: job/behavioral analysis; learning analysis; cognitive task analysis; activity-based analysis methods; and subject matter analysis. Chapters follow a standard format making them useful for reference, instruction, or performance support.

Introduction.

Part I: Task Analysis Processes.

What Is Task Analysis?
Selecting Tasks for Analysis.
Classifying Knowledge and Skills From Task Analysis.

Part II: Job, Procedural, and Skill Analysis Methods.

Task Description.
Procedural Analysis.
Job Task Analysis.
Functional Job Analysis.

Part III: Instructional and Guided Learning Analysis Methods.

Learning Hierarchy (Prerequisites) Analysis.
Information Processing Analysis.
Learning Contingency Analysis.

Part IV: Cognitive Task Analysis Methods.

Goals, Operators, Methods, & Selection (GOMS).
Prediction, Actions, Results, Interpretation (PARI).
Decompose, Network, and Assess (DNA).
Cognitive Simulations.
Case-Based Reasoning.

Part V: Activity-Based Methods.

Activity Theory.
Syntactic Analysis.
Critical Incident/Critical Decision Methods.
Task Knowledge Structures.

Part VI: Subject Matter/Content Analysis Methods.

Conceptual Graph Analysis.
Master Design Chart.
Matrix Analysis.
Repertory Grid Technique.
Fault Tree Analysis.

Part VII: Knowledge Elicitation Techniques.

Documentation Analysis.
Observation.
Survey Questionnaires.
Interviews.
Think-Aloud Protocols.
Unstructured Group Interviews: Focus Groups and Brainstorming.
Structured Group Interviews: Delphi Technique.