Wow~~time flies...It is now in week 12! And I haven't been updating my learning journal for NM3204! Probably this period after the mid-term is my peak period haha... Hmmm I stopped posting at week 6 readings, quite far away from now. And I realised after-week6 readings are mostly from the textbook Instructional Learning which are all quite lengthy and wordy. Anyway I still have post my reflections here. I read back my previous posts, I myself do not seem to understand them well *since were posted months back tsk tsk* thus I referred back the readings and noticed that I did not reflect on the task analysis and skills hierarchies under week 6 readings. Here it goes.
Our group 5trangers had just gotten back our assignment 3 Needs Assessment from Mr Alfred during the lecture just now. Bravo we got full marks! However when I read on the comments, it does not seem like we did perfectly. One of the comments are on task analysis for the taxi driver which was the topic we chose. We missed out task analysis totally. Referred back to the reading, task analysis basically is a detailed task list that states all the required steps and elements to complete a particular task. At the time we were completing our assignment 3, we did not really think about this task analysis is needed as we tend to assume that the target audience will understand the task well by themselves. I wonder, this is probably due to we are not assigned with such a detailed analysis before, as we are already tertiary students. But think back, even when I was a primary student, the teachers did not really guide us with such detailed steps. Is it something natural for teachers or educators to miss out this part assuming the task description given is detailed enough? What are the possible benefits for the learners with this analysis? Let's examine briefly.
I do think that it is good to have this detailed task analysis, which is a guideline for learners to refer when they are doing their task. It ensures they would not miss out any important point or idea for the task completion. Moreover, with the assistance of visual cues like the flowchart, the task given out looks more appealing and easier for the learners which they may be motivated to do their task with their best. HOWEVER, would not this "guideline" turn out to be a restriction for the learners as they would blindly follow it and bypassing their own creative thinking processes? In addition, educators would not expect to receive surprises of the work from their learners which means that everybody will get around the same marks. Moreover, educators might miss out any important task details in the analysis since they are also human beings. The analysis will either be listed with too detailed information or too briefly stated as people tend to squeeze out every single details or brief in a fuzzy way.
Despite the up and down sides of this task analysis, personally I think it is somehow useful. BUT, educators have to take note as I think it is context dependent. It highly depends on what the task is and what are the steps. If the task is technical like fixing a machine, the steps should be in details and clear. If it is an assignment like writing a report, there are still steps needed to guide the learners, but they should left spatial for the learners to think and come out with their own ideas instead of following completely.
From the readings, it states that after the task analysis is done, we can proceed to skills hierarchies. I believe this step is more for educators as reference than for learners although it is also a good guideline for learners to understand their limitations or capabilities. Like I said previously about the different context, some skills are intellectual or unseen easily. Even if the educators state down these kind of skills are needed, the learners themselves might not know (sometimes) whether they have them or not. This may consequent in both ways - demoralised and rejective, or motivated and challenging. So as educators, they have to consider this as well and be prepared to encounter it. Am I right?
Our group 5trangers had just gotten back our assignment 3 Needs Assessment from Mr Alfred during the lecture just now. Bravo we got full marks! However when I read on the comments, it does not seem like we did perfectly. One of the comments are on task analysis for the taxi driver which was the topic we chose. We missed out task analysis totally. Referred back to the reading, task analysis basically is a detailed task list that states all the required steps and elements to complete a particular task. At the time we were completing our assignment 3, we did not really think about this task analysis is needed as we tend to assume that the target audience will understand the task well by themselves. I wonder, this is probably due to we are not assigned with such a detailed analysis before, as we are already tertiary students. But think back, even when I was a primary student, the teachers did not really guide us with such detailed steps. Is it something natural for teachers or educators to miss out this part assuming the task description given is detailed enough? What are the possible benefits for the learners with this analysis? Let's examine briefly.
I do think that it is good to have this detailed task analysis, which is a guideline for learners to refer when they are doing their task. It ensures they would not miss out any important point or idea for the task completion. Moreover, with the assistance of visual cues like the flowchart, the task given out looks more appealing and easier for the learners which they may be motivated to do their task with their best. HOWEVER, would not this "guideline" turn out to be a restriction for the learners as they would blindly follow it and bypassing their own creative thinking processes? In addition, educators would not expect to receive surprises of the work from their learners which means that everybody will get around the same marks. Moreover, educators might miss out any important task details in the analysis since they are also human beings. The analysis will either be listed with too detailed information or too briefly stated as people tend to squeeze out every single details or brief in a fuzzy way.
Despite the up and down sides of this task analysis, personally I think it is somehow useful. BUT, educators have to take note as I think it is context dependent. It highly depends on what the task is and what are the steps. If the task is technical like fixing a machine, the steps should be in details and clear. If it is an assignment like writing a report, there are still steps needed to guide the learners, but they should left spatial for the learners to think and come out with their own ideas instead of following completely.
From the readings, it states that after the task analysis is done, we can proceed to skills hierarchies. I believe this step is more for educators as reference than for learners although it is also a good guideline for learners to understand their limitations or capabilities. Like I said previously about the different context, some skills are intellectual or unseen easily. Even if the educators state down these kind of skills are needed, the learners themselves might not know (sometimes) whether they have them or not. This may consequent in both ways - demoralised and rejective, or motivated and challenging. So as educators, they have to consider this as well and be prepared to encounter it. Am I right?
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