Cognitive Task Analysis

Steps in Lesson Delivery for CTA:

• Teach first - Post learning objective, activate prior knowledge.  Before you ask the question, teach the concept and needed skills  so students are equipped to respond. Identify steps in skill work so students understand the process to use. Guide their practice while discussing below.

• Ask a high level question- specific to what you just taught

• Pair-share- with a partner so students practice their response to the question.

• Pick a non-volunteer -to verify that everyone is learning.

• Effective feedback- explain or review based on student responses.

• Closure and relevance discussed

How it Works: (one example)

• Explicit Direct Instruction Approach provides for Cognitive Task Analysis:  Explicit Direct Instruction  lessons provide this influence in two ways—pair-shares and steps.  Teachers are encouraged to ask higher-order questions that challenge the way students think about the content and help them monitor and practice their thinking in pair-shares. Secondly, every lesson identifies steps for performing the skill. This aids the students in managing how they think about a problem. 

Other Examples of Cognitive Task Analysis: 

• Research paper

• Project-based learning

• Teaching life skills (students with IEPs)

When to Use: 

• It is also essential to determine the skills a learner must already have in place in order to successfully complete the task analyzed skill. These skills are referred to as prerequisites. 

•  Once the prerequisite skills are identified, the instructor should also list any materials that would be necessary to complete the task.

Benefits: 

• Task analysis is the process of breaking a skill down into smaller, more manageable components.

• Guided practice and explicit feedback given to support skill/concept mastery

•  Once a task analysis is complete, it can be used to teach concepts that are too challenging to teach all at once. 

• Deeper Learning promoted