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“The preferred typeface for APA publications
is Times New Roman, with 12-point font
size. A serif typeface, ‘with short lines
projecting from the top or the bottom of a
mainstroke of a letter’ (Chicago Manual of
Style, 2003, p. 837), is preferred for text
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eye fatigue” (APA, 2010, pp. 228-229).
APA Example
Serif Type Style examples:
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• Courier
Sans Serif Type Style examples:
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Topic: Task Analysis
September 17, 2014
Definition of Task Analysis
It is the process of breaking down a
skill or activity into a set of discrete
steps that you can then teach to an
individual one-by-one (forward or
backward chaining). You can then
assess an individual’s performance on
each step of the task, either as done
or not done (check list) or by the type
of prompting or cueing required
(rating scale).
Chaining:
“teaching students to perform a
sequence of functionally related
responses in an approximate or exact
order to complete a routine or task.”
(Snell & Brown, 2000, p. 163)
Applying Task Analysis
1. Conduct a pre-test.
2. Determine general
instructional procedures.
3. Develop data collection forms.
From: The Syracuse Community-Referenced Curriculum Guide, Ford, et al., 1989
Step 1: Pre-test
•Establish baseline performance.
•Determine which skills to target
for instruction.
•Identify necessary adaptations.
•Identify types of needed
instructional prompts.
Example of Pre-Test
Skill Area: Lunch line
1. Observe several students going through
the lunch line to identify necessary
behaviors and skills.
2. Observe your target student going
through lunch line.
3. Note discrepancies between your
student’s performance and the
behaviors/skills of “doing lunch line.”
Step 2: General instructional procedures
a) Structural information:
(location, students, time,
materials) and
b) Procedures: (prep, review,
intro, participation, closure).
Step 3: Data Collection Forms
a) Identify specific
performance targets,
b) Determine appropriate
instructional prompts.
What is an
“instructional
prompt”?
Student:
Date:
Targets
Activity:
Observer:
Planned
Prompts
1. Look toward gesture
carts
2. Scan
shelves for
items
3. Locate &
reach for
item
4. Locate open
register
Model
full
physical
verbal
Prompt used?
MVG
MVG
MVG
MVG
MVG
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
MVG
MVG
MVG
MVG
MVG
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
MVG
MVG
MVG
MVG
MVG
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
MVG
MVG
MVG
MVG
MVG
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
PP FP
Student:
Date:
Activity:
Observer:
Skill Inventory
+/ What did student do?
-
Decision
1. Enter store
+
Entered w/ VP
Fade VP
2. Locate/get cart.
-
Passed carts
Teach to look
3. Take out shopping
materials (picture
cards).
+
With VP
Fade VP
4. Search for/get items. -
Searched only at eye level Teach scanning
5. Prepare to check out +
Went to closed register
6. Pay cashier.
+
Used money envelope
7. Exit store.
-
W/ VP
Teach visual
cues
Fade VP
Cueing,
Prompting, &
Fading
Quick Partner Brainstorm:
1. Identify all of the natural
cues that you can think
of that you use in your
activities of daily living.
2. What sort of “fail safes”
do you rely on to remind
you when you’ve
forgotten something.
Cueing
vs.
Prompting
Cues:
Natural and/or routine clues
that guide behavior.
• Environmental
• Physical
• Social
Prompts:
Reminders when an individual
has not taken advantage of
natural cues.
•
•
•
•
Physical
Gestural
Verbal
Modeling
Fading:
A gradual reduction in
reinforcement or prompting.
Examples:
• Indirect vs. Direct Verbal Cues
• Increase Time Between Prompts
• Decrease Physical Proximity
How does criterionreferenced assessment fit
into making decisions
about fading prompts?
How do the results
of task analysis
inform our
instruction?
Important Points:
1. Be aware of and capitalize on
natural cues.
2. Implement cueing, prompting, and
fading systems strategically and
consistently.
3. Plan how to fade a system of
prompting, understanding that some
individuals will always need some
amount of planned prompting.
Quick Write:
How often do you use task analysis
in your teaching/intervention
practice? To what extent to you
think you could either improve or
expand your use of task analysis?
How so?
Field trip!
In small groups (4 or less) choose a
functional task that you can observe a
group member performing here on
campus (e.g. washing hands, buying
coffee, checking out a book). Then, as a
group, watch your victim perform the
activity and write down all of the steps for
the skill inventory. Return by 6:00 sharp!
Whole Group Discussion
• What supplementary support and/or
aids would someone with a physical
or sensory disability need to
accomplish your task?
• What might be appropriate types of
prompts that you could integrate into
teaching this skill/activity?
• In what ways could new technologies
make data collection easier?
Please take a
minute for the
minute paper.
And don’t forget to turn
your phone back on.