TASKTEACH: A Method for Computer-Assisted Performance Training

Abstract

A method for using a computer time-sharing system to assist the learning of serial tasks, from operating equipment to troubleshooting it, is described. The method is based on mediational theory. The current resurgence of interest in mediational theory in psychological research is noted, and parallels between experimental strategies and instructional strategies for evoking and manipulating mediating processes are pointed out. Categories of processes which mediate performance of serial tasks are described. Procedures for facilitating the learning of these processes are implemented by a computer program, called TASKTEACH. The program sustains the student's performance of complex serial tasks by giving him variable amounts of support while helping him learn and organize the processes which mediate his performance of these tasks. The program generates output to the student during the learning session by processing short lists and the prior responses of the student. The lists, which are input to the program replace the conventional frame-by-frame description of an instructional sequence written in a “CAI language.”