An example of the NYU ICIS Training Task Model:
Much training is developed to teach people to follow procedures. As many tasks become more information-based and systems become more complex, the number of procedures to be learned increases dramatically. Learners can be overwhelmed if we try to teach all procedures individually and specifically when there are many procedures to be learned.
Having learners follow along with an instructor’s “Do what I do” focuses learners on following instructions and gives them a false impression they can do it on their own. Successfully mimicking an instructor or software simulation imparts a feeling of confidence that the procedure has been learned. But once the demonstration is removed, learners often find they can only get a small way into a procedure before hitting a wall.
Further, when people are taught only as many selected procedures as fit into a class of reasonable length, there is often much left untaught and unlearned.
We are often better served by learning how to master new tasks on our own. To become sufficient, we need to learn some general skills, become familiar with the logic, practice learning specific skills, do some analysis, and experiment.
Learners need to have confidence they can figure out new processes with reasonable efficiency. They need to know whether there are risks of making dangerous errors and how to avoid them, especially when they must perform a task never specifically taught to them. They need to know what kinds of errors can be corrected and what kinds can’t.
All in all, this is quite different from the approaches typically used to teach new procedures, such as using a new software application. Yet when people are taught only as many selected procedures as fit into a class of reasonable length, there is often much left untaught and unlearned. A different approach truly is needed. The task model is an effective approach to learning procedures that lets users “learn by doing” rather than by simply watching.
