Identifying Subordinate and Entry Skills
Goals and Outcomes
After completing this module, students will be able to:
- Describe approaches to subordinate skills analysis including hierarchical, procedural, cluster, and combination techniques.
- Describe the relationships among the subordinate skills identified through subordinate skills analysis, including entry skills.
- Apply subordinate skills analysis techniques to steps in the goal analysis and identify entry skills as appropriate.
Selected Readings
Chapter 4 from Dick, W., Carey, L. & Carey, J.O. (2015). The systematic design of instruction. (8th ed.). New York: Pearson.
Lecture Outlines
“To Do” List
Do: Begin working on Report 1. Report 1 will require you to synthesize and apply all your knowledge gained from chapters 1-6. Report 1 will be due on the first day of module 7.
Do: Begin your Learning Blog. See your Learning Blog assignment details in Assignments. The initial link to your evolving reflective Learning Blog is due on the first day of module 7.
DO: Discussions
Discussions Forum 4: Identify Entry Skills
Chapter 4 is about identifying subordinate and entry skills.
Last week’s readings were all about analyzing the actual GOAL of instruction. This week, the idea is to analyze what a learner has to already know or be able to do in order to be successful in learning the goal!
It is essential for instructional designers to know what a learner has to know or be able to do as a subordinate or entry skill. One way to think of this is that a subordinate or entry skill is like an “admission ticket” to the real intended learning event. You have to know or be able to do certain things BEFORE being able to learn new concepts or skills.
You need to CRITICALLY ANALYZE exactly what you are trying to teach and break it down into what a learner needs to know before they can be successful in the learning environment.
For this discussion, think of something you teach or something you have been taught, then list entry skill or knowledge that is DIRECTLY RELATED to and ABSOLUTELY necessary to know BEFORE the main goal of instruction can be accomplished. (Please don’t list obvious, overly simplistic things like “knowing how to read” as an entry skill to flying an airplane…)
For all discussions, full credit is awarded for providing a meaningful and well-written original thread and responses to two classmates. Discussion postings should always be thoughtful, courteous and on topic. In order to ensure that postings are appropriate in length and substance, please limit your initial postings to @100 words and each of your responses to @50 words.
Make your initial posts before 11:59 p.m. U.S. EST/EDT on Day 5 of this module. Complete your replies before 11:59 p.m. U.S. EST/EDT on the next Monday.
Discussion postings should always be thoughtful and courteous and include some references or direct evidence from the module’s content, readings, or assignments to support your statements.