Noting Hannum

The great difficulty in designing the task analysis is the lack of knowledge about the specific students. Even so, in the process of more detailed Task Analysis as per Hannum the following may be noted:

1.) Task Inventory

Students in the pilot Saturday School program should be able to
a.) Speak Spanish fluently
b.) Read Spanish fluently with grade level comprehension levels
c.) Write Spanish fluently with grade level composition levels
d.) Retain knowledge of culture and history of Latin America at grade level expectations

2.) Task Selection (in order of priortity after survey of Spanish teachers)

1-Retain knowledge of culture and history of Latin America at level set individually for each student after pre-test
2-Speak Spanish fluently at level set individually for each student after pre-test
3-Read Spanish fluently at level set individually for each student after pre-test
4-Write Spanish fluently at level set individually for each student after pre-test

3.) Task Analysis

The Spanish culture, history and language learning are all considered both behavioral and cognitive learning tasks. The task of learning these "tasks" for each child will by aided procedurally by:

First- Pre-testing and observation to note individual child's Spanish verbal skills, reading skill in Spanish and reading comprehension in Spanish, written skills in Spanish, as well as knowldge base of Latin American history and culture.

Second-using ESL and Lectura Proactiva (which is similar to a teaching program for reading in English called Wilson) individualized monthly objectives will be discerned and teaching methods implemented. Only Spanish will be spoken in these courses, no other language, as speaking a heritage language is crucial to learning (Potowski, 2004). These objectives will be communicated to student and the student's family.

Third--Teaching and learning will take place in small learning groups on Satruday mornings with monthly oral assessments and in some cases written assessment of students to show if objectives have been met. Using traditional task analysis methods or traditional paper and pencil multiple choice tests would not encompass constuctivist activities these courses would use and the traditional instructional design can be lacking for such alternative pedagogies (Der-Thanq, Hung and Wang, 2007).

Fourth--Monthly evaluation of each student's objectives will take place using results of any assessments or post-tests as guides; any adaptations necessary will be made at that point. Frequent evaluation and re-design will be necessary as there are few proven methods to improve performance in a second language by boosting heritage language skills, except the connection with the child's culture by the teacher and consistency of Spanish instruction beyond basic reading skills (Mathes, Pollard-Durodola, Cardenas-Hagan, Linan-Tompson, Vaughn, 2007).

Fifth--Rewards and recognition will take place for each student as he or she meets an objective and this recognition will be communicated to the student's family.

Sixth--At the end of the school year a Post-test will be given similar to the ESL pre-tests. Each student's plan will be customized after analysis of results. Each student will be given revised objectives for the new year.

References:

Der-Thanq, C., Hung, D. & Wang, Y. (2007) Educational design as a quest for congruence: The need for alternative learning design tools, British Journal of Educational Technology,Vol 38 No 5, 876-884.

Hannum, W., Notes on How to Conduct Task Analysis, (no other reference information given in LIS 672 course at UNCG)

Mathes, P., Pollard-Durodola, S., Cardenas-Hagan, E., Linan-Thompson, S., & Vaughn, S. (2007). Teaching Struggling Readers Who Are Native Spanish Speakers: What Do We Know?, Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, Vol 38, 260-271.

Potowski, K. (2004). Student Spanish Use and Investment in a Dual Immersion Classroom: Implications for Second Language Acquisition and Heritage Language Maintenance, The Modern Languages Journal, 88, 1, 75-101.