Applying cognitive task analysis methodology in educational research

Abstract

Effective teaching is a valuable skill that is hard to learn and understand by just simply observing someone teach. One of the ways to gain better insight into how this skill is being developed is to explore teachers' cognitive processes. Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) methodology developed to study the cognition of experts performing challenging tasks can be a useful tool to gain this insight. This paper will review the underlying theoretical assumptions of this methodology and suggest how one could apply CTA to educational research.

Building a Cognitive Readiness for Violent Police–Citizen Encounters: A Task Analysis

“…CTA is a set of methods used to identify and explain the mental processes involved in performing a task within its natural environment (Klein & Militello, ; O'Hare, Wiggins, Williams, & Wong, ). According to Kartoshkina and Hunter (), “CTA methodology has been developed to work with experts because their cognition, knowledge, and understanding distinguishes them from their peers” (p. 52). As a result, this study sought to know what expert police UoF instructors envision when they want to train others for critical encounters.…”

The Convergence of Psychological Conditioning and Cognitive Readiness to Inform Training Strategies Addressing Violent Police–Public Encounters

“…Cognitive‐task analysis methods were specifically developed to work with experts in recognition that what they know, think, and do differentiates them from their novice counterparts (Kartoshkina & Hunter, , Klein & Militello, ; O'Hare, Wiggins, Williams, & Wong, ). By seeking to understand what UoF experts know about cognitive preparation for critical encounters; by exploring how they think, organize, and structure cue information; and by examining how their thinking influences decision making, we may get a better sense for how expert police UoF instructors develop the competencies of cognitive readiness for critical encounters both in themselves and in their students.…”