Hierarchies in children's learning: A symposium

Abstract

There has been a continuing increase in the application of hierarchy theory to the problems of instruction and evaluation, since Gagn6 first used the term "hierarchy" in his theory of how human beings acquire complex skills and knowledge. This article, based on a 1970 symposium of the American Educational Research Association, presents an overview and analysis of the use of learning hierarchies in instruction and research, examines some current research on learning hierarchies, and considers the implications of this research for instructional psychology and for theories of cognitive development.Since Gagn6 first used the term "hierarchy" in his theory of how human beings acquired complex skills and knowledge (Gagn6, 1962), there has been a continuing increase in the application of hierarchy theory to problems of instruction and evaluation. Simultaneously, but apparently independently, developmental psychologists have begun to use concepts of hierarchical dependency in studying sequences of cognitive and psychosocial development. This article examines some current research on learning hierarchies and considers the implications of this research for instructional psychology and for theories of cognitive development.This article is based on the proceedings of a symposium held at the 1970 meetings of the American Educational Research Association. The opening section presents an overview and analysis of the key issues in the study and use of learning hierarchies in instruction and in psychological research. This is followed by summaries of four empirical studies, each of which was presented in detail at the symposium, as an example of a particular approach to work in the field. The concluding section contains commentary of three discussants, representing learning, psychometric and developmental psychologists' points of view. 311

Discrepancy and Severity in the Learning Disabled: A Consolidated Perspective

“…While the determination of discrepancy based on academics invariably leads to an instructional approach, this model has been criticized for its reliance on task analyzed skill hierarchies, which, according to Lovitt (1974), may be "superstitious" (p. 68). Reviews of studies in task analysis provide no conclusive evidence of the validity of skill hierarchies (Resnick, 1973;White, 1973). More research will be needed before validity of skill hierarchies can be established (Smead, 1977).…”

Process training derived from a computer simulation theory

“…Gagne's (1970) notion of hierarchies of learning has suggested that there is an optimal order for learning skills. likewise, investigations of children's intellectual development and education (e.g., Resnick, 1973;Wang, Resnick, & Boozer, 1971) have emphasized that successful performance in complex intellectual tasks requires proficiency in simple component tasks. More recently, Glaser and Resnick (1972) and Resnick and Glaser (in press) have suggested that the ability to assemble lower order skills into higher order competencies is a major determinant of one's intellectual capacity.…”

Language in Texts

“…For example, Johnson and Shavelson have used nonmetric multidimensional scaling to show the pattern of relationships between stimulus words in physics (Johnson, 1964;Shavelson, 1972Shavelson, , 1974. Gagne and his co-workers use task analysis to derive their hierarchies (Gagn6, 1965, Resnick, 1973, and Pask and his co-workers interrogate subject matter experts to externalize their conceptual structure as "entailment nets" (Pask, 1975a(Pask, , 1975b(Pask, , 1976. Of these methods, I believe Pask's has the soundest theoretical grounding.…”