What is the goal of predicting potential student learning problems? The goal  in the classroom is to provide teachers with a model for anticipating potential learning problems so that proactive instructional modification can be completed before students have learning difficulties.

What is a model for predicting learning problems? An effective model for predicting learning problems includes (1) an analysis of the dimensions of a learning task, and (2) an analysis of the phases of the school year. Each analysis will allow the teacher to anticipate certain types of learning problems of students.

Why is predicting potential learning problems important? Predicting learning problems is important since teachers can then anticipate the parts of a learning activity that will be difficult for a student. Teachers can use this information for adjusting the level of instruction and the intensity of reinforcement in a proactive manner.

How can we efficiently predict when students may have learning problems? One method to predict learning and behavior problems is to analyze a learning task by looking at the task dimensions to determine the relative difficulty of an assignment. Difficult tasks often foster learning and behavior problems if students are not provided sufficient instructional support. There are six task dimensions that are considered in an instructional classroom management approach:  (1) history, (2) response form, (3) modality, (4) complexity, (5) schedule, and (6) variation.

Step 1:  Evaluate Task History. Task history is concerned with assessing the learner's familiarity with a particular task.  In other words, the task can be new and novel to the learner, or it can be an old task for which the learner has a great deal of background knowledge and even a high level of familiarity, if not automaticity. New tasks present learners with a different set of problems and challenges from old tasks. Students learning new tasks are prone to behavior problems. Because the learner has had no instruction on the new task, the teaching must be carefully planned and all dimensions of the task must be considered, especially with a concern for the learner's potential response to the task. Gauging students' level of mastery across tasks is difficult and will require an evaluation and assessment system that is sensitive to students' performance.

Step 2: Evaluate Task Response Form. Learners demonstrate their general knowledge of the world by providing overt, observable responses to specific tasks.  Not surprisingly, these responses can come in various forms. The three different types of responses can be placed on an easy-to-hard continuum in which yes/no choice responses are the easiest response form and production responses are typically the hardest.  Multiple choice response forms fall somewhere in the middle on the easy-to-hard continuum. The more difficult response forms are often predictive of potential learning and behavior problems.

As with other task dimensions, the selection of the response form will depend on a range of considerations. For example, if the teacher plans to teach a new task (i.e., task history) that may be difficult for the learner, a yes/no choice response may be the best response form to use initially. The yes/no choice response is a generally weak response form because the learner has a 50% chance of getting the answer right.  Moreover, the structure of the questions is such that all the learner is required to do is listen and merely choose correct response by noting yes or no.

Step 3: Evaluate Task Modality. The modality of the response is also an important consideration when trying to predict learning problems. Specifically, a production response can be given orally, in writing, or motorically (e.g., student uses an augmentative communication device to select words or phrases to produce a statement). Like task response forms, task modes can be placed on an easy-to-hard continuum, in which the easiest mode of response is likely to be a motor response and the hardest mode of response is a written one. A written mode requires the learner to orchestrate "a host of skills that eventually result in a permanent product, a product that displays to the audience the thoughts and competencies of the writer.” The difficulty of the response modality varies from learner to learner, and the selection of the best mode depends again on the learner, the desired outcomes, the task history, and so forth.

Step 4: Evaluate Task Complexity. Task complexity is concerned with the extent to which a task requires the learner to complete a series of steps that are either new or unfamiliar. If the task is new and involves a series of steps that are complex and require the learner to apply unfamiliar terms, information, or skills that are not mastered, then the task is likely to be hard for the learner. In contrast, if the task involves one or two steps, mastered concepts, skills, or knowledge, then the task is likely to be easier for the learner.  As with other task dimensions, the complexity of a task can range from easy to hard and therefore can help the teacher predict which tasks may create learning problems for the student.

Often times the complexity of a task is made easy or difficult by the number and kinds of concrete examples presented as a means of explaining or demonstrating the new task.  For example, if a new concept is taught using only one or two examples, then the task is likely to be difficult for the learner.  If a range of greatly different examples is used to teach a new concept, the task is also likely to be difficult. Tasks that are difficult, confusing, and unclear set the stage for serious behavior problems.

Step 5: Evaluate Task Schedule. The amount of time allocated and scheduled to teach and complete a task can influence the difficulty of the task and consequently cause learning and behavior problems. Tasks can be scheduled for extended periods of time, or the task time allocated can be brief or abbreviated. A task scheduled for an extended period of time should not be so difficult as to be punishing, or so easy as to be trivial to the learner. For example, a teacher could schedule 45 minutes to teach third grade students how to work complex division operations. Such a teaching schedule is not likely to lead to much success, especially for low-performing students who have difficulty staying engaged for long periods of time. Ten minutes into the teaching routine, off-task behavior is likely to become a problem. Tasks scheduled for extended periods of time must be carefully planned with specific outcomes.

Step 6: Evaluate Task Variation. When multiple tasks are presented in a lesson, they create a sequence. This sequence can be varied or unvaried, which means that the sequence of tasks can be comprised of both easy and hard tasks, or all easy tasks or all hard tasks.  While it is unlikely for a lesson to be comprised of only easy or only hard tasks, a sequence of tasks can be comprised of two or more difficult (or easy) tasks. The primary concern with presenting difficult tasks back-to-back is that they set the occasion for frustration and failure, and perhaps behavior problems.  A better alternative is to vary the sequence of tasks so that the presentation of difficult tasks is followed by easy or moderately difficult tasks.  This varied sequence of tasks is especially important for students with learning and behavior problems.

Kameenui, E., & Darch, C. (1995). Instructional Classroom Management: A Proactive Approach to Classroom Management. Longman, White Plains, New York.

Carnine, D, Kameenui, E., & Silbert, J. (1995). Direct Instruction Math. Prentice Hall, Columbus, Ohio.