Page 132 - Making Instruction Work

chap 11 3/11/97 4:59 PM Page 118

118 making instruction work

do it once, I’d know they could do it, but if they did it only in
the presence of a calm customer, I wouldn’t know whether
they could do it with a hostile one. I think if I had three sam-
ples of performance, I’d be satisfied they could handle the skill
under the conditions specified.”
Then I would write three criterion test items, each of which
calls for the same performance under a different part of the con-
dition range specified in the objective. In the example above,
the items would all read the same, but the person playing the
customer would be different. One would be hostile, one would
be angry, and one would pretend to be a little dull. Most of the
time, writing test items is simpler than the above paragraph
implies. Here are some more examples.

Example #1: Suppose an objective reads:

Objective: Given a Model 12 keyboard, and a standard
tool kit, be able to disassemble the keyboard
down to the frame within ten minutes.

Let’s follow the steps listed above.

1. What’s the performance called for by the objective?

Disassembling.

2. Draft a criterion test item.

Disassemble this keyboard in ten minutes.

3. What are the conditions stated?

The student is given a Model 12 keyboard and standard
tool kit.