Analyze terminal behavior and objectives before manipulating teaching methods in instructional design

Design Process · All design processes
Evidence · 15 claims (10 for, 5 mixed) · 15 studies (7 associational, 5 causal, 2 theoretical, 1 design), q1–q3 · 3 of 15 report an effect size · 15 claims rest on one study

Description

Glaser's design orientation sets a task sequence: specify the terminal performance standard, determine student entry characteristics and prerequisites, construct procedures and materials to move the learner from one state to the other with provisions for motivation, and assess achieved competence against criteria. He argues analysis of behavior has been neglected yet has been the most influential element in recent instructional improvements, more so than manipulations of teaching method.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• The selected performance must be specified in terms of class properties of the subject matter and behavioral repertoires
• Student characteristics must be determined prior to instruction or during early learning

Constraints

• The paper treats only the first task, general examination of the behavior, prior to experimental analysis

Target Learners

• learners in designed instructional sequences generally

Target Learning Objectives

• attainment of specified terminal performance standards

Claims

• The usefulness of induction and errorful learning varies with the type of terminal task being taught [+W]
• Prior knowledge significantly predicted comprehension and transfer performance in the replication, and motivation during learning predicted retention [+W]
• Post-test biology knowledge and pre-test AI knowledge significantly predicted post-test AI knowledge [+W]
• Eyetracking showed students often answer word problems without looking at the algebraic expression, leading the curriculum to treat expression-writing as an induction task with the formula row moved to the bottom of the table [+W]
• Early elementary characteristics predict 71% of variance in high school language outcomes of CI users [~W]
• Fluid abilities (Gf) significantly predicted the rate of learning, whereas crystallized abilities (Gc) significantly predicted final learning performance in a one-week instructional process [~W]
• Initial math ability is the largest single predictor of later math ability, accounting for 45% of variance in later TEMA-3 scores [+W]
• Teacher-student interaction quality may reflect pre-existing student characteristics rather than teacher skill unless prior achievement is accounted for [~W]
• Providing a learner profile shifts an LLM's selected instructional strategies from content-focused to learner-centered [+W]
• Non-STEM majors in conceptual physics and astronomy courses score significantly lower pre-instruction on the LCTSR than STEM majors [+W]
• Before the intervention, most students could not write assumptions and conclusions, and only one student achieved the maximum pre-test score [+W]
• Prior mathematical accuracy is the dominant propensity factor: over half of January accuracy variance and under one-fifth of fluency variance predicted June performance [+W]
• Latent profile analysis of pre-service teachers' CT skills identifies three profiles (Novice, Developing, Proficient), revealing heterogeneous, non-linear skill acquisition [+W]
• Advanced-placement students outperformed vocational-school students on most learner characteristics, with large effect sizes except interest [~W]
• Baseline reading and untaught Grade 2 vocabulary scores correlated moderately with near-, mid-, and far-transfer comprehension outcomes [~W]

Related Principles

Examples

• Learner And Context Analysis
• Systematic Instructional Design
• Audience Analysis
• Task Analysis
• Learning Hierarchy Task Analysis
• Learner Analysis

Key Sources

• Glaser, Robert. (1966). Variables in "Discovery Learning." Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED010518

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	process
id	behavior-analysis-first-instructional-design
title	Analyze terminal behavior and objectives before manipulating teaching methods in instructional design
description	Glaser's design orientation sets a task sequence: specify the terminal performance standard, determine student entry characteristics and prerequisites, construct procedures and materials to move the learner from one s...
status	review
generated	by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-09-27
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — glaser-1966

Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.