Lesson 3 Overview

In Lesson 2, you identified the major steps learners must complete to achieve an instructional goal. While this provides an important overview of performance, instructional designers often need a deeper understanding of what learners must know and be able to do to complete each step successfully. 

This deeper level of analysis is known as subordinate skills analysis. Subordinate skills are the supporting knowledge, abilities, and procedures learners must possess in order to perform larger tasks. Some subordinate skills are visible and easy to identify. Others are hidden beneath the surface and may not be immediately apparent to experts. 

For example, a healthcare professional may easily perform a medical procedure but may overlook important supporting skills because those skills have become automatic through experience. Likewise, an experienced teacher may forget how many underlying decisions and knowledge components are involved in creating effective instruction. This phenomenon is known as an expert blind spot. An expert blind spot occurs when individuals become so proficient at a task that they have difficulty identifying the knowledge and skills required for novice learners. 

One of the primary responsibilities of instructional designers is uncovering these hidden elements of performance. By identifying subordinate skills, designers can determine what must be taught, what can be assumed, and where learners may encounter difficulties. This lesson focuses on making expert knowledge visible so that it can be translated into effective instruction. 

Contemporary Field Connections 

Modern instructional designers frequently work with subject matter experts who possess extensive knowledge but may struggle to explain how they perform complex tasks. 

To address this challenge, instructional designers use techniques such as: 

• Structured interviews 
• Observations 
• Think-aloud protocols 
• Process mapping 
• Cognitive task analysis 

A cognitive task analysis is a method used to identify the mental processes involved in performing a task, including decision-making, problem-solving, and judgment. These techniques are commonly used in healthcare, aviation, military training, technical certification programs, software training, and higher education. 

The ability to uncover hidden expertise is one of the skills that distinguishes instructional designers from content experts. While subject matter experts understand the content, instructional designers help reveal the structure of expertise so it can be learned by others. 

AI and Emerging Practice 

Artificial intelligence tools can assist instructional designers in documenting procedures, organizing information, and generating preliminary task analyses. However, AI systems often struggle to identify tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge refers to knowledge that individuals possess but may find difficult to explain or articulate. 

For example, an experienced manager may instinctively recognize when a team member needs support but may struggle to describe the decision-making process involved. Similarly, an expert nurse may recognize subtle patient indicators without consciously thinking through every observation. 

Because AI tools primarily rely on explicit information, instructional designers must continue to work closely with learners, experts, and stakeholders to identify the tacit knowledge that supports successful performance. 

Key Terms

The following key terms will be introduced and explored throughout this lesson. Reviewing these terms and their definitions at the beginning of the lesson helps activate prior knowledge and provides a framework for organizing and integrating new information as you learn.

Objectives

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Explain the purpose of subordinate skills analysis. 
• Distinguish between major steps, subordinate skills, and entry skills. 
• Identify the knowledge and skills learners need to complete instructional goals. 
• Create an instructional analysis diagram that includes subordinate skills. 
• Identify appropriate entry skills for a target audience. 
• Evaluate the completeness of an instructional analysis. 
• Apply subordinate skills analysis techniques to your instructional design project. 

Refer to the Course Schedule for this week's readings.