Action cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1200-97

such as "disassemble the mechanical seal ..." can be translated into performance actions

which can be measured in the laboratory, at the simulator, or on the job.

An effective way to determine the appropriate action verb is to use a verb list such as the

one in DOE Training Program Handbook: A Systematic Approach to Training. This format

lists the verb and gives a definition for each verb to aid in the selection. Another way to

develop action statements is to use the template approach discussed in Section 4.1.

Template-type action statements are listed in the Appendix.

The action verb is generally viewed as an indicator of the cognitive, psychomotor, or

affective level of the learning objective. In practice, the level of an objective is influenced

by the context in which it is used, and is often expressed by the condition, verb, and

standard. For this reason, it is possible for the same action verb to be used to represent

more than one level.

In a work environment where procedures are used often, it will be rare for tasks to involve

cognitive processes above the application level. However, exceptions will be encountered

and developers should be alert to this possibility. The higher cognitive and psychomotor

levels are most likely to be appropriate for operators responding to abnormal or emergency

conditions or to maintenance personnel conducting troubleshooting on complex equipment.

Terminal objectives normally reflect a job-related task which is fairly broad in scope.

Because job-related tasks are performance-oriented, keep the terminal objective at a

performance level. The developer should always keep the terminal objectives at a level that

best approximates the job task when the action verb in the task can not be the same as the

action verb in the terminal objective due to training limitations. Thus, it is not normally

appropriate to write terminal objectives at the knowledge level.

Enabling objectives written at the knowledge-level are acceptable if they contribute to the

trainee's achievement of the terminal objective. As a hierarchy of enabling objectives is

being developed, attention must be given to designing a clear and continuous path from the

trainee's entry level to the terminal objective.