What are the steps that comprise this job?
The quality of your task analysis is crucial to effectiveness in job training. Making a list of all job duties prior to employment or training is a primary means of preventing complications. Review the job duties by visiting the site or reviewing the job description. A visit to the site can help determine relative amounts of time in which the employee will engage in each duty. It is strongly suggested that you devise a clear list of the duties that appear to be within the student’s immediate abilities (can be taught within a few repetitions or practices) vs. duties that will require more training. Consider initially presenting the graphic organizer to show the student the various tasks in the job. Creating this dual list of strengths vs. teachable jobs can assist the success of the project or job match. The list can also be used as a starting point to negotiate the responsibilities that fit the project or supervisor’s needs for a specific quantity and quality of work while also fitting the student.
Given what the student can do presently, how will you present the tasks so that the student can perform steps within his capacity while learning a new step?
Do not underestimate the value of strategically carved job training experiences. A student who is motivated to work in a business office may benefit from a ‘volunteer’ job training that occurs after school in a moderate to large non-profit business in which he performs very specific tasks on a consistent basis for short periods. Though he may have limited experience with spreadsheets and data entry, you have determined from job observations at this site that he can quickly perform, with practice and visual supports, the two tasks of entering member data (contact information and dues paid) on one spreadsheet and entering and compiling demographic information on members on a second spreadsheet. This job training may only occur once weekly for 2.5 hours yet it assures a level of confidence and success in the site on which other job opportunities can be built.
In contrast, job training or employment may involve a variety of tasks. One frequent task in merchandise receiving and preparation involves processing clothing for display. Whether this is processing men’s apparel, women’s apparel, shoes, etc., your task analysis can clarify the list of steps and visual instructions for the student to use in independent task completion. There are some steps that will be the same regardless of type of merchandise and other steps that are specific to that merchandise. Creating multiple sets of visual instructions may be necessary. In other cases, you may be able to create ‘general instructions’ (carried out in every situation) and ‘specific instructions.’
Consider that the student works at a ‘receiving station’ near the loading dock in a retail setting. The truck is unloaded and boxes are sorted to locations that will assist processing. The student has the task of processing men’s shirts for sales display. The task analysis for this task may be as follows:
1) Retrieve all ‘men’s shirt’ boxes from merchandise area and take to your receiving station.
2) Open one box and retrieve inventory slip.
3) Check inventory slip against contents of box. If inconsistent, contact supervisor.
4) Remove plastic, pins and tissue from shirts.
5) Hang shirts on paper hangers. Sort by size while hanging.
6) Add security tag to each shirt.
7) Run price scan on price tags.
8) Continue (Steps 2-7) until all shirts are ready for display.
9) Move hanging rack to station for someone to display.
Obviously, the process varies according to the retail setting. Also consider that each of the nine steps above could be task analyzed into very discrete steps. Having the process defined in clear steps before the student faces the task can only support performance and reduce frustration for all.
Generally, teach the steps of the task in sequence to build a routine while prompting the student to the visual supports that will assist those difficult steps. For instance, if you find that the student does well with most of the steps of processing specific types of incoming merchandise (removes, clothing, strips plastic and tissue, hangs, and tags) but has difficulty with counting and matching contents to inventory sheet, you would support the student in using a set of written instructions for the sequence but place your instructional emphasis on his use of instructions to count contents & check count against highlighted numbers on inventory.
