The process of breaking a complex skill into smaller teachable units is called

• A. Functional Analysis
• B. Task Analysis
• C. Chaining
• D. Shaping

Answer: (B)

Task analysis is the process of breaking a complex skill into smaller, teachable units. By outlining each step required to complete the skill, you can teach in manageable chunks, set a logical sequence, and tailor prompts for each part. This approach is especially helpful in SAFMEDS practice because it lets you practice discrete steps for fluency and then connect them into the full skill. Functional analysis, on the other hand, examines the environmental variables that control a behavior. Chaining uses a task analysis to teach a sequence of steps, but the act of breaking down the skill is task analysis itself. Shaping focuses on producing successive approximations of a single behavior rather than decomposing a whole skill into steps. Therefore, the process described is task analysis.