Dr. Sharon L. Bender
June, 2008
What are Psychomotor Skills?
Psychomotor skills are physical skills which can be
exhibited when people perform practical activities
in a competent manner. These skills can be examined
and applied in a learning domain taxonomy adapted
from the taxonomies of two universities: 1)
University of Hawaii and 2) Penn State.
University of Hawaii
considers the psychomotor domain among its three
learning domains: 1) Cognitive Domain, 2)
Psychomotor Domain, and 3) Affective Domain; which
stem from Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning
Domains (think/feel/do):
1.
Cognitive domain (intellectual or 'think')
2.
Affective domain (emotional or 'feel')
3.
Psychomotor domain (physical or 'do')
The slogan of the University of Hawaii is “Unlock
your Potential.” No doubt the use of these
learning domains plays an active role in reaching
this objective. According to the University of
Hawaii, the psychomotor domain is skill based and
the learner produces a product. Within its
psychomotor domain, the three practical
instructional levels include
imitation,
practice, and
habit.
This is indicative of the same kind of trio being
offered in Bender’s Psychomotor Domain Taxonomy,
which is somewhat a cross between the psychomotor
domains of both
Penn State and the University of Hawaii.
Penn State
offers four progressive levels of learning behaviors
in its psychomotor domain taxonomy: 1) observing, 2)
imitating, 3) practicing, and 4) adapting. These can
easily be triangulated into:
Observation: watch the performance
Imitation: duplicate the performance
Adaptation: perfect the performance
Merging the University of Hawaii’s Psychomotor
Learning Domain and Penn State’s Psychomotor Domain
Taxonomy, Bender’s Psychomotor Domain Taxonomy (PDT)
comprises the following:
|
Bender’s Psychomotor Domain Taxonomy
(PDT) |
|
Domain |
Definition |
Application |
|
Observation |
Watch the performance using active
mental attendance. |
Observe a person with expertise
performing the desired skill, paying
attention to the sequence, relationship,
and outcome. Supplement the direct
observation with other sources such as
video and independent reading. Here we
can use cognitive processes (think). |
|
Imitation |
Duplicate the performance by practicing
the activity and permitting failure. |
Repeat the process in the same sequence,
staying conscious of the effort in the
duplication process. Effort diminishes
as the skill is acquired, but expertise
is not yet acquired. Here we can use
emotional processes (feel). |
|
Adaptation |
Perfect the performance through making
adjustments and using the new skill
regularly. |
Make required adjustments that influence
the performance overall. Coaching may be
helpful. Soon the performance will
become second nature and expertise will
be gained and remain everlasting. Here
we can use physical processes (do). |
Adapted from a combination of University of Hawaii’s Psychomotor
Learning Domain and Penn State’s Psychomotor Domain
Taxonomy.
Sources:
Penn State. (n.d.). Psychomotor domain taxonomy.
Research on Teaching, Learning, & Technology.
http://tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/research/Psychomotor_Taxonomy.shtml
University of Hawaii (n.d.). Learning domains.
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/domains.htm
