Colleague interested in designing modules and programmes that enable a full range of skills development across domains (cognitive, affective, psychomotor, interpersonal and metacognitive) will hopefully find this short video resource useful. Feel free to share with colleagues on PGCerts. It is designed to support a reflective question which is, “what are the tools that your graduates might be expected to master on day one in their first graduate job role?” and secondly, “how would you design intended learning outcomes to progressively enable your students to acquire such skills and to demonstrate them?” (to be assessed)
This ten-minute video (10’30”) outlines the advantages of using a psychomotor domain taxonomy in designing learning outcomes for both vocational programmes and all tertiary disciplines. Simon Atkinson advocates the design of ‘manual’ skills in terms of computer software and tools used by graduates. He outlines two taxonomies from the 1960s and 70s, those by Simpson and Harrow (full references are on the main psychomotor domain page), but both of these are described as being more psychological definitional taxonomies, whereas Ravindra H. Dave’s 1967/70 taxonomy lends itself perfectly to the articulation of progressive skills development in tertiary contexts. Simon also illustrates the scope of ‘manual’ skills applied to all disciplines regardless of whether arts, humanities, social or physical sciences.
While such taxonomies are clearly of interest to those designing vocational and adult learning programmes, it is arguably as important that university students also experience the progressive nature of intended learning outcomes. Writing, and assessing, such outcomes will support graduates’ development of tangible ‘physical skills’, notably in the use of discipline-specific digital applications. Course designers should not abdicate the responsibility of such skills development to an extra-curricular programme of ‘digital literacy, but incorporate their skills development in their mainstream courses.
See pages for the Psychomotor domain