Email Leslie Back to Homepage Copyright and Usage A little Inspiration About Leslie Journal Articles On Line Best Picks - Books and Videos Graduate Exam Questions Teachers are powerful people and keepers of the future. Help your students dream big! copyright Leslie Owen Wilson Creativity Index Curriculum Index Sample Lesson Plans Models of Teaching and Learning  Reflective Teacher Index Newer Views of Learning Professional  Links   Wilson's Curriculum Pages - The Psychomotor Domain Back More curriculum links: Backwards design-an overview Behavioral objectives Holistic objectives Nonbehavioral objectives Problem solving objectives Expressive activities that lead to expressive outcomes Cognitive Objectives  New version of Bloom's Taxonomy Affective Objectives Psychomotor Objectives Sample lessons Samples of Problem Solving Lessons   Other links to information about this topic:   More on the cognitive domain       Psychomotor objectives are those specific to discreet physical functions, reflex actions and interpretive movements. Traditionally, these types of objectives are concerned with the physically encoding of information, with movement and/or with activities where the gross and fine muscles are used for expressing or interpreting information or concepts. This area also refers to natural, autonomic responses or reflexes. As stated earlier, to avoid confusion, if the activity is simply something that is physical which supports another area -- affective or cognitive -- term the objective physical rather than psychomotor. This goes to instructional intent. A primary example of something physical which supports specific cognitive development and skills might be looking through a microscope and identifying and drawing cells. Here the instructional intent of this common scientific activity is not to develop specific skilled proficiency in microscope viewing or in reproducing cells through drawing. The key intent in this activity is that a physical action supports or is a vehicle for cognitive growth and furthering recognition skills. The learner is using the physical action to achieve the cognitive objectives -- identify, recognize, and differentiate varied types of cells. If you are using a physical activity to support a cognitive or affective function, simply label it as something physical ( labeling the objective as kinesthetic, haptic, or tactile is also acceptable) and avoid the term psychomotor. (Based on Anita Harrow's taxonomy). Reflex movements Objectives at this level include reflexes that involve one segmental or reflexes of the spine and movements that may involve more than one segmented portion of the spine as intersegmental reflexes (e.g., involuntary muscle contraction). These movements are involuntary being either present at birth or emerging through maturation.  Fundamental movements Objectives in this area refer to skills or movements or behaviors related to walking, running, jumping, pushing, pulling and manipulating. They are often components for more complex actions. Perceptual abilities Objectives in this area should address skills related to kinesthetic (bodily movements), visual, auditory, tactile (touch), or coordination abilities as they are related to the ability take in information from the environment and react.   Physical abilities Objectives in this area should be related to endurance, flexibility, agility, strength, reaction-response time or dexterity. Skilled movements Objectives in this area refer to skills and movements that must be learned for games, sports, dances, performances, or for the arts. Nondiscursive communication Objectives in this area refer to expressive movements through posture, gestures, facial expressions, and/or creative movements like those in mime or ballet.  These movements refer to interpretative movements that communicate meaning without the aid of verbal commands or help.

copyright Leslie Owen Wilson, 1997, 2001, 2003. 2005