The beginning stage is called the cognitive.

The cognitive is marked by awkward, slow movements, that the learner is consciously trying to control. The person has to think before doing the movement. Performance is generally poor, and the person makes many errors in these slow, choppy, movements. The frustration level is high, but diligent practice allows the person to move onto the next stage of psycho-motor development. The second stage of psychomotor development is called the associative stage. In the associative stage, one spends less time thinking about every detail and begins to associate the movement one is learning with another movement already known. This is the middle stage of psychomotor development. The movements are not yet a permanent part of the brain. They are not automatic. Movements do not become a permanent part of the brain until they are performed ten thousand times. A person in this stage must think about every movement. However, unlike the cognitive stage, the movements begin to look smoother and the student feel less awkward. The final stage of psychomotor development in the autonomous stage. The autonomous stage is reached when learning is almost complete, although an individual can continue to refine the skill through practice. This stage is called autonomous because the learner no longer needs to depend on the instructor for all feedback about performance. The learner has practiced the movement ten-thousand or nearly ten-thousand times. This is the stage where movements become spontaneous. The learner no longer has to think about the movement. The mind and body become one. This is also a very dangerous stage in athletic training. There is a tendency at times to sleep walk through the movements. By sleepwalk, I mean allow the mind to wander. In spite of the fact the mind and body have become one, a learner must still concentrate on what they are doing. It is not good to think about the previous evenings date, while practicing! Understanding the various psychomotor stages makes it easier to learn. If we recognize the natural process in the development of athletic skills, we can easily accept the frustration we feel when first learning. It is important that a teacher explain the stages of psycho-motor development in order to motivate them properly. If you use this quick acronym to remember the four elements that enhance the learning process, M.A.R.S. Motivation, Association, Repetition, and the use of the Senses, students will learn more effectively, and move through the stages of psycho-motor development with ease, and comfort, not frustration, and aggravation

Romiszowski's Psychomotor Domain Alexander Romiszowski's taxonomy of Psychomotor skills (1999) is the most recent. His taxonomy pulls its strength from current research that has developed new ideas and shed light on weaknesses in earlier work. Romiszowski's research reveals that skill acquisition is more than sequences of movements performed in simple repetitive ways. Rather, skills are subsets of complex activities that take place in constantly-changing environments where there is a need for repeated adjustments to levels of skill

performance. The acquisition of skills begins with learning how to carry out a skill, to reproduce, and ends with applying that skill to produce something in a new environment and circumstance. An example of this is moving from learning how to serve a volley ball (reproduction) to coaching someone else in effectively serving a volley ball (production). Romiszowski's taxonomy consists of five stages in the development of Psychomotor skills. As with other models of development in the Psychomotor domain, each stage builds on the previous stages.

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Krathwohl, in revising Bloom's taxonomy, also referred to this domain as the Skills domain. That phrasing makes it a little easier on the tongue and relates it more closely to what we see and observe in learners. Let's nail down what is meant by the Psychomotor domain and then explore what we need to consider when writing and assessing learning outcomes in this domain. Cruickshank defines this domain as the area of learning that deals with students' physical ability and skills. It includes behaviors such as handwriting, typing or keyboarding, swimming, sculpting, and so forth. The chart below is a synthesis of the work done by a number of people, including those referenced above, in attempt to present an overview of the domain. This will be our starting point for examining learning outcomes. This chart was prepared at the University of Mississippi and is used with permission.

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Two of the ways in which we can address Psychomotor skills in our day-to-day lessons are direct and indirect instruction. In the first instance we can teach directly to the acquisition of the skill and/or secondly to enable development of the skill through its application in a variety of contexts. The difference can be seen in the following scenario: Billy has shown a lot of interest lately in using paint brushes. He has been asking Miss Morrow about the different sizes and shapes. His questions about the physical attributes of the brushes inevitably lead to such comments such as" I bet this one takes a lot of paint!" or" When are we gonna use the brushes?" Miss Morrow is planning to introduce the use of brushes in the coming weeks. In her plan book is the beginning of a series of lessons that range from how to hold a brush to painting a picture. Her jot list of lessons looks like this: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Planning a composition. Small group murals. Peer tutoring in brush skills. Independent painting project. Preparing a surface for painting. Choosing the right brush for a task. Creating texture and pattern with brushes. Making decisions about visual effects. Mixing colors. Brush cleaning between color changes. Applying colors side-by-side. Blending colors with a brush. How to hold a brush. Making the brush wet. Loading paint on the brush. Applying paint. Cleaning brushes. Storing brushes.

Does Miss Morrow's plan book demonstrate an understanding of how students learn skills? Does her sequence of skills reflect Romiszowski's taxonomy? If you were Miss Morrow and were about to plan a series of lessons, which of these skills would you teach discretely and which would you plan to develop through application? Psychomotor Lesson Plans At this point we will take a look at a number of lesson plans that have been found on the Internet. You are to visit each site and examine the lesson to determine how the Psychomotor domain is being addressed. Look closely to see if the skill is being taught directly or if there is provision for application of a skill as the learner moves from reproduction to production. Survival of the Mutant Toad The purpose of this lesson is to learn about camouflage and how it is essential for certain animals' survival. The lesson involves using white and brown beans. The white beans represent albino toads, and the brown beans represent pigmented toads. The beans are distributed outside in an "earthy" environment. Students have one minute to search for the beans. Students count the beans that are recovered and share their results. The importance of pigmentation and camouflage is discussed. Writing a Continuation of the Story The purpose of this lesson is to give students an opportunity to create a legend of their own. As with oral tradition, each storyteller tells the legend differently. This lesson gives the students a chance to put their own ideas in the story and publish their work. The lesson is also designed to encourage creativity and imagination while working on the fundamentals of writing. It's a way to support the students' writing processes. One-Point Perspective and Interior Design Students will learn the technique of one-point perspective. The students will also use their own ideas about functional interior design to create a space that was generated through looking at a particular artist. Introduction to Trigonometry In this introduction to trigonometry students will become aware of the many uses of triangle relationships. Students will have practice making triangles and measuring. Lacrosse The purpose of this lesson is to give students an opportunity to involve themselves in traditional games that were developed by the Plains Cree First Nation. Four ball games were part of the Cree culture: lacrosse, shinny, tossing the ball, and double ball. These games were very demanding and required teamwork, skill, and safety rules to avoid injury. While each game had a specific purpose and role, students can compare and contrast each game. The games will take practice before the students become familiar with them. Orienteering In this lesson students will use a map and compass to develop skills in orienteering. The lesson takes place in a gymnasium with a variety of locations to be sought as indicated by flags. Gymnastics Students focus on learning a variety of developmentally-appropriate gymnastic skills.

Activities:
Choose a curriculum outcome from one of the subject areas you teach that require students to acquire a skill(s) in the Psychomotor domain. Using the chart below as a guide, write five learning outcomes, one

for each level of the hierarchy. Print this Psychomotor Learning Outcome Worksheet to record your learning outcomes. As a reminder of the categories in this taxonomy, a click here will pop up the taxonomy chart you examined during the details of this lesson? Extensions Critique of Primary Language Arts Lessons For Grades 1-3 Teaching Goals Inventory Scoring Rubrics Other Internet Sites on Blooms Taxonomy Teaching Methods Web Resources

Lesson Planning Checklist

What are the learning outcomes for this lesson? Are they clearly stated? What, specifically, do I want students to learn from this lesson that will contribute to the students' understanding of the unit's main ideas and curriculum outcomes? Is the lesson developmentally appropriate? Am I covering learning across all domains? How does my lesson build on previous learning? How can I help students see the links between this activity and other lessons? Does the activity clearly link to previous and future activities? What will be easy or hard for students? How will I accommodate and provide support for individual differences? Multiple intelligences? Learning preferences? Learning styles? How will I engage students in learning? How will I start? What teaching strategies will I use? What activities will students engage in? Why? How much time will be devoted to different parts of the lesson? What directions will I need to give, and how should I present them? What materials are needed and when will I prepare and organize them? What assessment strategies will I use? Does my assessment strategy reflect the learning outcomes for this lesson?

What questions should I be prepared to ask? How might students respond? How will students represent their learning? What classroom management issues do I need to consider and plan for (organization of groups, procedures, transitions, handling student lack of cooperation, etc.)?