Discuss the three major categories are cognitive, affective and
psychomotor.
Introduction
Taxonomy involves the classification of different learning objectives that students are expected
to achieve as set by educators. The three major categories are cognitive, affective and
psychomotor. To provide a holistic form of education, educators insist on attainment of all the
three objectives (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001).
Cognitive domain of education objective revolves around attainment of knowledge and critical
thinking. The recipient of knowledge must demonstrate understanding and application of the
acquired knowledge to analyze and remember the concepts taught. Different individuals have
varying aspects and affinity to grasp what is taught in class. Some individuals may display
outstanding abilities in cognitive skills as demonstrated in academic performance and general
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analytic skills (Bloom & Krathwohl, 1956). Others may be excellent in physical abilities like
driving, running and other sporting activities that require a different form of training.
Psychomotor domain is applicable to this group of persons. It involves the physical attribute that
an individual posses and the ability to manipulate tools or other instruments in an effort to
develop or excel in the production or organization of an event, sport or any other activity that
requires someone’s presence.
Affective domain is the response or the description of individual reaction mostly emotional. The
objectives of affective domain aim at developing growth in feelings, attitudes and emotions. For
effective achievement of these objectives, students must demonstrate minimum abilities to pay
attention to recognize and memorize the concepts taught by attaching some value to the
knowledge acquired. The students must be able to apply what they have learnt by
accommodating, comparing, elaborating and relating the concepts learnt with their environment.
My colleagues mostly in college and work place have demonstrated strong cognitive skills
compared with the other two domains. To develop effective cognitive skills that are applicable to
the current corporate market setup, the best learning intervention that would provide a holistic
development would be available in corporate universities (Simpson, 1966). These institutions
provide accredited learning programs that are complete with case studies that simulate particular
job demands and training requirements (Reid & Barrington, 1999). To provide the needs of the
affective domain most colleges offer elementary psychology classes for overall growth in
attitudes and emotional development. The need for effective interpersonal skills especially when
dealing with clients and other stakeholders in the same industry is an essential part of the
affective domain objective (Goleman, 2006). The learning strategies that can be applied in a job
setup include on the job training, planned internal or external organization experience, internal or
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external courses or even personal self managed learning programs. The intervention methods
would include coaching and action learning mostly for psychomotor needs and other relevant
cognitive and Affective needs required (Grant, 2006). Mentoring, education partnerships and E-
learning interventions are also suitable for both college students and employees.
For my colleagues to learn, they must have the desire to learn and accomplish their targets. Their
perception or ability to apply individual cues to guide and control their motor activities as
adduced by the psychomotor concept determines their eventual ability to change or develop their
skills or behaviors. The abilities to assemble, dismantle, construct, organize or play successful
indicate whether one’s performance is better, quicker or effective. Other skills like estimating
where a ball would land or determine the condition and problems of a motor car by its engine
sound or determine the quality of wine or coffee by its smell or taste are all good pointers to
perception in psychomotor domain.
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References
Anderson, L. W. & Krathwohl, D. R. (eds.) (2001). Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and
Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York:
Longman.
Bloom, B.S. & Krathwohl, D.R. (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of
educational goals. Handbook I: cognitive domain. New York: Longmans, Green.
Goleman, D. (2006). Emotional intelligence. New York: Random House.
Simpson, E.J. (1966) ‘The classification of educational objectives: psychomotor
domain’, Illinois Journal of Home Economics, 10 (4), pp.110-144.
Reid, M.A. & Barrington, H.A. (1999) Training Interventions: promoting learning opportunities.
London: CIPD.
Grant, A. M. (2006). Workplace and executive coaching: A bibliography from the scholarly
business literature. In R. Stober & A. M. Grant (Eds.), Evidence based coaching
handbook: Putting best practices to work for your clients (pp. 367-398). Hoboken, NJ:
Wiley.
