Skill and Knowledge Components
A skill or knowledge component is an expression of a discrete skill or knowledge that a learner must possess in order to accomplish a task or a specific element of a task.
Physical Action
A skill describes what the learner must be able to do in terms of a physical action in order to complete the task or element.
Some physical actions (skills) describe components of the task or element. For example, to perform the element "inspect the vehicle's battery", one physical skill might be: "use a hydrometer to check the specific gravity of battery water".
Psychomotor Abilities
Some skill statements describe psychomotor abilities required to perform the task or element.
Psychomotor abilities are defined as the ability to perform a physical action requiring coordination of body movements. For example, writing neatly, aligning parts to close tolerance, lifting heavy objects properly, maneuvering a moving vehicle through a series of turns and so on.
Know or Understand
A knowledge describes what the learner must know or understand in order to perform the task or element correctly.
One type of knowledge statement describes something the learner must know or understand that is very specific to the task or element. For example, for the element, "inspect the vehicle's battery", a knowledge statement might be "explain the relationship between specific gravity and battery cell life."
On the other hand, knowledge statements can also describe knowledge that is applicable to the task as a whole, rather than one element. For example, for the task: "Inspect a motor vehicle in preparation for a long trip," a general knowledge statement might be: "Identify the function of each part on the list of parts to be inspected."
Expressing Skill and Knowledge Statements
Analysts differ in their opinions about how to state a skill or knowledge component in the analysis process. The method recommended here is to use action verbs, and write the statements in a form that is as close to an objective as possible, but without spending time on refinements.
What's the Right Level of Detail?
The level of detail you allow in writing skill and knowledge statements is very important. If you make your statements too broad, you really haven"t finished the analysis. Someone, maybe you, will still have to break the general statement down into components discrete enough to be used as an objective.
If you write your skill and knowledge statements at a level that is too detailed, you will either have too many objectives to work with, or spend a lot of time "consolidating" or packaging the statements into objectives.
Write each skill and knowledge statement to represent as closely as you can something that can be easily translated directly into an action verb, or behavior statement of an objective.
If you"re not sure how to write the behavior or action statement for an objective, particularly how big or finite the scope of an objective statement should be, this would be a good time to get it straightened out!
See Also:
Writing the behavior, or action statements for objectives
Examples of Skill and Knowledge
Here are a few example skill and knowledge components.
•Discriminate between globe, gate, ball and check valves.
•Recognize the correct screen for entering task data.
•Type 100 words per minute with 80% accuracy.
•Describe the consequences of a failed emergency relief valve 56A.
•Identify the function of the knife switch in the emergency abort system.
•Identify the location and function of each component in the KS backup system.
