Useful Theorists and Support Guides for the edTPA

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The Psychomotor Domain

The Psychomotor Domain was characterized in the 1970s by students of Benjamin Bloom. There are many classifications of the psychomotor domain. This domain is most useful for PE Teachers, Industrial Tech Teachers, and teachers of related content. The following taxonomies were developed by researchers, Elizabeth J. Simpson, Ravindrakumar H. Dave, and Anita J. Harrow, who were students of Benjamin Bloom. A combined taxomony was also created.

The cognitive and affective domains are more formally classified and if you choose to use them, should be followed more strictly. While the psychomotor domain is still "formal" and we encourage you to follow "sample action verbs", please properly incorporate verbs to the physical tasks you expect to execute in your classroom for your content area.


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For Physical Education, Dance, and Cheerleading Teachers

Psychomotor Athletics and Performance

For PE teachers, Dance teachers, Cheerleading teachers, Athletics teachers, and Performing Arts teachers, while we are absolutely certain that you are highly experienced in the sports that you teach, we recommend that you find the strongest action verbs that are pertinent to the sport or physical activity that you teach in your TPA. We suggest that you read a few manuals and guides on the sport or physical activity you plan to teach and you write down the key action verbs and academic vocabulary to set the learning objectives and measurable outcomes. Each objective should include an action verb with outcomes. Discuss the fitness and stamina outcomes that you want the students to develop. Make sure you use the academic vocabulary for such content as well. For Dance, Cheerleading, and Performing Arts, make sure to discuss both the physical execution of the dance and performance moves and the aesthetic outcomes. For specific terminology, i.e. ballet terms derived from French (i.e. plie, tendo, pirouette), italicize them.

For Other Teachers

Psychomotor Athletics and Performance

For Home Economics, Culinary Arts, Graphic Design, Arts, Wood Shop/Carpentry, Auto Shop, Industrial Tech, Health and Safety, Sports Medicine, Regional Occupational Programs, and other related content teachers, make sure you write objectives with action verbs that require students to respond to stimuli to take the proper actions according to what your lesson content is. IE flipping a pancake after cooking it for at least 1 minute based on visual and olfactory(smelling) observation of browning and bubbles on the side of it; making chest compressions of less than 1 inch in depth at the rate of 110 compressions per minute after detecting through sight, hearing, and touch, the absence of response or lack of life sustenance from the "victim". Because these classes are often hands-on and tactile in nature, make sure you illustrate and have them execute the lessons. You should also include footage of students carrying out the physical activities.


Elizabeth J. Simpson created this taxonomy in the 1970s. Her taxonomy is more to classify the learning of the motor task rather than the motor behavior. The outputs can be measured in by speed, distance, force, precision, procedures, or execution techniques.


Simpson's Psychomotor Taxonomy

  • Perception (Awareness): Accepting sensory cues to take a physical action. A perceptive signal such as estimating where a baseball will land and knowing to move to catch it or feeling a measure of roughness on a wooden board requires sanding it cues the learner to a needed action.

  • Set: Readiness to act. Mental, physical, and emotional sets or predispositions to carry out a psychomotor action. (Note that this is heavily related to Responding level of Krathwohl's Affective Domain) The person has a willingness to physically carry out the action.

  • Guided Response: When learning a complex skill, imitation and trial-and-error is executed by the learner. On this level, the learner learning a motor task physically imitates according to guidance.

  • Mechanism (Basic Proficiency): The learner has developed an amount of habitual execution and confidence with carrying out the task. A measurable amount of "muscle memory". Hand, eye, and muscle coordination is proficient for execution of tasks.

  • Complex Overt Response (Expert): The learner is able to comfortably and proficiently perform motor acts that involve "complex movement patterns". Accurate coordinated performance, without hesitation is completed. The learner knows the result of his/her physical action. For example, for a student learning basketball, the learner recognizes that the shot was unintentionally poorly executed (by his/her motor actions at the moment) and will not make the basket. On this level, adverbs and adjectives must be included in the objective to measure level of improvement relative to the Mechanism level.

  • Adaptation: Psychomotor skills are proficiently developed and the individual can adapt such physical skills and movement patterns to fit special and specific requirements. For example, for a learner learning how to cook, the learner alters greasing procedures based on judgment of the type of food, cookware, and preparation and serving requirements to prevent food from sticking to the cookware or the learner properly reorganizes First Aid procedures in simulated full scale emergency situations.

  • Origination: The learner creates new movement patterns to fit the situation, assignment, or problem. Creativity is emphasized after the learner is fully capable of all the necessary psychomotor skills. For example, the learner choreographs a dance routine to a predetermined music and genre. Creativity can also be properly applied to procedural processes.

    • Ravindrakumar H. Dave's taxonomy set objectives to be more behavioral than physical but with a focus on physical action. Notice how there is more emphasis on an amount of competency of the psychomotor skill. It is useful for building physical competency including at different age levels.


    Dave's Psychomotor Taxonomy

  • Imitation: Copying the movement or patterned behavior of someone after observing. Quality performance is not expected.

  • Manipulation: Being able to execute certain actions and motions by memory or by following instructions.

  • Precision: Refining skills to be more sharp, accurate, or observably competent.

  • Articulation: Coordinating actions and skills to create a sense of harmony and internal consistency.

  • Naturalization: Mastering the task to the point that it becomes second nature and "instinctive" to the learner. Muscle memory that is almost instinctive might describe this.


    • Anita J. Harrow created a taxonomy that is more focused on physical motion and reflexes. Fitness is among the higher-level objectives. It is especially useful for children and younger members building sensory muscle coordination and physical fitness.


    Harrow's Psychomotor Taxonomy

  • Reflex Movements: Movements that are not voluntary and not learned.

  • Fundamental Movements: Basic movements that set the foundation for more complex movements.

  • Perceptual Abilities: Response to stimuli from a sense (sight, hearing, smell, touch, or taste etc) such as catching a ball when you see it.

  • Physical Abilities (Fitness): Your fitness, stamina, strength, and more which have to be practiced, developed and worked for development and sustainment.

  • Skilled movements: Learned movements specified to a specific sport or physical activity.

  • Nondiscursive communication: Using kinesthetic activities such as movements and gestures to effectively communicate.


    • Subsequent researchers have tried to unify the three taxonomies. The taxonomies were combined into the following levels.


    Combined Taxonomy

  • Observing: Mental attendance of the physical event. Watching and learning from someone executing the physical activity.

  • Imitating: Attempting to copy and carry out the physical behavior.

  • Practicing: Replication and repetition of a specific physical activity.

  • Adapting: Refining and adjusting the physical activity to perfect it.


    • The basis of the psychomotor domain is neuromuscular, which refers to the human response from the nervous system to expected muscle motion. However, some taxonomies do reflect an amount of behavior too. For the specific actions you want to teach them to perform, do them yourself and specify the bodily kinesthetic coordination you used that you want them to develop.

    We recommend reading all of the taxonomies and selecting only one of the Psychomotor taxonomies for your task and building off that one only.

    Side note: Surprisingly, it is very difficult to find biographies of the authors of the writers of the Psychomotor domain. It is known that Dave led departments of the National Council of Educational Research and Training in India and was Dean of educational development. He also became the Technical Director of the Unesco Institute for Education in the 1970s. Otherwise, there are very few sources of their professional biographies.


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    Sources

    Clark, D. (2015). Bloom's taxonomy: the psychomotor domain. Retrieved from this link.

    Dave, R.H. (1970). Psychomotor levels in Developing and writing behavioral objectives, pp.20-21. R.J. Armstrong, ed. Tucson, Arizona: Educational Innovators Press.

    Harrow, A. (1972). A taxonomy of psychomotor domain: a guide for developing behavioral objectives. New York: David McKay.

    Simpson E.J. (1972). The classification of educational objectives in the psychomotor domain. Washington, DC: Gryphon House.