Development of psychomotor objectives for classroom of clinical education in physical therapy

A systematic method for developing and evaluating psychomotor objectives for students in clinical and laboratory education was presented. In preparing objectives for motor learning, the instructor must perform a task analysis of each skill to be taught. The analysis involves 1) identifying components of the movement, 2) salient features of facilitating stimuli, such as placement of grips, intensity and speed of stimulation, and 3) timing of commands or resistance. The senses, such as vision or kinesthesia, through which the student is to perceive the selected features must be chosen. After determining the level of skill to be attained, teaching methods are easily fit to the objectives. A simple checklist aids evaluation of student competency and provides immediate feedback on performance level.