FACULTY OF MEDICINE

Psychomotor and Soft

Skills Development
Dr Mohd Hafiz Ngoo Abdullah
23 June 2014
Learning Outcome
At the end of this training, the participant should be
able to: -
1. Explain the meaning of soft skills or affective
domain.
2. Valuing the important of soft skills development.
3. Differentiate between interpersonal and
intrapersonal soft skills.
4. Explain on facilitate, monitor, assess and evaluate
students in organising an activity related to
volunteerism and humanitarian relief.
The 3 Domains
Universally accepted model of medical / others training
Cognitive: skills that deal with intellect and
Cognitive attaining knowledge (the brain)

Psychomotor: skills that deal with one’s

physical development and usage of tools (hard
skills) (the hand)

Psychomotor Affective Affective: skills that deal with emotions, feelings,

values and skills that involve interactions with other
people (leadership, communication, organisational,
spiritual) (the heart)

 Students must be properly trained and assessed in the 3 domains. Upon

graduation, they must be competent in the three domains.
 Training of medical/pharmacy students of today should yield knowledgeable,
skillful and ethical practitioners of tomorrow
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Reality
Well established methodology for cognitive and psychomotor
domains, but poorly defined in the affective domain

Cognitive

Psychomotor Affective

Consequence? Produce doctors / graduates

 who could have been more complete in terms of attainment of the three domains
 whose potential in the affective domain has not been properly tapped

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Research Findings
Conclusion:
Most universities in Malaysia aspire to incorporate
affective domain training and assessment in their
curriculum, but a wholesome delivery system is yet to
be installed.

Solution:
Devise a valid and reliable delivery system of training
and assessment of the affective domain

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Psychomotor Skill Development
Watson (1980) agreed that psychomotor skill
development involves both muscle and thinking skills
through 3 stage processes: -

1. Early cognitive stage

2. Lengthy practice or fixation stage
3. Final autonomous stage
The affective domain
“ the manner in which we deal with things emotionally,
such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms,
motivations, and attitudes “

Krathwohl, Bloom, Masia, 1973

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Affective Domain Outcome Attributes
INTEGRITY : Trustworthy, Honest, Accountable, Fair, Just,
Reliable, Sincere, Insightful, Noble, Responsible
EMPATHY : Compassionate, Altruistic, Merciful, Kind, Caring,
Understanding, Patient
MOTIVATION: Determined, Conscientious, Dedicated,
Enthusiastic, Passionate
APPEARANCE : Clean, well-groomed, properly attired,
CONFIDENCE : Autonomy, Assertive, Positive, Poised,
COMMUNICATION: Polite, Articulated,
TIME MANAGEMENT: Punctual, Non-procrastinative, prioritise
TEAMWORK : Loyal, Faithful, Devoted, Solidarity, Co-Operative,
Collaborative, Leadership
RESPECT: Polite, Humility, Humble, Tactful
STEADFAST: Perseverant, Courage, Resilient, Committed,
Persistent, Dedicated, Firm
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Soft Skills or Affective Domain
Development
What is soft skill?

Soft skills are also referred to as

Employability skills
Key skills
Core skills
Interpersonal skills
Transferable skills

Fallows, 2002
Soft skills: The two domains
Examples of Interpersonal (interactive) soft
skills …
Team work
Relationship-building
Adaptability
Written and oral communication
Friendliness
Attire
Grooming
Examples of Intrapersonal (motivational)
soft skills
Planning/ organizing
Taking initiative
Problem solving
Showing enthusiasm
Stress tolerance
Dependability
Creative thinking and innovation
Time management
Willingness to learn
Coachability
Why?
Why need the students to be trained & assessed in soft
skill?
‘It’s Hard Work Learning Soft Skills’
Employers criticize university output as having their
heads full of theories, concepts and principles but
graduates are often ill-equipped to deal with real life
situations - Employability.
McCale, C. 2008.
Why?
Employers prefer to employ graduates who have generic
competencies such as interpersonal skills, cognitive
skills, leadership skills, knowledge-acquiring skills, and
practical-orientation abilities.
Currently, employers emphasize more on soft skills than
strategic management skills and process management.

Fidella Tiew, and Abdullah SK. (2012) Curtin’s Graduate Attributes:

Malaysia Employers’ Views on Importance and Performance.
Where?
Where to train soft skills?
 Conduct Young Mercy programmes / projects
 Education
 Fund Raising
 Humanitarian Relief
 Other co-curricular activities
When?
When to train soft skills?
Inclusion of career guidance in academic program
Outward bound training (Young Mercy)
Debates/ public speaking competitions
Strengthening of student societies
Competitions for projects displaying innovative thinking
and team work
Mentoring programs within and outside the system
How to train affective
domain or soft skill?
 Affective Domain/Soft Skill Training
Specialised courses:
Ethics, psychology, Co-curricular activities
behavioural science (e.g. Young Mercy, Clubs etc)

Mentor-mentee system Students work in teams

Inculcation of
Reflective diaries, Affective Reflection Sessions
folios, perceptions Domain Values
(Soft Skills)

Self and peer evaluation SCTL, PBL, CST, CC

Role Modeling

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Affective Domain Assessment
Goal: Nurturing rather than grading;
Preventive rather than remedial.
Red flag system.
Very subjective, but made more objective by using
multiple modes and multiple assessors.
Assessment by:
Self
Peer
Mentor
Lecturer
Attributes What I did in What I did Self
accordance to against Assessment*
(please describe) (please describe) (1 to 10)

Just
Ethical, law abiding, fair in decision making & judgement, fair treatment
to self and others, truthful, moderation
Noble
Caring, sincere, reliable, respectful, punctual, honest, humanity, humility,
integrity & probity, well-dressed, unselfish, forgiving, clean, kind, polite,
cheerful, pleasant
Communicative
Empathic and clear communicator – oral, written, and body language,
avoid use of bad language, quality of communication content, good
listener, accepts constructive criticism readily
Universal
All-rounder (sports, music, theatre, etc.), relevant and adaptable in roles
as practitioner in various fields, condition and situations
Collaborative
Altruistic in relationships, team and community, high team spirit,
willingness to share, unselfish
Managerial
Leadership as manager, organiser & mobiliser, volunteerism, as agent of
change, good time management no procrastination), follow procedures

Dedicated
Passion and commitment to medicine & being reflective, life-long learner,
hardworking, finish assigned tasks professionally, always try the best

Resilient
Adaptable to challenges and uncertainties, both physically and mentally
(good coping skills), patient, courage, motivated
  Point Assessor
Self assessment on AD attributes 10 Self
Peer assessment on AD attributes 10 Peer
Mentor assessment on AD attributes 10 Mentor
     

10 Mentor
Reflection session (attendance, participation, minutes)
10 Mentor
Reflective journal (submission on time, completeness)
Folio (submission on time, completeness) 10 Mentor
10 Mentor,
SCTL (punctuality, readiness for classes, participation) self, peer
PBL/CST/small classes (punctuality, readiness for classes, 10 Mentor,
participation) self, peer
     
Group oral presentation 5 Mentor
Extracurricular activities 10 Mentor
Block Perception 5 Mentor
Week: Place: Date:
Chairperson
Secretary
Main issues discussed
Observation on mentees (please feedback to students of your evaluation)
Refl. J. Folio Refln SCCl PBL Notes on reflective
participation

Students
1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Special notes (e.g. last week’s targets met? Explanation. Next week’s targets?)
Score for Team target achievement:

Mentor’s signature: Date

How?
How to train & assess soft skills?
 Students will be assessed on their overall group performances:
 Proposal write-ups 10%
 Project implementation: 70%
 Attendance and participation
 Resource utilization
 Teamwork
 Activity
 Achievements
 Report writing: 10%
 Video summary: 10%
References
 Watson, A. (1980). Learning Psychomotor Skills in TAFE. Sydney. Australia: Institute of Technical and Adult Teacher
Education.
 McCale, C. 2008. It’s Hard Work Learning Soft Skills: Can Client Based Projects Teach the Soft Skills Students Need
and Employers Want? The Journal of Effective Teaching, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2008, 50-60.
 Fidella Tiew, and Abdullah SK. (2012) Curtin’s Graduate Attributes: Malaysia Employers’ Views on Importance and
Performance.
Thank you very much