Managing Your Own Learning

4The First Way of LearningLEARNING NEW SKILLSBehavioral Learning

SOMETIMES WHEN WE ARE LEARNING A NEW SKILL we want to say, “Slow down, I need to take this a step at a time.” Not a bad instinct! The step-by-step approach is the essence of behavioral learning.

Most jobs require skills. Some skills involve physical movements and are what psychologists call psychomotor skills. Other skills involve the ability to make routine calculations or follow procedures. They are called cognitive skills because they require mental effort. Sometimes psychomotor and cognitive skills are combined. Skills can be simple or complex. A skill is a patterned set of operations requiring routine—though not necessarily easy—physical activity, mental activity, or both. ...