TOPIC 1: What is the difference between knowledge, skills and attitudes?

TOPIC 1: What is the difference between knowledge, skills and attitudes?

In the previous lesson we described the nonformal education and its styles. In TOPIC 1 in LESSON 2 we will more focus on competences such us knowledge, skills and attitudes to facilitate learning objectives in community gardens.

According to Bloom`s Taxonomy of competences trainers address these three types of learning: knowledge (K), skills (S), and influencing attitude (A).  Trainers frequently shorten this to the KSA acronym.

Knowledge (K)Skills (S)Attitude (A)
This type of learning involves the development of intellectual skills. Bloom called this cognitive. If you want people to gain knowledge about something, furnish them with information through these activities: 

➤ Articles
➤ Lecturettes
➤ Diagrams
➤ Audiotapes
➤ Buzz
➤ Group  
This type of learning refers to developing both mental and physical skills. Bloom called this psychomotor. If you want people to be able to do something and acquire a new skill, help them experiment by using these activities:

➤ Case studies
➤ Demonstrations
➤ Role playing
➤ Videos and practice
➤ Exercises
➤ Worksheets
 This type of learning refers to how you deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, motivation, and enthusiasm. Bloom called this affective. If you want people to change their values or priorities, assist them to inquire into and observe the old versus the new by using these activities:

➤ Instruments
➤ Role plays
➤ Debates
➤ Structured games
➤ Exercises
➤ Self-analysis
Teaching Tools to facilitate learning Knowledge Objectives in community gardens include:

Lecture, Face-to-Face Group Discussion, Field Trip, Observation  
Teaching Tools to facilitate learning Skill Objectives in community gardens  include:

Demonstration with Return Demonstration, Skill Practice Exercise, Reflective Practice
Teaching Tools to facilitate learning Attitudinal Objectives in community gardens include:

Storytelling, Debate, Listening Circle, Brainstorming, Role Playing

This definition is widely used in the EU context. For example, the key competences of lifelong learning are: “conceptualised as a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes and the definition of each key competence states the knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant for it”. (Council of European Union 2018).

TIP! FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BUZZ GROUP
Buzz Group is a cooperative learning technique consisting in the formation of small discussion groups with the objective of developing a specific task (idea generation, problem solving and so on) or facilitating that a group of people reach a consensus on their ideas about a topic in a specific period of time.”

Water the Flowers Competence Example

Knowledge (K) = Know What: recognition of flowers and how much they need to be watered

Skills (S) = Know How: build water drip irrigation system

Attitude (A) = Know Why: know, why you should use less water in dry season, water conservation awareness, be respectful to nature

Additional Materials

Gardeniser, Professional Training Course for Gardenisers

Bibliography

Boudreau, Dan, 2018. How Do I Use Buzz Groups in Training?