Example 1: Oral communication
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For the skill “oral communication”, which is usually referred to as a soft skill,
wresearche
rs describe below on a scale of importance of 1 to 5 for each component, the composition for each component (see
Figure 2):
Figure 2. Visual representation of the generic skills components’ framework for the skill ‘Oral communication’.
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Knowledge: 4/5—Knowledge is essential for effective oral communication, as it involves understanding the topic being discussed, the context, and the audience. Having a solid grasp of the subject matter, as well as cultural and social norms, allows the speaker to convey messages accurately and effectively. Additionally, internal knowledge helps the speaker to convey relevant information and experiences to support their points.
To develop the skill of oral communication using this framework, a pedagogical program could be designed as follows:
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Knowledge:
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Provide learners with the necessary knowledge related to the subject matter they will be communicating, whether it is through lectures, research, or reading.
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Encourage learners to integrate this knowledge into their communication to increase their credibility and effectiveness.
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Active cognition: 5/5—Active cognition is crucial for oral communication, as it involves perceiving and processing information in real-time. Effective oral communication requires the speaker to pay attention to the audience, adapt the message based on audience reactions, and make judgments about what information to share and how to present it. It also involves critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as the speaker may need to respond to questions or objections from the audience.
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Active cognition:
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Provide learners with opportunities to practise active listening and critical thinking to understand better the needs of their audience and adapt their communication accordingly.
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Encourage learners to use visual aids or other communication tools to increase their impact and effectiveness.
Conation: 4/5—Trait extraversion can support oral communication because it motivates the speaker to engage with the audience and present the message confidently and persuasively. A strong willingness to act can also help the speaker overcome any anxiety related to speaking in front of others.
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Affection: 4/5—The ability to empathise with and manage emotions is important for connecting with the audience and creating a positive atmosphere during oral communication. Understanding the emotional state of the audience can help the speaker adjust their/his/her tone and approach while managing their/his/her own emotions can ensure a calm and composed delivery. Additionally, being able to express warmth and enthusiasm can make the message more engaging and persuasive.
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Sensory motor abilities: 3/5—Although not as critical as other components, sensory-motor abilities still play a role in oral communication. The ability to control and coordinate movements, such as gestures and facial expressions, can help the speaker convey a message more effectively and make a stronger impression on the audience. Proper posture, eye contact, and voice modulation are also important aspects of oral communication that rely on sensory-motor abilities.
It is interesting to observe that using the framework, it appears that all components are relevant to the skill of oral communication. This example shows the value of such skills that can be underestimated in their complexity.
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Conation:
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Provide learners with opportunities to practise oral communication in a safe and supportive environment, such as through role-playing or group discussions.
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Encourage learners to take risks and learn from their mistakes, building their confidence and willingness to communicate effectively.
Cognition is the ability to think and solve problems, acquire information, and understand the world around us. It entails the processing of ideas and facts which allows the user to make better-informed decisions.
the
objectives. It relies on the capacity to plan, as well as to monitor and evaluate ourthe goal-driven performance.
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Affection is the ability to build and maintain relationships with others, stimulating social interaction and facilitating collaborative work. It involves the capacity to understand and empathise with others’ needs, as well as the ability to develop positive social networks.
In this approach, conation has a clear link with cognition and action, and
wresearche
rs believe that, with some adaptations, it can be a promising way to apprehend motivational aspects, known as “volition” in some frameworks. Cognition should be treated as an active dynamic process. In this process, knowledge is acquired, used, transformed, and produced. It is however useful to distinguish the knowledge itself and the information-processing actions in which this knowledge is used.
Affection as seen by Hilgard seems richer than what is envisioned by Goldstein and relates better to the concept of emotional intelligence (
Goleman 1995). Goldstein underlines the importance of the body actually taking action. However, calling it behaviour might be confusing, regarding the extensive literature about behaviour, and the way behavioural psychology apprehends it. Following Goldstein’s definition,
wresearche
rs believe sensory-motor abilities to be more appropriate as a component name.
Considering these adjustments,
wresearche
rs propose the following revised framework for any skill, composed of five distinct components:
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Knowledge includes both external knowledge or facts, such as technical job-related knowledge, as well as internal knowledge, such as memory (
Bloch 2016;
Zagzebski 2017).
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Active cognition involves perceiving and processing information to form decisions and opinions, such as perception, attention, and judgement (
Bickhard 1997). The analysis of the environment and the context falls under active cognition.
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Conation is the component that describes preferences, motivations, and volitional components of behaviour. It is the drive or impulse to act and is often referred to as the “will” or “willingness” to act (
Csikszentmihalyi 1990).
WResearche
rs believe it goes beyond motivation as referred to by Goldstein.
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Affection: Affection is the ability to empathise with and manage feelings in order to build and maintain relationships with others.
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Sensory motor abilities: Sensory motor abilities refer to the ability to control and coordinate movements. This includes the ability to perceive, interpret, and respond to sensory input, as well as the ability to plan and execute movements. Examples of sensory-motor abilities include balance, coordination, and fine motor skills.
Using this framework, it becomes possible to describe both soft skills and hard skills in the same way. With time,
wresearche
rs believe the distinction between both types of skills may become either obsolete or insufficient. Only the specific content and weight of each component would matter in order to describe a skill, to determine the overlap between two skills, or the transferability from one skill to another.
2.4. Developing the Generic Skill Components Approach
The generic skill components approach aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the structure and composition of any skill. This approach posits that all skills, whether hard or soft, can be understood in terms of five distinct components: knowledge, active cognition, conation, affection, and sensory-motor abilities. By examining these components and their interactions,
wresearche
rs can gain a more in-depth understanding of the nature of skills and their development.
This approach is supported by previous research that has identified common elements across various types of skills. For example,
Rychen and Salganik (
2003) propose a model of key competencies that includes cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal dimensions, which align with the active cognition, conation, and affection components of the generic skill components approach. Similarly, other studies highlight the importance of cognitive, affective, and behavioural processes in the development and application of both hard and soft skills (
Parlamis and Monnot 2019;
Soto et al. 2022).
OurThe approach extends beyond existing models by incorporating sensory-motor abilities, which are often overlooked in discussions of skill development. This inclusion acknowledges the importance of physical and perceptual abilities in the successful application of many skills, particularly in fields such as sports, manufacturing, and healthcare.
This approach has several potential applications and implications for various fields, including education, training, and management. By understanding the generic components of skills, educators and trainers can develop more effective and holistic approaches to skill development, integrating both technical and non-technical components. In the workplace, a greater understanding of the generic composition of skills can help inform hiring decisions, performance evaluations, and employee development programs. If a skill has a major active cognition component, the resulting pedagogic engineering will be very different compared to a skill with a major knowledge component.
Further research is needed to refine and expand upon the generic skill components approach. Future studies could explore the interactions between the different components, as well as the impact of contextual factors on skill development and use. Indeed, the generic skill components approach highlights the importance of context in the development and application of skills, suggesting that educators and trainers should consider the specific environments in which their students or employees will be applying their skills. This may require the development of more context-specific training programs that focus on the unique challenges and opportunities presented by different work environments. Additionally, researchers could investigate the potential for more distinct skill categories and their implications for various domains.
2.5. Tentative Representation of the Generic Skills’ Components Framework
Although the approach needs to be further developed and tested empirically,
wresearche
rs propose in this
articleresearch an attempt at visual representation, displaying the five generic components in a diagram (see
Figure 1). This diagram may be seen as a template to be used for skills description, as proposed later.
Figure 1. Visual representation of the generic skills’ components framework.
The understanding of generic skills components would be that all components exist independently and need to be associated to create the necessary skill. This implies that they are not relative to each other, meaning that for a given skill, it is possible that all components are required at a very high level of mastery or development. Furthermore, conversely, for another skill, it is possible that all components are required at a very low level. In this manner, all types of combinations are possible, the point being that the necessity of one component at a high level does not determine the level of other components.
2.6. Tentative Representation of Skills Composition Using the Framework
Below,
wresearche
rs propose three examples of using the framework to represent skills: oral communication, Python programming, and logical analysis. At this stage, the assessment is very basic, as it results in a consensus among the authors, having both theoretical and empirical experience in skills expertise. These specific cases of skill descriptions will need to be challenged in order to be considered consensual, but the purpose of this section is rather to show the possibilities offered by the generic skills’ components approach. For each skill,
weresearchers propose:
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Affection:
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Integrate exercises and activities that promote empathy and emotional intelligence, such as reflecting on the emotional impact of communication or practising active listening.
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Encourage learners to build positive relationships with their audience, as this can enhance their effectiveness as communicators.
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Sensory motor abilities:
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Provide learners with opportunities to practise their oral communication skills, such as pronunciation, articulation and voice projection exercises.
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Encourage learners to practise clear and effective body language to enhance their overall communication skills.
Overall, a training program created according to the skills generic components approach should emphasise the importance of all five components of the framework and provide learners with the opportunity to develop each one in a holistic and integrated manner. By focusing on all the aspects of oral communication, learners can develop the skills they need to communicate effectively and build positive, meaningful relationships with those around them.
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Example 2: Python programming
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For the skill “Python programming”, which is usually referred to as a hard skill,
wresearche
rs indicate the importance of each component on a 5-point scale, and describe, the composition for each component (see
Figure 3):
Figure 3. Visual representation of the generic skills’ components framework for the skill “Python programming”.
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Knowledge: 5/5—Knowledge is crucial for Python programming, as it involves understanding the syntax, functions, libraries, and best practices in the language. A programmer must be knowledgeable about programming concepts, algorithms, and data structures to effectively use Python in various applications. This includes both external knowledge, such as learning from resources and documentation, and internal knowledge, such as remembering previously learned concepts and experiences.
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Active Cognition: 4/5—Active cognition plays an important role in Python programming, as it involves perceiving and processing information to form decisions and opinions. This includes understanding the problem being solved, designing an appropriate solution, and troubleshooting any issues that arise during coding. Active cognition also involves adapting to new programming paradigms, tools, and techniques.
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Conation: 3/5—Conation is moderately important in Python programming. Although having the motivation and willingness to learn and improve one’s programming skills is important, it may not be the primary driver for success in this field. However, showing perseverance, and having a strong drive to problem-solve, debug, and optimise code can contribute to better overall performance and growth as a programmer.
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Affection: 2/5—Affection has a lower importance in Python programming compared to other components. While empathy and emotional intelligence may not directly contribute to programming skills, they can still play a role in building positive relationships with teammates or clients, understanding user needs, and contributing to a healthy work environment. Good communication and collaboration skills can also help when working on projects with others.
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Sensory Motor Abilities: 1/5—Sensory motor abilities have minimal importance in Python programming. While basic motor skills are needed for typing and using a computer, the primary focus in programming is on cognitive and knowledge-based skills. However, maintaining proper ergonomics and posture while working at a computer can help prevent physical strain and promote overall well-being.
It is interesting to observe that using the framework, it appears that active cognition and knowledge seem to be the most important components for the skill of Python programming. However, conation is not to be underestimated. Knowledge is commonly associated with hard skills, whereas active cognition and conation are commonly associated with soft skills. Although knowledge seems more important than the other components,
wresearche
rs believe the importance of other components is generally underestimated when considering Python programming as a hard skill, as context matters. This example shows value for such skills that are unfairly considered hard skills with little to no consideration for the potential complexity of the context, or the motivation of the programmer.