Defining Cognitive, Higher Order Thinking, and Psychomotor Meta-Skills: Three-Curricular Content Concept Analysis

Abstract

: Rapid technological changes, reduced job security, the need for developing professional skills, and the urgent need for capable and adaptable physicians are the important issues that medical, educational systems must pay more attention to. Based on existing evidence, outcome-based education is the best approach for facing this situation, and competency-based education is a preferred strategy for planning and quality assurance of medical education. CanMED in 2015 claimed that competency-based education is known as the preferred educational approach and developed a framework consisting of seven competency groups. Graham Cheetham and Chivers denoted that professional competencies included a set of skills. Also, ACGME provided six main capabilities for the physician in which a variety of skills were required for carrying out professional tasks. One of the important dimensions of these skills is general skills that play an important role in the ability of the individual to apply his/her learning and can be used generally in all activities. In this study, this part of skills is conceptualized as “meta-skills” because the ability to build and develop other skills in individuals is formed through the acquisition of these meta-skills. We divided meta-skills into three groups, including psychomotor meta-skills, basic cognitive meta-skills, and higher-order thinking meta-skills, and developed an analytical definition for each group with certain defining attributes.