Explain education as overall development of Individual.

Education of an individual is defined as a process that results into total or overall development of an individual. Psychologists have identified three domains of a human being: Cognitive domain, affective domain and psychomotor domain. When all three domains are developed to the best of an individual’s abilities, he is said to be educated.

Development of Cognitive Abilities.

Cognitive abilities refer to the way an individual processes information and builds up a conceptual model of the world. Bloom has given six levels of cognitive learning: Knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Our classroom activities pay greater attention to knowledge and understanding aspect and ignore higher levels of cognitive learning. By making use of discussions, debates, presentations, asking thought provoking questions the teacher can extend the knowledge of the learners, focus their attention, develop problem-solving and decision-making skills.

For intellectual development of learners, it is important that curriculum should be related to their real life situations and their cognitive world. Starting from imparting information to which Bloom called education, we need to cover all levels of cognitive learning to ensure completion of teaching learning process.

Development of Psychomotor Abilities.

In between age group 5-12 children learn and develop skins like coordination, muscular control, and manipulation skills. Physical skills are called psychomotor skills, in humans because no skill is purely physical in nature without mental processing, These forms of knowledge are learned gradually by repetition, of an action. Once learnt, they become natural and permanent. These skills seem to be identical but unique to any particular person.

It is important to note that there is a close relationship between cognitive development and psychomotor development of a child. It is so because psychomotor skills require processing of some information. Even when I0 dancers perform same step, one can notice the difference in their movements by close observation.

Development of Affective Abilities.

Affective domain includes those aspects of human development which are concerned with development of attitudes, interests, values, belief system etc. Many cases have shown where very highly qualified persons have been found to engaging in heart storming crimes. It proves that if education concentrates only on cognitive and psychomotor skills, it cannot be called total education.

It is very important to give learner such situations and otherwise overall environment in which child is able to develop right values, attitudes, belief system, interests etc.

Remember, it is not necessary that whatever majority approves is a right value. History proves that the most righteous persons were also a misfit in the society. Many a times, education system teaches such values, attitudes and interests that the learner is able to fit in the society. Character depletion is on a high side these days. Moral and spiritual education must be made compulsory for revival of a society that will be value based.

A trait is a specific mode of behaving in any particular situation and is consistent. When a trait is in relation to something specific, it is called attitude. Attitudes are based on our experiences. Values and beliefs are not taught, but caught. It is very rightly said that actions speak louder than words. A teacher can teach values only through her actions and not through words.

Following are the stages or levels or steps in development of affective abilities:

• Realization that there is something worthwhile in the environment.
• Responding to such thing or quality.
• Displaying definite involvement in terms of quality aspired.