2.3.5 Social Domain

Table 1 Social Domain Learning Skills


Process: Communicating
Skill Cluster	Specific Skills
Receiving a Message	Attending – mindful focusing by a listener Reading body language – gathering information from nonverbal cues Responding – giving appropriate and timely responses Checking perceptions – feeding back implied meaning
Preparing a Message	Defining purpose – specifying outcomes for a message Knowing the audience – predicting the background and interests of receivers Organizing a message – sequencing elements for the best impact Selecting word usage – using language that matches the audience’s background Formatting a message – selecting a mode or style that fits the purpose Illustrating – enhancing a message with images, tables or drawings
Delivering a Message	Selecting a venue – deciding when and where to present a message Generating presence – delivering a message with authority Sharing knowledge – effectively presenting relevant facts and interpretations Persuading – using information selectively to convince Story telling – relating what happened Managing transitions – using planned techniques to lead an audience

Process: Relating with Others
Skill Cluster	Specific Skills
Inviting Interaction	Taking an interest in others – enjoying personal differences Initiating interaction – approaching and engaging others Hosting – using social events to build social cohesion Expressing positive nonverbal signals – accurately projecting feelings Assisting others – being kind without expecting a reward Being non-judgmental – responding with an assessment mindset
Relating for Meaning	Belonging – gaining acceptance in a group Befriending – initiating a supportive relationship Empathizing – taking another’s emotional perspective Collaborating – working together for mutual benefit Parenting – guiding the social-emotional development of children Mentoring – encouraging one’s growth through an advisory relationship
Performing in a Team	Goal setting – formulating shared outcomes Achieving consensus – agreeing on decisions based on shared values Planning – deciding how to use resources to achieve goals Cooperating – respecting role boundaries and responsibilities Compromising – modifying positions to achieve common ground
Performing in an Organization	Accepting responsibility – demonstrating initiative and persistence Being assertive – advocating strongly on the basis of reason and evidence Making proposals – presenting plans for consideration Documenting – creating a record of activities, work products, and processes Influencing decisions – using assessment data to support decision paths

Process: Relating Culturally
Skill Cluster	Specific Skills
Accepting Constraints	Obeying laws – complying with rules meant for the common good Inhibiting impulses – delaying one’s reaction until one is aware of the situation Noticing social cues – recognizing situational signs that direct behavior Recognizing conventions – behaving politely within a context
Living in Society	Sharing traditions – participating in mutually meaningful rituals Supporting institutions – upholding important organizations Valuing communities – recognizing the worth and needs of a group Reacting to history – responding with knowledge of past events Being a citizen – participating in the political process
Demonstrating Cultural Competence	Clarifying stereotypes – checking assumptions about people in different cultures Appreciating cultural differences – enjoying learning cultural knowledge Generalizing appropriately – validly acknowledging cultural differences Using culture-specific expertise – possessing detailed knowledge about a culture

Process: Managing
Skill Cluster	Specific Skills
Managing People	Building consensus – developing goals and plans that are well-accepted Motivating – arranging rewards that fit individual aspirations Modeling performance – demonstrating high quality in action Assessing performance – providing feedback for improving performance Evaluating performance – judging whether a performance standard has been met
Building and Maintaining Teams	Defining team roles – deciding on roles that support a goal Setting rules – defining ethical and professional expectations Delegating authority – authorizing others to manage selected tasks Confronting poor performance – requiring specific change Recruiting – selecting qualified personnel for specific functions Mediating – resolving interpersonal conflicts
Managing Communication	Connecting with stakeholders – involving key individuals at appropriate times Networking – developing relationships with internal and external advocates Marketing – initiating messages to persuade clients of the value of something Sustaining change – promoting creative proposals for ongoing improvement
Managing Resources	Negotiating – making agreements with other stakeholders to advance a position Politicking – advocating positions with external stakeholders Securing resources – assuring appropriate funding, scheduling, and staffing Creating productive environments – arranging for essential resources in a setting

Process: Leading
Skill Cluster	Specific Skills
Envisioning	Projecting the future – visualizing future status based on trends/logic Seeing implications – describing the operational impacts of future trends Balancing perspectives – maintaining the vision while working within constraints Responding to change – being flexible in strategic thinking
Building a Following	Inspiring – being positive in the face of negative challenges Sharing a vision – using empathy and imagery to help others see a vision Generating commitment – asking for specific signs of willingness to tackle challenges required for a vision Maintaining integrity – responding to personal issues with clear criteria/principles
Maintaining Commitment	Meeting individual needs – responding to evidence of needs with relevant resources Taking meaningful stands – publicly articulating principles Thinking opportunistically – using positive strategies to predict and reduce risks Being charismatic – displaying confidence in action
Empowering	Giving credit – publicly and equitably acknowledging performance Encouraging ownership – engaging others in important tasks for a vision Grooming subordinates – developing future leaders to take over key roles Being a servant leader – placing interests of others before personal interests

Table 2 Social Domain Competency Levels

Level of Competency	Description of Individual Responses	Examples: Attending Sharing a Vision
Level 5 Transformative Use	Is highly skilled in the timely use of the skill to improve others’ engagement or commitment.	Discerning subtle changes in audiences and stakeholders Updating a vision to improve or “capture” the future potential of the organization
Level 4 Self-Reflective Use	Uses the skill within a planned strategy for organizational change, e.g., when running meetings.	Noticing the effectiveness of meetings on the basis of one’s own criteria for effective meetings Designing organizational teams to implement a vision through action projects
Level 3 Consistent Performance	Uses the skill to make a difference in real-time, e.g., cooperatively or collaboratively.	Task-oriented listening, questioning, and paraphrasing Volunteering to be a member of a college committee on vision; presenting personal and peer perspectives effectively
Level 2 Conscious Use	Uses the skill passively but with an awareness of the need to grow; is limited in confidence, social smoothness, and timing.	Actively selecting information from team comments Questioning a college president’s vision in discussions with peers
Level 1 Non-Conscious Use	Is responsive if prompted by others; is attentive but does not consciously identify social domain processes and skills.	Passively present; able to respond if asked a question Noting the main features of a new college president’s vision

by Cy Leise (Psychology & Human Services, Bellevue University),
Steven W. Beyerlein (Mechanical Engineering, University of Idaho), and
Daniel K. Apple (President and Founder, Pacific Crest)

The learning processes in the social domain of learning skills (Table 1) include a hierarchy of skills related to communication, teamwork, management, and leadership. This domain is distinct from the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains in that all of its process areas and specific skills involve interpersonal performance in the large range of social contexts in which learning occurs. Traditionally, educators (e.g., Bloom) have subsumed the social domain mostly under the affective domain but with some crossovers to the cognitive domain (e.g., critical thinking about a communication performance). However, with the emergence of newer learning theories that take fuller account of the social and cultural contexts of learning, educators have become aware of the unique types of learning in the social domain and of interdependence among the four domains of learning for all complex performance goals. Some of the benefits of learning about social domain skills include greater awareness that communicating and teaming skills support management and leadership skills, that context greatly influences selection and uses of knowledge, and that integration of social domain processes into any learning process will enhance transfer potential.

Role of the Social Domain

Bloom (2.2.1 Bloom’s Taxonomy—Expanding its Meaning) did not author a social domain of learning skills to complement his cognitive, affective, and psychomotor taxonomies. However, sociocultural and constructivist philosophies of education strongly incorporate social domain learning skills. Cobb and Yachel (1996) provide an overview of these theories.

The socio-cultural approach is associated with theorists such as the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1934/ 2006) and the American philosopher/educator John Dewey (2005) who assume that learning is a developmental process that starts with “external” stimulation and emerges as “internalized” abilities. In Process Education, this approach is used in the “scoping” of learning activities to assure that the learning expectations are within the present capabilities of the learners and that they are compatible with the time constraints and other available resources. It is essential to provide appropriately designed, guided experiences to encourage a learner to internalize knowledge (2.4.8 Methodology for Course Design).

The emergent/constructivist theories are often associated with Jean Piaget’s (1970) developmental theory. These theories assume that the physically maturing brain and environmental stimulation contribute equally to an individual’s ability to construct knowledge. These theories are similar to those of the socio-culturalists in the belief that learning is maximized if opportunities stimulate emergence of new “schemas” (knowledge patterns or units). Process Education assumes that learners not only continually construct knowledge but that the quality of that construction can be facilitated as suggested by the five levels of skill competency presented in Table 2.

Description of the Social Domain

The learning processes included in the social domain feature performances that directly focus on the development of social skills (e.g., being courteous) as well as the uses of the social skills themselves to manage situations or problems (e.g., improvising). There are general rules of thumb for identifying key distinctions among the four domains (2.3.3 Classification of Learning Skills). The cognitive domain involves reasoning-related skills that need not be connected to a concrete context, the affective domain involves valuing skills related to ways of being, the psychomotor domain involves physical skills involving tool use or movement coordination in specific contexts, and the social domain involves communication-related skills in goal-oriented contexts.

The five process areas of the social domain as defined by Pacific Crest include communicating, relating to others, relating culturally, managing, and leading. As with the other domains, the social domain processes consist of a hierarchy of complexity from the more basic or foundational (i.e., communicating) to the more complex (e.g., managing and leading).

Within each of the five social domain processes are four to six clusters of skills whose titles indicate how specific skills are related to each other. The combination of clusters for a process identifies the skill types for that process; the skills identified within a cluster have no further subdivisions because they are assumed to occur holistically in natural settings. There is no significance to the order in which the specific skills are listed under each skill cluster.