Oskusele

Oskusele is a theoretical framework in the learning sciences that describes how individuals acquire, organize, and apply skill and knowledge across domains. The model treats declarative knowledge (facts and concepts), procedural knowledge (how to perform tasks), and metacognitive regulation (planning, monitoring, and reflection) as interdependent rather than sequential. Proponents argue that skill development arises from iterative cycles of exposure, practice, feedback, and abstraction, with transfer across contexts supported by explicit reflection on cognitive strategies.

Origin and scope: The concept emerged from discussions among educators and cognitive scientists in the early 21st century and has since been applied in K-12 settings, higher education, vocational training, and digital learning environments. The framework emphasizes aligning learning objectives, instructional activities, and assessment tasks to promote durable, transferable competence.

Key features: Oskusele posits a modular representation of knowledge, a dynamic interaction between declarative and procedural knowledge, and metacognitive scaffolds that guide practice and self-regulation. It also emphasizes context-dependent variability and the potential for transfer when learners generalize strategies across situations.

Applications: In practice, oskusele informs curriculum design, performance-based assessment, instructional technology, and simulation-based training. Courses and programs that adopt the framework aim to balance knowledge acquisition with skill execution and reflective practice.

Criticisms: Some researchers note a lack of unified operational definitions, leading to inconsistent measurements, while others argue that the framework overlaps with existing theories without clear distinctions. Ongoing work focuses on defining criteria for evaluation and establishing empirical validation.

See also: Skill acquisition, cognitive load theory, metacognition, experiential learning.