Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/design-for-competence-how-competent-can-i-be/5016624/
Feeling competent is pretty important to us in the places where we live and work. We feel at ease and sure of ourselves in places where “I know what to do and I can do it”; places where I can succeed, achieve my goals, not botch things up. Where do we feel incompetent? When we don’t understand what to do or how to do it �" “Go milk that Holstein cow, okay?” or “Readjust those valves and calibrate the pressure.” Or when the task doesn’t fit us �" “The unicycle might be a little big but you’ll manage.” And when the setting doesn’t allow for each of us to make it work for us �" “Here’s the tour schedule, the dinner menu, and the rooming list �" no exceptions.” Imagine life in a cast, or without sight, or a place where everyone moves or thinks faster or slower than you do.Competence is important to kids. That sense of “I can do it” fuels the child’s drive to explore and succeed as well. But competence is always a moving target with children, because their cognitive and physical development race along and they continually struggle to integrate their emerging ideas and skills. Sometimes ...