What are component skills?

Component skills refer to the fundamental abilities or basic skills that serve as the foundation for developing more complex skills. These are the smaller, individual skills that, when combined, create a larger skill set necessary for various tasks or activities. For instance, in the context of behavior analysis and RBT training, teaching a child to independently tie their shoes may involve breaking down the activity into component skills such as identifying the shoes, holding the laces, crossing the laces, and making a knot. Understanding component skills is crucial because it allows therapists to assess a learner's existing capabilities and to incrementally build their skills in a structured manner. By focusing on these basic building blocks, instructors can effectively enhance the learner's overall ability to perform more sophisticated tasks.