How to: Describing Competence Development

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Competence description entails how persons can apply knowledge, skills and attitudes after learning. Therefore, description of learning outcome is a communication intrument with the learner and with third persons. Furthermore, a certificate or whatever method one uses informs about the facilitators and their organization, its values and their capacities. Credibility and trustworthness are crucial aspects here. This articles gives orientation toward realistic and informative descriptions of competency development.

Higher education and schools are in an easier position than providers of non-formal or informal learning . The first certificate learning efforts simply with grades, not explaining the criteria behind them or the personal qualities a person has. But people trust these organizations and through standardization in the formal education, people feel, that the grades might be comparable.

However, non-formal education providers often cannot simply assess persons through such kind of grades and diploma. Here whether comparability is possible as every context and learning provider is different such as every group. Instead they have to show their credibility and quality through qualitative, precise, and realistic certificates.


Explain Your Context

Explain, in what kind of framework the learning took place. Try to quantify this as well

Description

Example

Education Format

Seminar, training, academy, workshop, project week, project, international encounter...

The academy for sustainable engagement

Basic Facts

Where, how long, what kind of experts/trainers, what kind of group, selection criteria

The academy took place in London and brought together twenty European students from 10 countries who had volunteered, as well as experts from NGOs and the field of civic education, for five days. The best 20 participants were selected from 200 online applications.

Pedagogical Approach

how learning took place, what kind of learning idea was behind the venue? non-formal education, peer education, networking, capacity building for activists, experts in the field of ..

It connected activists and their experience. It shaped an interactive space for exchange by using methods that stimulate involvement and co-shaping of the process. Participants developed cooperation activities supported by guidance through peer coaches. Experts' inputs to the topics of ecology, civil activism and fundraising deepened the knowledge of the participants. The academy was organized by the partners ... already the tenth time.


Differentiate

In traditional school reports, teachers use grades to differentiate the extent to which requirements are met. However, this is not about grades, but about the description of specific skills. This is because key competencies are a very broad field of learning - nobody has the highest skills in all areas. The learning process is more about recognizing where you have strengths and where there is potential for development. Competence frameworks like EntreComp use progression levels for this purpose. In the end, this differentiation helps you to emphasize your own strengths in particular. An example of the use of such progression levels is described in EntreComp, from 1 to 8

Progression Levels for Item: "Identify, create and seize opportunities"

Foundation 1-2

1 I can find opportunities to help others.

2 I can recognise opportunities to create value in my community and surroundings.

Intermediate 3-4

3 I can explain what makes an opportunity to create value.

4 I can proactively look for opportunities to create value, including out of necessity.

Advanced 5-6

5 I can describe different analytical approaches to identify entrepreneurial opportunities.

6 I can use my knowledge and understanding of the context to make opportunities to create value.

Expert 7-8

7 I can judge opportunities for creating value and decide whether to follow these up at different levels of the system I am working in (for example, micro, meso or macro).

8 I can spot and quickly take advantage of an opportunity.´

Source: EntreComp



Provide Examples

A competence based approach might have better results when describing more clear, in example:

Description

Example

practical competence

XYZ is able to perform the task....

XYZ is able to develop a project concept

foundational competence

XYZ understood what to do and why to do the task or set of tasks...

XYZ understood the concept of active citizenship and how personal initiatives contributes to a civil society

applied competence

XYZ demonstrated the ability to perform a set of tasks...

XYZ developed a project concept in a team, they developed an action plan, a time plan, and a budget.



Use active words

Active Words

Lazy Words

analyze justify explain

getting familiar perceive getting to know with

Lazy words are describing lazy people. Without mobilizing any energy I can perceive something or become familiar with a topic. The following table of active words might replace some common lazy words:[1]

Act

Apply

Analyze

Argue for..

Assess

Assume

Categorize

Check

Choose

Collaborate

Collect

Combine

Compare

Conceptualize

Construct

Connect

Conclude

Criticize

Dare

Discover

Discuss

Distinct

Decide

Design

Develop

Diagnose

Estimate

Evaluate

Explain

Express

Experiment

Find out

Formulate

Illustrate

Improve

Include

Interact

Implement

Judge

Label

List

Localize

Observe

Organize

Outline

Plan

Present

Prove

Reflect

Repeat

Reproduce

Remember

Reinforce

Shape

State

Sketch

Solve

Support

Test

Transfer

Transform

Understand

Use

Validate

Verify



Describing Learning Outcome

For describing the outcome the beforehand formulated goals and the factual competency development of participants are relevant. As we keep all three dimensions in mind, it can be useful to distinct between the three competence learning domains knowledge - skills - attitude.

  • Topic 1:
    • Knowledge aspect: Participants knows...
    • Skill aspect: participants can do...
    • Attitude aspect: participant perceives, evaluates ...
  • Topic 2:
    • Knowledge aspect
    • Skill aspect
    • Attitude aspect

...


Describing Specific Qualities and Behavior

Following the idea of resource orientation we might appreciate specific qualities of a participant. Here we recommend a look on the different competence fields[2] and to choose one or two specific qualities. Check: File:Template-key-competencies.pdf

Task specific factual competence

Expertise in a specific topic, identifying adequate solutions for tasks, knowledge how a topic is related to other fields and within a field

Methodological competence

Ability to choose methodology and to evaluate outcomes. Acting consciously, adequately and in a goal-oriented way. A

Social competence

Ability to shape relationships and to interact. Reflecting different interests, needs and tensions.

Personal competence

Attitude to responsibility, democratic values, self-learning; Ability to act autonomously and in groups, in a self-organized and reflective way: Observing and evaluating challenges, requirements or options.

Description, not Enthusiasm

One might enrich this appreciation with one or two exemplary descriptions taken from the learning event. Here a descriptive approach is better than those in a laudatio style. Descriptive observation helps the third party to build their mental picture of a person better.

One should prevent using exaggeration

phenomenal, outstanding, fantastic, extraordinary...

One should try not to evaluate

consequently, adequate, competent, superior...

Focus on descriptive terms within a description of a situation

what happened, what a person did and what impact this action had on a situation.



References

  1. Olivia Vrabl: Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung zur Formulierung von Lernergebnissen (intended learning outcomes) in: Johann Haag, Josef Weißenböck, Wolfgang Gruber, Christian F. Freisleben-Teutscher (Ed.): Kompetenzorientiert Lehren und Prüfen; Basics – Modelle – Best Practices; Tagungsband zum 5. Tag der Lehre an der FH St. Pölten am 20.10. 2016; p. 15ff.
  2. German "Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training" (BIBB): K. Hensge, B. Lorig, D. Schreiber: Kompetenzstandards in der Berufsausbildung; Abschlussbericht Forschungsprojekt 4.3.201 (JFP 2006)

Nils-Eyk Zimmermann

Nils-Eyk Zimmermann

Editor of Competendo. He writes and works on the topics: active citizenship, civil society, digital transformation, non-formal and lifelong learning, capacity building. Coordinator of European projects, in example DIGIT-AL Digital Transformation in Adult Learning for Active Citizenship, DARE network.

Blogs here: Blog: Civil Resilience.
Email: nils.zimmermann@dare-network.eu