1. Skills and competencies 1 MLEs for Lifelong Learning Birmingham 2005-02-22 Simon Grant & Janet Strivens TransPortALL, Liverpool CRA - CETIS - LIPSIG

2. Skills and competencies2 Origins 1920s US: behavioural objectives 1960s US: emergence of competency-based education and training (CBET) esp. in teacher education: ‘the precise specification of competences or behaviours to be learned, the modularisation of instruction, evaluation and feedback, personalisation and field experience’ – requirements of the US Office of Education for model training programmes for elementary school teachers, 1968

3. Skills and competencies3 National Consortium of Competency Based Education Centres (US) Competency statements/specifications: Based on analysis of professional role Describe outcomes expected from performance, or knowledge/skills/ attitudes essential to performance of professional functions Facilitate criterion-referenced assessment Specified and made public prior to instruction Validly related to competency measures which are also specified and made public prior to instruction

4. Skills and competencies4 CBET in the UK Callaghan’s Ruskin College speech (October 1976) A New Training Initiative (ED 1981) Training for Jobs (ED/DES 1984) Employment for the 1990’s (ED 1988) Development of Assessable Standards for National Certification Note 3: The Definition of Competences and Performance Criteria (MSC 1988) National Vocational Qualifications: Criteria and Procedures (NCVQ 1989) Towards a Skills Revolution (CBI Task Force 1989)

5. Skills and competencies5 Characteristics of National Vocational Qualifications Performance criteria explicitly related to standards Underpinning knowledge/understanding Range statements Sufficient sample on which to base an inference Assessments based on collection of evidence that competence has been demonstrated: - direct observation of performance (ideally in real work setting, or simulation) - witness statements - attested products/artefacts ‘Attitudes/values’ expressed as observable behaviours (see Care Sector Consortium Values Base Unit)

6. Skills and competencies6 Characteristics of NVQs (contd) Assessment ‘on demand’: little concern for how long the learner takes or how many times assessed (cf. rejection of ‘time-serving’) Method of ‘curriculum delivery’ immaterial: not institutionally bounded, no ‘syllabus’ Unitised certification (to reflect functional analysis for standard)

7. Skills and competencies7 Some issues for RDCEO Skills ‘level’: eg Dreyfus model -Novice - Advanced Beginner - Competent - Proficient - Expert Relationship of theory (knowledge/understanding) to performance (esp. should it be assessed directly or ‘observed in use’?) Capturing capability, curiosity, criticality, creativity etc. in skills/competences language

8. Skills and competencies 8 Approaches to representation Analogy of measurement “Imperial” –Every different context has a different measure Consider size or length or distance –height; depth; along land/sea; horses; type; wire; screws –No obvious interrelationships “Metric” or “SI” –Try to have one set of measures to reuse

9. Skills and competencies 9 The PDP haiku - for skills too Diverse practice! Shared (mutual recognition) representation

10. Skills and competencies 10 The problem Learner builds up evidence of skills –within skills framework from 1 st institution Learner moves to other institution or job –but they have a different skills framework Does evidence connect to new skills? –impossible to tell! http://www.inst.co.uk/clients/jisc/skillsinteroperability.html

11. Skills and competencies 11 What could be happening? e.g. “Communication skills” might mean different things in the different contexts Different terms may be used for same skill –or indeed different languages There may be overlap between two skills in different frameworks (or indeed the same) –but who knows how much?

12. Skills and competencies 12 Favoured approach to solution Break down skills into smaller parts until they are no longer disagreed on –“IT skills” may differ –but “setting margins in MS Word” is same or in the medical domain –“hand-washing” is probably the same –“control of infection” may depend on role, etc.

13. Skills and competencies 13 The RDCEO dimension IMS specification: “Reusable Definition of Competency or Educational Objective” A possible way to lay open skill definitions –and provide building blocks for frameworks But gives no guidance on structure or actual content

14. Skills and competencies 14 The C and the EO of RDCEO Even if competencies are agreed (“C”) even then, the ways in which to teach (“EO”) exercise and assess them will differ –at least in HE, where there are a lot of opinionated people… –schools, along with national qualifications, are only controlled by national governments so will differ internationally

15. Skills and competencies 15 Recipe for consensus Factor out the “EO” side of the picture, recognising that teaching and assessment will inevitably differ, but that we need agreement for transferability Break down high-level “C” concepts until they are agreeable Publish the consensus on the web

16. Skills and competencies 16 Exercise option 1 (by interest) Join with others into same skills How do you define them? What “authorities” might have frameworks? –SSCs; regulatory bodies; consortia; etc. Can you agree what is agreeable, and what is a matter of viewpoint and context? Compare views on this; record; reflect

17. Skills and competencies 17 Exercise option 2 (institution) What skills are significant to us –as whole institution or company –as part of an institution How to establish a skills framework for our institution / company / body? How to ensure it relates to others … … and benefits the learners?