“Competence, like beauty and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder.”

L. Peters

Competencies to Professional Identities—A Feast or Famine?

Council on Linkages Review of Competency Framework

Web CastFebruary 13, 2008

Objectives

At the end of this session, the participants will be able to:

1.) describe the competency development process;

2.) explain how competencies link to instructional evaluation; and,

3.) apply these principles to the review of the Council of Linkages competencies.

“A great many people think that they are thinking when they are merely rearranging

their prejudices.”

William James

Lessons Learned from Previous Efforts

Innovation crosses more than one generation of leadership.

Professionals in practice are skeptical about the motives for competency initiatives.

Competencies are dynamic.

Lessons Learned (continued)

Core competencies come first.Discipline specific competencies are built upon core competencies.Discipline and content specific competencies are increasing in number.There has been no systematic crosswalk between workforce, instructional, and or discipline specific competencies.

Competency Statement Parameters

• Each statement may have only one verb. (Multiple verbs turn single competencies into multiple competencies)

• Each statement needs a verb that is measurable. A verb like understand can not be measured. (Understanding to one person is not understanding to another)

Competency Statement Parameters

• Each statement can have no hidden modifiers, such as adequate, appropriate, suitably, and the like. (Words, such, as these, imply standards that can vary. If there are standards, they need to be stated explicitly. From an instructional perspective, no one would be taught to perform a competency inadequately.)

• Each statement may appear only once in the framework. (Each domain needs to be able to stand alone.)

The Anatomy of an Instructional/ Individual Competency Statement

Single Verb + Specific Content

Instructional Design

Indicators

Assessments

Competency examples

Makes community-specific inferences from quantitative and qualitative data

Translates policy into organizational plans, structures, and programs

Bloom’s Taxonomy

KNOWLEDGE

COMPREHENSION

APPLICATION

ANALYSIS

SYNTHESIS

EVALUATION

Competency “Rule of Thumb”

Higher level skills are built upon lower level skills.

Lower level skills are considered to be “embedded” in higher level skills.

Lower level skills are often considered entry level.

Higher level skills are more complex and require more time to reach mastery.

Competency Progression Example

↓ Identifies sources of public health data and information (tier 1)

↓ Summarizes sources of public health data and information (tier 1 or 2)

↓ Manages sources of public health data and information (tier 2 or 3)

↓ Evaluates sources of public health data and information (tier 2 or 3)

Sample Skills by Bloom’s Taxonomy

Knowledge: name, list, arrange, relate, specify, enumerate, define, recall, label, cite, repeat, copy, order, record

Comprehension: describe, iterate, recognize, summarize, explain, discuss, locate, input, translate, paraphrase, itemize

Application: practice, calculate, compute, sketch, illustrate, interview, operate, simulate, demonstrate, apply, schedule, utilize, relate, diversify

Sample Skills by Bloom’s Taxonomy

Analysis: interpret, test, differentiate, scrutinize, investigate, interpret, compare, contrast, discriminate, distinguish, question, manipulate, dissect, estimate, measure

Synthesis: compose, construct, predict, reason, hypothesize, design, formulate, manage, develop, assemble, propose, theorize, invent, attribute, simplify

Evaluation: judge, assess, recommend, determine, criticize, argue, defend, estimate, appraise, justify, feedback, review

Competency FrameworkDomain Area: (8 domains)

Topic Area:

Competency A

Learning Objective 1

Indicator(s)

Learning Objective 2

Indicator(s)

Competency B

Learning Objective 1

Indicator(s)

Learning Objective 2

Indicator(s)

Es

sen

tial

Imp

ort

an

t

Su

gg

es

ted

NA

Job relevance

“The is no educational benefit from the second kick from a mule.”

Competency to Curriculum

VerbDescribe

Apply

Synthesis

Evaluation

Instructional DesignMental practiceDialogue/DyadsCase StudySituational AnalysisTable top exerciseModelingPeer reviewClinical assessments

Curriculum to Evaluation

Instructional DesignMental practice

Situational analysis

Table Top

Clinical Assessments

Learner AssessmentShort answer questionNavigation exerciseAlternative situationRole playCheck ListsEssay QuestionStandardize PatientsVideo Taping

INPUTS OUTPUTS OUTCOMES

Program resources

Activities Participation Short Medium

Efforts on the part of the program or intervention staff Changes in the participants

Long-term

Basics of a Logic Model

Change knowledge,

attitudes, beliefs

Change in practice

Change in the profession

Competency Challenges1. Partnering between academia and practice

in the adoption and use of overarching competencies.

2. Translating the existing competency sets into a format that informs training and workforce preparation.

3. Selecting competency indicators.4. Designing assessments that measure the

competence of individuals and of groups.5. Validating existing competencies.6. Updating existing competencies.

A man is love is incomplete until he his married. Then he is finished.

Zsa Zsa Gabor

“ When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me, 'Did you sleep good?' I said, 'No, I made a few mistakes.‘”

Stephen Wright