Competency-based Approach: What It Is, And Characteristics Of Its Educational Model
New educational models continually emerge in search of greater efficiency in transmitting knowledge to students.
One of the most recent is the competency-based approach With this article we will be able to better understand the foundations of this methodology and thus discover the immense potential of this technique, which is already used in many educational institutions.
The competency-based approach or competency-based learning is an educational methodology whose foundation is to facilitate Students acquire the contents of each subject through practical situations and experimental environments This system, therefore, is opposed to the classic models of education in which a syllabus is presented in an eminently theoretical manner and students have to memorize the data and then be evaluated.
It can be easily seen, according to this comparison, that The competency-based approach is due to a much more dynamic and participatory methodology on the part of the students being an active part during the acquisition of knowledge and not mere passive subjects who attend the teacher’s lesson, which can be more or less enjoyable, but under a rigid methodology and without much possibility of interaction.
It has been shown that these traditional methodologies, based solely on the students’ memory capacity, are not a completely effective system and do not produce quality processing of this knowledge, which in the long term can be greatly deteriorated. However, methods that involve putting the topics being taught into practice, such as the competency-based approach, favor the acquisition and retention of knowledge to a greater extent.
For example, when evaluating, traditional methods opt for an exam or test with which to assess how much one has learned, or in reality, how much have you been able to memorize since in many tests it is not even necessary to reason about the concepts studied, but simply to express them as they appear in the textbook or as the teacher dictated them during the corresponding lesson.
On the contrary, with the competency-based approach to evaluations, evaluative tests are practical activities in which the student has to demonstrate, in an active way, that he has acquired these capabilities, and he does so through a test that inevitably implies , having achieved the required competence to be able to pass it satisfactorily.
We already know what the basis of the competency approach is. Now we could ask ourselves How is it possible to implement this model, since the educational subjects are very varied and apparently not all of them fit into this practical evaluation system that we have described The key to this is in the concept of prior modularization of education.
What does this mean? That all the content that we want to transmit to the students must be, first, divided into its simplest parts, in order to be able to transfer them in a progressive way. In this way, until the student has acquired the most basic skills of a specific subject, he will not move on to the next ones, which need the previous ones as a basis to be fully understood and assimilated.
This system offers an advantage over the traditional model, which normally involves a cascade of data in which it is not difficult for the so-called snowball effect to occur. This occurs when a student has problems understanding a very specific point in the lesson and this means that he does not correctly assimilate everything that comes after, since it is a cumulative issue. This means frustration and loss of interest.
On the contrary, with the competency approach, Until the student has demonstrated that he has correctly assimilated the material presented, he will not move on to the next level In this way, no student is left behind and at the same time personalized support is offered to each one. If any of them experience difficulties at any given time, we will know exactly which competition is involved and will be able to help you.
Continuous evaluation system
This also carries over to recoveries. In the usual system, if a student fails a subject he is forced to prepare it completely again to be evaluated in a recovery exam. The competency approach has another proposal: If a student has failed the test regarding a specific skill or knowledge, we will propose a test to be re-evaluated in that specific part
Therefore, the continuous evaluation system would govern, as opposed to the single evolution that is styled in a large number of academic institutions. What is avoided with this methodology is that the student is a passive entity who only tries to assimilate knowledge at the last minute, trying to memorize a complete syllabus to be able to pass the proposed test.
And even if you achieve it, that does not guarantee quality learning, far from it. On the other hand, if we use the competency-based approach and propose evaluations for each knowledge module, we will be ensuring that students have completely internalized the questions that we have posed to them before having to move on to the next phase, so they do not run the risk. of suffering the snowball effect of a concept that they did not understand well at a certain time.
Is it a new methodology?
If we think about the principles proposed by the competency approach, we will realize that in reality this teaching style is not something new, since it is the methodology usually used to facilitate the learning of skills or techniques, such as playing an instrument, practicing a sport or a martial art, different styles of dance, to learn how to use a program or a machine or even to learn to drive.
Therefore, it is not that what the competency approach proposes is a revolutionary idea, but it is It is a great opportunity to take advantage of a methodology that has been proven useful for teaching techniques and transfer it to educational institutions of regulated education In fact, in recent years it has already been done in many of them.
For example, the concept of continuous assessment is common in schools. Although the figure of final exams is still maintained, it is true that throughout the course it is common to take partial tests that sometimes even free the student from having to study the included topics again, in the case of passing the exam. In other cases, these partial controls are also carried out but the final test is maintained, with the complete syllabus.
Even in the university environment, which has traditionally been the most rigid in this aspect and standardized tests were used at the end of the semester To quickly evaluate a large number of students, the system has been modified thanks to the implementation of the so-called Bologna Plan, a standardization at the European level that was completed in 2012.
One of the pillars of the Bologna Plan is, precisely, the continuous evaluation system that it proposes, very much in line with the competency-based approach. Not only that, but it also gives great importance to practical teaching, which is why it represented a change compared to the classic master classes, where the student remained passive, as we have already mentioned.
This way, Theoretical teachings continue to be given, but increasingly supported by practical learning, where each student must demonstrate that they are capable of carrying out what the teacher has previously explained to them in the classroom. Likewise, if he has difficulties in passing a practice, the teacher will give him the guidelines he needs to achieve it, so he should not get stuck in the process.
Criticisms of the competency-based approach
Despite all the advantages that the competency-based approach apparently offers, some authors do not fully agree that it is really such a useful and innovative methodology. This is the case, for example, of Ángel Díaz, who raises the question of whether competency-based learning is actually nothing more than an illusion of change. To begin with, he states that The very term “skills” raises doubts, since there is no standardized classification of them
Doubts also arise regarding the ability of the school system to fully adopt such a practical methodology when many of the contents are theoretical and require a more traditional method in that regard. Therefore, it is difficult to create a curricular design based on this series of competencies, which are not even entirely clear what they are, beyond very general concepts.
However, it does recognize the advantages in some aspects and the potential of the competency-based approach, if a satisfactory method of incorporating it into the educational system is found.
