COMPETENCY APPROACH: CHARACTERISTICS, FUNDAMENTALS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The competency approach is an educational model based on the teaching of knowledge in such a way that it is placed in the specific context for which it is useful. In this way, what has been learned is understood as useful and necessary, since it is designed to help students cope with real-world situations.

Compared to traditional education, which focuses on memorizing pure data without great relevance to students, competency education focuses on the acquisition of knowledge through experimentation and practice. It is a much more dynamic approach in which students are no longer mere receivers of information.

The two fundamental pillars of competency education are the functionality and significance of the learning. To achieve both of these goals while also transmitting knowledge, students work on their values, skills, and abilities.

Characteristics and fundamentals

In the educational context, a competence is defined as "the development of complex capacities that allow students to think and act in various fields" (Cecilia Braslavsky).

Education systems have evolved for several decades, so that nowadays competences are sometimes used as the basis of the students' curriculum. Competencies in this context are defined as the problems that students should be able to solve once they have completed their educational process.

The most important advance in competency education is the abandonment of memorizing theoretical data as the only measure of knowledge.

The latest studies on learning show that pure memory is the worst method of retaining learning and that, on the contrary, putting knowledge into practice strengthens it in the much longer term.

The most important characteristics of the competency approach are the following:

- Greater specificity of the learning unit.

- Acquisition of knowledge gradually.

- Modularity of knowledge.

- Focus on the learner.

Greater specificity of the learning unit

In traditional education, the only way to know if a student has acquired new knowledge is through an exam or test in which they will have to test their learning. These exams are usually carried out from time to time, so that in just one exam several units of knowledge are usually put to the test.

On the contrary, in competency learning each skill or knowledge acquired can be tested separately and in a simpler way.

For example, a student learning to play the violin will be able to demonstrate that they have mastered the skill of holding the bow correctly in a short time, without having to take a test for it.

This way of verifying the acquisition of knowledge is possible because in the competency approach the learning units are smaller and more specific.

Acquisition of knowledge gradually

Due to this division of competences into very small units, learning occurs little by little, in such a way that the student can gradually and logically acquire new knowledge.

Going back to the previous example, someone interested in learning to play the violin will first practice the correct way to hold it; then the movement of the bow on the strings. Only after you have mastered these two skills will you proceed to the next phase, where you can begin to play simple melodies.

This approach is quite different from traditional education, where it can generally take several months before the student receives any kind of feedback on whether they have learned correctly.

In this way, many students try to acquire all the knowledge that they are supposed to have learned during a term only when they have to face an exam.

Modularity of knowledge

Due to the greater division between the different parts of learning, the student can focus on practicing only those components of it that they have not yet mastered.

This is the opposite of what happens in traditional education, where if a student fails an exam of five subjects, he will have to repeat it in full despite having failed only two of them.

Therefore, in the competence approach, learning is faster. By detecting what their weaknesses are, the student can focus on improving them, in such a way that their attention and effort will bring them many more benefits.

Focus on the learner

In the traditional educational system, students are seen as passive recipients of knowledge; the teacher's task is to convey what he knows to them. In this approach, students are seen as a "blank slate."

However, the latest studies on learning show that the passive reception of information does not lead to a good acquisition of knowledge. Therefore, in the competency approach the focus is on the student. He is the one who has to practice and strive to generate new learning.

In this educational model, the role of the educator is to facilitate the learning of his students. For example, you can do this by pointing out faults or suggesting exercises to improve more quickly.

Impact on the educational process

The competency approach has been used in certain educational fields for more than a century, especially those related to the acquisition of skills. Some of these areas can be, for example, music or sports education.

However, in recent decades there has been a greater emphasis on introducing competency learning into the formal education system. One of the best known projects in this field is the British Summerhill school, which defended the freedom of students to choose their own learning according to their interests.

As for traditional schools, the competency approach has been gradually introduced in some educational sectors. This way of understanding education is present especially in the following areas:

- Vocational training, where the focus is on the acquisition of skills.

- The Bologna plan for university studies, where the theory has to be complemented by relevant practices for the topics learned.

- Some sectors of secondary education - such as the domain approach - that place less emphasis on pure knowledge and more on practice.

However, the current educational system still continues to focus heavily on theory and very little on acquiring knowledge through practice.

References

1. "Approach by competencies" in: International Office of Education. Retrieved in: March 2018 from the International Office of Education: ibe.unesco.org.
2. "Competency-centered approach" in: Gob.mx. Retrieved on: March 6, 2018 from Gob.mx: gob.mx.
3. "Competency - based learning" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: March 6, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
4. "The importance of the competence approach in the educational system" in: Education and Business. Retrieved on: March 6, 2018 from Education and Business: educacionyempresa.com.
5. "Traditional teaching versus teaching by competences" in: Educalab. Retrieved on: March 6, 2018 from Educalab: blog.educalab.es.