Development of Core Competency Assessment Tools in Basic SW⋅AI Education

Abstract

As a result of current trends, a level of SW⋅AI competency for digital innovation has become a necessity, not a choice, SW-AI competency has also developed as a purpose not only for training specialist personnel, but also for providing universal SW⋅AI basic education. However, to increase the effectiveness of universal SW⋅AI basic education, it is advisable that we systematically educate SW⋅AI basic education in stages. A university offers various elective courses related to SW⋅AI for all students. Schools have expanded the opportunities for students to participate in SW⋅AI basic education after they have completed the required elective courses. However, expanding the opportunities for SW⋅AI basic education does not automatically strengthen their skills. Therefore, educators are aiming to strengthen the learners’ problem-solving skills by developing evaluation tools for core competencies in SW⋅AI elective courses and by applying these skills in algorithm courses. A performance assessment tool was developed in SW⋅AI basic education to enhance the core competencies of higher-order thinking and for the utilization of information and technology. The tool was developed through the following stages: clarifying class goals, developing core challenges, developing evaluation criteria, developing and applying assessment tools, and analyzing the evaluation results. The tool was applied in an algorithm course for problem solving and helped learners understand what to focus on when performing challenges. It also provided them with guidance for learning to enhance their various competencies through feedback. Indeed, a survey of self-assessment by learners at the beginning and end of the semester showed that the necessary competencies for solving core challenges had improved. On the other hand, students who were not majoring in SW⋅AI basic education stated that having to program in order to solve problems and being responsible for programming in team projects was a burden for them. In this study, we found that if the learner’s ultimate competencies are concretely embodied as behavioral indicators and challenges are set based on this criterion, the learner can concentrate more on practical competency enhancement. However, in regards to the SW⋅AI basic education subject, we confirmed that there is a need for us to clarify the core challenges and evaluation criteria for evaluating core competencies. In the future, we will apply various core competency performance evaluation tools to various SW⋅AI basic education subjects to identify areas for improvement. Through this process, we will continuously improve the effectiveness of SW⋅AI basic education and systematically enhance competencies thereby.