Competency-based Course Research Articles

Considerations for Marginalized Fathers in Human Behavior and the Social Environment (HBSE) Courses: Insights for Social Work Educators and Students

ABSTRACT Despite the important role fathers play in the lives of their children, social workers report that they do not feel prepared to work with fathers. It is ethically imperative that social workers are equipped to effectively serve diverse groups of fathers in practice, especially those who are marginalized within society. Human Behavior and the Social Environment (HBSE) courses provide an optimal opportunity for the incorporation of fatherhood content in social work education. Based on reflections on our own teaching experiences, research expertise, and existing literature, we recommend father-specific content for inclusion in HBSE courses. We also draw on person-in-environment and intersectionality to describe the lived experiences of specific marginalized father groups. Finally, we provide Council on Social Work Education competency-based course objectives and assignments that can be used by social work educators to incorporate fatherhood content in their respective HBSE courses, along with strategies that social work students can apply in their work with the father groups highlighted in this article.

Designing a Competency-Focused Course on Applied AI Based on Advanced System Research on Business Requirements

The consortium of “The Future is in Applied Artificial Intelligence” Project designed the first competency-based applied artificial intelligence curriculum at the higher-education institution level. The development was based on advanced system research on existing artificial intelligence-related resources and surveying target groups of teachers, information technology students, and employers, which should enhance the performance of implementing artificial intelligence education. A review of applied artificial intelligence was prepared in the form of keyword clustering. The initial data were collected with the help of surveying by identifying job offers, existing artificial intelligence training courses, scientific projects, and real cases. A synthetic analysis of the textual information from the studies was conducted using the word clouds technique. A tensor-based approach was used for the presentation of the competency-based course. The specific numerical requirements for the course in the form of priorities followed from the solution to decision-making problems using the analytic hierarchy process technique. Based on a comprehensive study of surveys, educational experience, scientific projects, and business requirements, and a meta-analysis of the recent references, we specified the criteria for a training course in the form of a tensor-based representation of competencies in relation to content and educational modules.

A Pragmatic Framework for Assessing Learning Outcomes in Competency-Based Courses

A Pragmatic Framework for Assessing Learning Outcomes in Competency-Based Courses

A case study of how digital competencies affect Pre-Service Physics Teachers’ Professional growth: Realizing SDG 4

This study unveils the level of digital competencies among prospective teachers, their correlation with professional development, and relevant university programs. The research was conducted at a public educational university in East Java, Indonesia, and involved seven four-year undergraduate students who were interviewed in a semi-structured manner. The results indicate that the participants possess intermediate-level digital competencies, including information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem-solving. It is crucial for PSPTs to have digital competency as it can enhance the quality of learning activities and create an interactive physics learning environment. Additionally, universities that specialize in education can offer programs, such as digital competency-based courses, seminars, workshops, or internships, to help aspiring teachers improve their digital competencies. This research contributes to informing teacher education programs and guiding the integration of targeted training modules to enhance technological proficiency and professional development in realizing SDG 4.

Climate-health tele-education as a force multiplier: A train-the-trainer ECHO course series

IntroductionClimate change is a health emergency and healthcare professionals represent critical and trusted points of contact between communities and the health effects of climate change. However, healthcare professionals require training in the complex dynamics governing the interaction between climate and health as this education is not a part of traditional healthcare oriented curricula. MethodsFrom February-April 2022, a free, live-virtual, 8-session climate and health course was offered in a collaboration between the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE), Project ECHO and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The goal of the course was to increase health professionals’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and communication skills related to the climate crisis. Participants were invited to complete pre-, post- and 6-month post surveys to assess their readiness to lead climate and health education and programmatic development at their own institutions or within their own communities. ResultsBetween February-April 2022, 1,047 unique attendees participated in the Climate and Health Responder ECHO series. The primary outcome measured of communication regarding climate change trended toward increased communication. Survey respondents reported increased motivation to teach climate and health topics and confidence in training others following completion of the course. ConclusionLive-virtual, evidence, and competency-based courses have the potential to change health professional behaviors towards addressing the climate impacts on health and equip health professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to implement climate and health programs in their own work in order to scale-up climate and health knowledge, self-efficacy, and communication skills.

A competency-based Internal Medicine course in an emergency education setting

IntroductionAt the beginning of 2020, the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 arrived, triggering the COVID-19 pandemic that affected every aspect of daily life including global education systems. This dire public health situation across the planet forced the accelerated implementation of emergency remote teaching at all education levels. Educational institutions and hospitals adopted virtual classes, webinars, tutorials, and virtual libraries to continue academic activities. Other useful tools researchers used were standardizing patients and clinical simulation. The central objective of this study was to analyze how an Internal Medicine competency-based course, with a theoretical and a practical block, responded to an emergency education environment from June to December of 2020. Material and methodsStudents and teachers completed written evaluations, the students completed the DREEM questionnaire and teachers recorded their personal insights. The authors conducted focus groups and analyzed transcripts of the virtual activities. ResultsAll 60 students (100%) participated in the study. The students’ average score of the DREEM questionnaire on education environment was 177.8/200, and the students’ average teaching evaluation was 6.38/7. All students passed the final exam. The authors also categorized the favorable and unfavorable findings from both the theoretical and the practical blocks of the course on three dimensions: organization, pedagogy, and technology. ConclusionThe results indicate that the students perceived an excellent educational environment. Several points for improvement emerged such as teacher training in computer technologies, the socialization of learning objectives, and the feedback that students receive from teachers to achieve the proposed learning objectives.

University Competency-based Courses for Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) in Ontario: A Pilot Education Pathway to Registered Nurse (RN) Licensure

In 2014, a team of nurse educators and champions of internationally educated nurses (IENs) in Ontario, Canada, came together to address the issue of supporting IEN transition to practice as one route to help address nursing shortages. Courses were developed with funding from the Government of Ontario, and policy and coordination support from the Council of Ontario Universities, to pilot an educational bridging pathway for IENs. The faculty team across four Ontario universities used a consortium approach to coalesce province-wide expertise in IEN education. What began as a selection of targeted, competency-based courses has since evolved into a full Competency-Bridging Program of Study for Internationally Educated Nurses in Ontario, aligned with other IEN bridging program offerings across the province. This paper describes the initial process of the group, from 2015 to 2018, to create foundational learning and competency-based courses to meet targeted entry-to-practice (ETP) competencies for Registered Nurse (RN) registration with the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). The barriers to IENs in meeting ETP requirements and how the gap in the existing Ontario IEN bridging to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) education to meet regulatory requirements are also addressed. This article explores how Ontario may respond to the increasing nursing shortages and the need to engage ethically and retain IENs in practice. Lessons learned from competency-course development add to the growing body of knowledge about IEN program experiences in Canada to enable more IENs to enter the Ontario nursing workforce.

Climate and health capacity building for health professionals in the Caribbean: A pilot course.

Climate change is a reality in the Caribbean and its effects are already harming health, yet the health workforce capacity to implement climate mitigation and adaptation measures is lacking. From March-May of 2022, a free, live-virtual, evidence and competency based 10-week climate and health course targeted toward health risks in the Caribbean was deployed to: (1) increase communication about climate and health, (2) equip health professionals with knowledge and skills that could be readily incorporated into practice, and (3) engage health professionals with climate and health initiatives within their communities. Participants in this course came from 37 countries, 10 different health-related fields, and five different general places of work. Longitudinal surveys revealed significant changes in health professional communication, engagement and application of climate and health knowledge and skills. Live-virtual, evidence and competency-based courses, regional-specific courses have the potential to change health professional behaviors toward addressing climate impacts on health.

Doctoral clinical psychology student commentary on common myths about CBT: lessons learned for competency-based training

Abstract Effective methods for training and education in the dissemination of evidence-based treatments is a priority. This commentary provides doctoral clinical psychology graduate student authors perspectives on common myths about cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Three myths were identified and considered: (1) CBT does not value the therapeutic relationship; (2) CBT is overly rigid; and (3) exposure techniques are cruel. Graduate students were engaged in a competency-based course in Cognitive Behavioural Approaches to Psychotherapy at an American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited doctoral clinical psychology program. The origins of common myths identified by graduate students included a lack of in-depth coverage of CBT and brief video segments provided during introductory courses, lived experience with CBT, and pre-determined views of manualized treatment and exposure techniques. Myth-addressing factors discussed by graduate students included holding space at the start of training for a discussion of attitudes about CBT, specific learning activities, and course content described in this commentary. Finally, self-reported changes in graduate students’ attitudes and behaviour following the course included a more favourable view of CBT as valuing the therapeutic relationship, as well as implementation of resources provided, and techniques learned and practised at practicum settings. Limitations and lessons learned are discussed through the lens of a model of adult learning that may be applied to future graduate training in evidence-based therapies like CBT. Key learning aims (1) To understand common myths about cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) that doctoral students in clinical psychology hold prior to entering a course in CBT. (2) To understand the possible origins of these myths, factors that may address their impacts, and changes in attitudes and behaviour among graduate students as a result. (3) To examine the lessons learned that can be applied to future training in evidence-based therapies like CBT.

Teaching automation with Factory I/O under a competency-based curriculum

Some of the most critical competencies students need to acquire to become control engineers require performing practices under actual industrial conditions. This means that they must not only master the theoretical aspects of the discipline but also acquire skills and attitudes to face unpredictable real-world situations. Software tools such as Matlab/Simulink are widely used to train the design and validation of controllers, but they fail to provide real industrial contexts. Nowadays, there are 3D simulation tools that support recreating industrial environments to a remarkable extent, making them very attractive for university courses. Nevertheless, their application in engineering courses is scarce yet. This paper presents a methodological framework for seizing into competency-based courses one of these simulation tools, called Factory I/O. Our approach was evaluated in a master’s course on Industrial PID Control at Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV) in Chile. The evaluation comprised the qualitative analysis of students’ grades over four consecutive course editions and the qualitative study of students’ opinion on Factory I/O educational value. The objectives of our evaluation were (i) testing if Factory I/O helped students develop skills hard to practice in academic contexts, such as detecting faults or recognizing the importance of having well-defined operation protocols; (ii) validating our methodology for competency-based courses; and (iii) surveying our students about Matlab/Simulink and Factory I/O strengths/weaknesses to teach control engineering. According to the results, (a) Factory I/O complements Simulink by providing an adequate virtual environment to learn the aforementioned skills; and (b) our methodology supports courses’ continuous improvement through the statistical analysis of students’ achievements at different abstraction levels.

Assessment of the effectiveness of a course in major chemical incidents for front line health care providers: a pilot study from Saudi Arabia

BackgroundMass chemical exposure emergencies are infrequent but can cause injury, illness, or loss of life for large numbers of victims. These emergencies can stretch and challenge the available resources of healthcare systems within the community. Political unrest in the Middle East, including chemical terrorist attacks against civilians in Syria and increasing chemical industry accidents, have highlighted the lack of hospital preparedness for chemical incidents in the region. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a course designed to empower frontline healthcare providers involved in mass casualty incidents with the basic knowledge and essential operational skills for mass chemical exposure incidents in Saudi Arabia.MethodsA mixed-methods approach was used to develop a blended learning, simulation enhanced, competency-based course for major chemical incidents for front line healthcare providers. The course was designed by experts from different disciplines (disaster medicine, poisoning / toxicology, and Hazard Material Threat - HAZMAT team) in four stages. The course was piloted over five days at the Officers Club of the Ministry of Interior (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). The 41 participants were from different government health discipline sectors in the country. Pre- and post-tests were used to assess learner knowledge while debriefing sessions after the decontamination triage session and simulation-enhanced exercises were used for team performance assessment.ResultsThe overall knowledge scores were significantly higher in the post-test (69.47%) than the pre-test (46.3%). All four knowledge domains also had significant differences between pre- and post-test results. There were no differences in the pre and post-test scores for healthcare providers from the different health disciplines. A one-year post-event survey demonstrated that participants were satisfied with their knowledge retention. Interestingly, 38.3% had the opportunity to put this knowledge into practice in relation to mass chemical exposure incidents.ConclusionDelivering a foundation level competency-based blended learning course with enhanced simulation training in major chemical incidents for front line healthcare providers may improve their knowledge and skills in response to such incidents. This in turn can improve the level of national preparedness and staff availability and make a crucial difference in reducing the health impacts among victims.

Investigating Competency‐Based Learning Implementation at the Northern Border University (NBU): A Descriptive Analytical Study

Competency-Based Learning implementation has become a necessity at the Northern Border University (NBU), the kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). However, there are still a lot of implementation challenges that need to be faced. In an attempt to overcome some of these challenges, this study conducted to identify the awareness level of competency-based learning among EFL faculty and to assess the extent to which faculty teaching practices, as well as EFL course descriptions, are supportive to competency-based learning at the NBU? The descriptive-analytical method was used in this study. The study sample included all faculty members (both male & female) teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the NBU during the academic year 2020–2021. To achieve the objectives of this study, a self-report questionnaire was used to elicit information about NBU faculty awareness level of competency-based learning. The questionnaire was also used to assess faculty views regarding their teaching practices and regarding EFL course descriptions used. Descriptive statistics were used in the present study. Results showed that overall awareness level of competency-based learning among NBU faculty is medium. Results also showed that the teaching practices of EFL faculty at the NBU, concerning all elements of competency-based learning are generally low and do not support competency-based learning. Moreover, results showed that course descriptions used at the NBU do not support competency-based learning. In light of these results, educational implications and some recommendations for raising faculty awareness of competency-based learning and for competency-based course design were discussed.

Determining the vocational competencies required to deliver community-based rehabilitation and inclusive development services in India

Purpose To identify the competencies required by Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) practitioners in India and determine typical pathways of competency development, including minimum practice standards. Methods Following a literature review of existing frameworks and guidelines for CBR delivery, Delphi methods were used with Indian CBR experts to identify the main competency requirements of CBR personnel. Rubric writing workshops with CBR experts then expressed the performance of these competencies developmentally as learning progressions. The rubrics were converted into an observation form and field tested with 100 CBR personnel of varying expertise levels, through third party assessments by workplace supervisors. Finally, a second Delphi panel determined major competency stages and minimum standards for practice. Results Three broad job functions pertaining to five focus areas and 37 developmentally described competencies were found important for delivery of quality CBR. Through a standard setting process, for each job function experts reached agreement on major competency stages, including a minimum practice standard. Conclusions The study suggests India’s CBR expertise proceeds in four stages within three broad job functions – Assessment and Intervention, Inclusive Community Development, and Professional and Ethical Behaviour and Practice. The findings have direct implications for designing curricula to facilitate the competency development of CBR personnel. Implications for rehabilitation Meeting the rehabilitation and inclusion needs of people with disability in low and middle-income countries requires adequately trained local personnel. Currently, lack of knowledge and understanding of the competencies required of CBR personnel is affecting training and workforce quality. Consensus amongst Indian experts about a CBR learning pathway indicates possibilities for effective competency-based course design.

Competency‐based learning (CBL): Developing a competency‐based geometry methods course

AbstractObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of competencybased course (Conceptual Geometry). In addition, this paper presents the procedures of developing competency‐based course which include mapping out competencies of the course, developing a set of assessment instruments (e.g., diagonal, pre‐and post‐unit assessments, CBL comprehensive pre‐and post‐assessments).MethodsOne hundred seventy‐nine graduate students who enrolled in a 5‐week Conceptual Geometry online course participated in this study. During the session, three sets of assessments were administered to assess the baseline of student knowledge (diagonal assessment), effectiveness (comprehensive pre‐and post‐assessments, and student content knowledge (5 sets of pre‐and post‐unit assessments).ResultsThe results of this study showed that implementing an online CBL course is feasible and effective at a course level. Students showed higher scores on all of the post‐unit assessments (M = 95.45, SD = 4.62) than on the pre‐unit assessments (M = 69.42, SD = 7.77). This result supports the increase of student knowledge associated with geometry contents and pedagogy. The post‐comprehensive assessment results show an increase of student efficacy in geometry knowledge and skills using CBL course (pre‐assessment: M = 4.49, SD = 0.86; and post‐assessment: M = 5.14, SD = 0.40) which supports the increase of student efficacy of both content and pedagogical knowledge.

AN INSIGHT INTO BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION GRADUATES’ ENGLISH ORAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCIES FROM WORKPLACE PERSPECTIVES

The issue of discrepancies between university English business administration curriculum and English oral communication competence requirements in the workplace has been increasingly alarming since Vietnam accessed into more and more international business organizations especially ASEAN Economic Community. In the present study, qualitative data were collected in semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in real workplace, consisting of 15 employers at executive and managerial level and 8 business administration graduates from four universities to explore this mismatch. The results showed that most of the employers and graduates were slightly dissatisfied or dissatisfied with business administration graduates’ English oral communication competencies in workplace right after their graduation. Specifically, most of the business administration graduates lacked good pronunciation, skills and appropriate attitudes rather than knowledge in dealing with English oral communication tasks. Importantly, much of the dissatisfaction of both employers and graduates came from the discrepancies between the university preparation and workplace requirements. Thus, creating long-term collaborative partnerships among and between academic institutes and potential employers and designing a competency-based course are essential in preparing business administration undergraduates efficiently for the increasingly demanding workplace regarding English oral communication competencies.

Development and assessment of competency-based neurotrauma course curriculum for international neurosurgery residents and neurosurgeons

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a significant disease burden worldwide. It is imperative to improve neurosurgeons' training during and after their medical residency with appropriate neurotrauma competencies. Unfortunately, the development of these competencies during neurosurgeons' careers and in daily practice is very heterogeneous. This article aimed to describe the development and evaluation of a competency-based international course curriculum designed to address a broad spectrum of needs for taking care of patients with neurotrauma with basic and advanced interventions in different scenarios around the world. A committee of 5 academic neurosurgeons was involved in the task of building this course curriculum. The process started with the identification of the problems to be addressed and the subsequent performance needed. After this, competencies were defined. In the final phase, educational activities were designed to achieve the intended learning outcomes. In the end, the entire process resulted in competency and outcomes-based education strategy, including a definition of all learning activities and learning outcomes (curriculum), that can be integrated with a faculty development process, including training. Further development was completed by 4 additional academic neurosurgeons supported by a curriculum developer specialist and a project manager. After the development of the course curriculum, template programs were developed with core and optional content defined for implementation and evaluation. The content of the course curriculum is divided into essentials and advanced concepts and interventions in neurotrauma care. A mixed sample of 1583 neurosurgeons and neurosurgery residents attending 36 continuing medical education activities in 30 different cities around the world evaluated the course. The average satisfaction was 97%. The average usefulness score was 4.2, according to the Likert scale. An international competency-based course curriculum is an option for creating a well-accepted neurotrauma educational process designed to address a broad spectrum of needs that a neurotrauma practitioner faces during the basic and advanced care of patients in different regions of the world. This process may also be applied to other areas of the neurosurgical knowledge spectrum. Moreover, this process allows worldwide standardization of knowledge requirements and competencies, such that training may be better benchmarked between countries regardless of their income level.

대한감각통합치료학회 역량기반 중재과정 교육커리큘럼 개발연구

대한감각통합치료학회 역량기반 중재과정 교육커리큘럼 개발연구

Education First: Promoting LGBT+ Friendly Healthcare with a Competency-Based Course and Game-Based Teaching.

How, apart from by conveying professional knowledge, can university medical education nurture and improve the gender competency of medical students and thereby create an LGBT+ friendly healthcare environment? This study explored the use of game-based teaching activities in competency-based teaching from the perspective of competency-based medical education (CBME) and employed a qualitative case-study methodology. We designed an LGBT+ Health and Medical Care course in a medical school. Feedback was collected from two teachers and 19 medical students using in-depth interviews and thematic analysis was used to analyze the collected data. The findings of this study were as follows: (1) Games encouraged student participation and benefited gender knowledge transmission and transformation through competency learning, and (2) games embodied the idea of assessment as learning. The enjoyable feeling of pressure from playing games motivated students to learn. Using games as both a teaching activity and an assessment tool provided the assessment and instant feedback required in the CBME learning process. Game-based teaching successfully guided medical students to learn about gender and achieve the learning goals of integrating knowledge, attitudes, and skills. To fully implement CBME using games as teaching methods, teaching activities, learning tasks, and assessment tools, teachers must improve their teaching competency. This study revealed that leading discussions and designing curricula are key in the implementation of gender competency-based education; in particular, the ability to lead discussions is the core factor. Game-based gender competency education for medical students can be facilitated with discussions that reinforce learning outcomes to achieve the objectives of gender equality education and LGBT+ friendly healthcare. The results of this study indicated that game-based CBME with specific teaching strategies was an effective method of nurturing the gender competency of medical students. The consequent integration of gender competency into medical education could achieve the goal of LGBT+ friendly healthcare.

Peer- and Mentor-Enhanced Web-Based Training on Substance Use Disorders: A Promising Approach in Low-Resource Settings.

Stigma and insufficient training contribute significantly to the substance use disorder pandemic. This 2014 study assessed the impact in Kenya of online competency-based courses on peer and mentor interactions, using NextGenU.org, the world's only portal to free and accredited higher education. A total of 99 health care workers participated in one of two courses. Completers (50% of those who logged in) reported significant increases in knowledge about substance use disorders and decreases in stigma. Most (92%) stated that they preferred the NextGenU.org courses over classroom courses. All respondents were very confident that they gained useful knowledge and skills and would recommend the courses to peers. Learners' improvements in knowledge, skills, and stigma-related attitudes were comparable to those seen in "gold-standard," contact-intensive, and costly educational models. Free, accredited, easily scalable, clinically interactive, Web-based training courses can teach knowledge and skills while reducing stigma, even in low-resource settings.

Bridging Education and Labor Skills by a Novel Competency-Based Course Linked-Data Model

Bridging Education and Labor Skills by a Novel Competency-Based Course Linked-Data Model