About a year ago I participated in a research group that focused on Informal Learning and participated in some great discussions. As we worked throuhg our research we distinguished formal from informal learning by the packaging. That is, formal learning components have instructional design, a facilitator (personal or technical), and a beginning and an end while informal components are not packaged. Here are some examples,

Formal and Informal Resources that support learning:

Formal

• University Course
• LMS-driven Online Course

Informal

• Manual
• Video
• Book
• Subject Matter Expert
• Article

Another distinction may be that formal resources usually have learning objectives written to be specific, measurable, attainable, behavioral. For example:

• At this end of this lesson, the student will be able to calculate tolerances using process capability data.
• At this end of this lesson, the student will be able to evaluate the use of control measurement systems and ensure that measurement capability is sufficient for its intended use.
• At this end of this lesson, the student will be able to develop a problem statement, including baseline and improvement goals.

Learning objects and their objectives help a student to understand what he or she should be able to know or do to be successful in a course. A compentency, on the other hand, helps someone know the knowledge, skills, abilities, and characteristics that will make them successful in a particular role. As we begin to think in terms of competencies, we can see that learning objectives reveal the competencies that the learning resource will target.

A learning resource supports or enables the achievement of a competency.

A single competency may have many development resources.

A single development resource may be linked to multiple competencies.

When competencies are defined they should be described with a category or group, a definition and demonstrated behaviors that aid the evaluation of the competency. One author defined competencies as, “A specific, identifiable, definable, and measurable knowledge, skill, ability and/or other deployment-related characteristic (e.g. attitude, behavior, physical ability) which a human resource may possess and which is necessary for, or material to, the performance of an activity within a specific business context.”

An example of a competency may be

Competency models can be derived from the learning objectives found in training programs, but the models should also seek to define the characteristics (attitudes and behaviors) that describe a successful employee. When competency models and training resources are linked, the organization establishes the path for talent management and succession planning that are vital to today’s lean organizations.

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In a previous post, I asked the question: How can schools, colleges, and universities help in the process of building the characteristics that tomorrow’s employees will need to be successful?

When facilitating personal growth beyond knowledge and skills any approach must first be intentional. Personal growth doesn’t come by accident. It also isn’t achieved over night.

Using competency models (knowledge, skills, abilities and characteristics) within an academic setting can help students to see the bigger picture of success. For example, when I was in college as a journalism major with a photojournalism emphasis, my English professor pulled me aside and told me that my first job was not going to be as a photographer but as a writer/photographer for a small newspaper. Not one professor in the school of journalism mentioned this but my English teacher truly guided me by helping me see the big picture. She helped me to be a better writer so that when I graduated I was able to step into a job as a Sport’s Writer. Understanding the competencies I needed, gave me an opportunity to be successful after graduation.

My English professor, used coaching and mentoring, to guide me down the right path. This too is an important component of leading students to be successful in their career field.

Another way colleges and universities may intentionally address expand their view of a student may be in their educational model. Rev. Russell Smith, pastor of Covenant-First Presbyterian, relayed his educational experience from a summer program at Oxford,

The methodology was that we would have twice weekly tutorial meetings with a professor in our chosen subject….we would have assigned reading that we were supposed to preview and then the tutorial (usually 1-on-1 or 1-on-2) was a matter of hashing through it and demonstrating an ability to interact with the material.

While I’ve not participated in this type of educational experience personally, it does seem that it opens the door for personal growth opportunities that far exceed the traditional lecture format of a course.

While coaching and mentoring can be very powerful for personal growth, a formal competency model however, can provide a more clear image of the knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes and behaviors a student will need to be successful both at school and later in their career.

If a college provided students with a complete competency model (knowledge, skills, abilities and characteristics) for specific career fields and mapped these models to specific courses as well as demonstrated behaviors, students would be better equipped for success.

Let me provide an illustration…
My first day as Sport’s Editor, was also a day that our weekly paper went to the printer. The stories had been written, so after meeting the staff, my task that first day was to simply layout the sports page: one page, for each of three newspapers. After working nearly all night trying to make the stories and photos and ads fit together on the page, I knew that I should have worked harder in that Layout and Design class I had a the University of Kentucky. I had passed the class with an “A” but the real world was very different than the experience I had in class.

My professor was a professional editor for a large paper. He knew what it was like in the real world so I must have missed attaining a competency that would have been useful that first day. If I would have had a better picture of the competencies I needed to attain in the course, I may be been better prepared for my first day as a Sport’s Editor.

Competency models give students, employees and employers the specific information they need to be successful. When those competencies are synchronized with training resources and coaching / mentoring, students can see the knowledge, skill, abilities and characteristics they need for success.

Related Articles
- How Do We Support Competency Models?
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Competency models are becoming increasingly important to the sustainment of a work force. Whether faced by challenges of replacing highly qualified team members who choose to retire or building skills to improve quality, competency models provide a framework of the knowledge, skills, abilities and characteristics (attitudes, behaviors) that are vital to a given role.

The competency models developed for specific jobs or organizations can be used to aid the hiring process and to help determine the training that is needed. So, there is a direct link from competency models to the training models used.

I’ve heard it said that in designing training courses the key is to ask, “At the end of this unit of instruction, what do you want the learner to know or be able to do?” However, this seems to focus only on the knowledge, skills and abilities of the learner. What about the characteristics component of the competency model?

Some organizations are not going to take the time to teach attitudes and behaviors. Instead, they are going to seek out individuals that have already developed the attitudes and behaviors identified in their competency model. But there is no perfect candidate and so these characteristics have to be considered as we build training models that support the competency models.

Therefore, I have 3 questions:

1. How can training support the evolution of characteristics like attitudes and behaviors that are important to a given role?
2. How can educational institutions help in the process of building the characteristics that tomorrow’s employees will need in order to be successful?
3. How can social network environments be used to support competency models that include attitudes and behaviors?

Obviously these questions are more than can be answered in a single blog post, but they are important questions for the community to discuss.

Over the remainder of this week, I’ll explore these questions and will look forward to what others may have to say.

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