Approach by competencies: what it is, and characteristics of its educational model

New educational models continually emerge in search of greater efficiency to transmit knowledge to students.

One of the most recent is the competency-based approach.. With this article we will be able to better understand the fundamentals of this methodology and thus discover the immense potential of this technique, which is already used in many educational institutions.

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What is the competency approach?

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, contrasts with the classical models of education in which a syllabus in an eminently theoretical way and students have to memorize the data to later be evaluated.

It can be easily seen, based on this comparison, that the competency-based approach obeys 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 that 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 memory capacity of the students, are not a completely efficient system and do not produce a quality processing of this knowledge, which in the long term can be very deteriorated. However, the methods that imply putting into practice the topics that are being taught, such as In the case of the competency-based approach, they favor to a greater extent the acquisition and retention of knowledge.

For example, when evaluating, traditional methods opt for an exam or test with which to assess how much you have learned, or actually, 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 write them as they appear in the textbook or as the teacher dictated them during the lesson correspondent.

On the contrary, with the competency-based approach, the assessment tests are practical activities in which the student has to demonstrate, in an active way, that she has acquired these abilities, and she does so through a test that inevitably implies having achieved the required competence to be able to overcome it satisfactorily.

How to implement it in the educational context?

We already know the foundation of the competency-based approach. Now we might wonder how is it possible to implement this model, since educational subjects are very varied and apparently not all 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 contents that we want to transmit to the students have to be, first, divided into their simplest parts, in order to be able to transfer them progressively. In this way, until the student has acquired the most basic skills in a particular subject, they will not will go on to the following ones, which need the previous ones as a basis to be able to be understood and assimilated in their whole.

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 trouble understanding a very specific point in the lesson and this supposes that he does not correctly assimilate everything that comes after, because it is a question cumulative. This means frustration and loss of interest.

In contrast, with the competency-based approach, until the student has shown that she has correctly assimilated the exposed material, she will not go 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 are experiencing difficulties at any given time, we'll know exactly which competition is involved and can help you.

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Continuous evaluation system

This also applies 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-based approach has another proposal: if a student has failed the test regarding a specific skill or knowledge, we will propose a test to be evaluated again in that specific part.

Therefore, the continuous evaluation system would govern, as opposed to the unique evolution that is customary 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 the knowledge at the last minute, trying to memorize a complete syllabus to be able to pass the proposed test.

And it is that even if he succeeds, 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 making sure that the students have fully internalized the questions that we have raised before having to move on to the next phase, so they don't risk snowballing from a concept they didn't quite understand at one point certain.

Is it a new methodology?

If we think about the principles of the competency-based approach, we will realize that in reality this style of teaching is not something new, because it is the methodology usually used to facilitate the learning of skills or techniques, such as playing an instrument, practice a sport or a martial art, the different styles of dance, to learn to operate 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 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 frequent to take tests partial that sometimes even free the student from having to study the topics included 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 regard and used standardized tests at the end of the semester to quickly evaluate a large number of students, it has been possible to modify the system thanks to the implementation of the so-called Bologna Plan, a standardization at a European level that was completed in the year 2012.

One of the pillars of the Bologna Plan is precisely the continuous assessment system that it proposes, very much in line with the competency-based approach. Not only that, but he also attaches great importance to practical teaching, so it was 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 he is capable of carrying out what the teacher has previously explained to him in the classroom. Likewise, if he has difficulties to pass a practice, the teacher will give him the guidelines that he needs to achieve it, so he should not get stuck in the process.

Criticism of the competency-based approach

Despite all the advantages that the competency-based approach apparently offers, some authors do not entirely agree that it really is such a useful and innovative methodology. This is the case, for example, of Ángel Díaz, who raises the question of whether learning by competences is really nothing more than an illusion of change. To begin with, it states that the very term "competences" raises doubts, since there is no standardized classification of them.

Doubts also arise as to the ability of the school system to fully adopt a methodology so practical when many of the contents are theoretical and require a more traditional method in that aspect. Therefore it is difficult to create a curricular design based on this series of competencies, which is 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.

Bibliographic references:

• Diaz, A. (2006). The competency approach in education: An alternative or a disguise for change?. Educational profiles.
• Perrenoud, P. (2009). Approach by competencies, an answer to school failure? Social pedagogy. Interuniversity magazine.
• Rodríguez, R.L., García, M.M. (2007). Compendium of strategies under the competency approach. Technological Institute of Sonora.
• Rueda, m. (2009). Teacher performance evaluation: considerations from the competency-based approach. Electronic journal of educational research.