Development:Competencies
Note: This page outlines ideas for the Competencies feature planned for Moodle 2.0. It's a specification under construction! If you have any comments or suggestions, please add them to the page comments.
- PROJECT STATE: Proposal
- MAIN TRACKER ISSUE:
- DISCUSSION: Not yet announced on Moodle.org
- COMMENTS: Development_talk:Competencies
- AUTHOR: Jonathan Newman with help from Matt Clarkson and others
Overview
To support the range of different types of competency frameworks used by organisations, competencies in Moodle 2.0 needs to expand on the 1.9 outcomes architecture.
Goals
- Measured amount of abstraction
- Allow "admins" to organise competencies in a hierarchy, folksonomy (tags), or hybrid
- Allow "admins" to specify parent-child relations between competencies and related competencies
- Allow "admins" to create unlimited hierarchical levels
- Allow "admins" to describe competencies on a given depth level consistently with custom meta data fields and categories
- Easy navigation
- Allow "admins" to view the competency structure (expanding/collapsing competencies, sorting/searching/filtering by competency meta data)
- Allow "admins" to easily add new competencies and meta-data
- Connecting competencies and evidence items
- Allow "admins" to attach allowed evidence (course, activity, etc) to a competency (from a competency view):
- One or more course grades
- One or more course completions (e.g., when completing course A, course B, and course C)
- One or more activity outcomes, from one or more courses
- One or more activity completions (e.g., when completing activity x in course A and activity y in course B, and activity z in course C)
- Allow "course creators" to attach competencies to evidence in a course they are assigned to:
- Course grade
- Completion the course
- Activity grade
- Completion of an activity in the course
- Allow "admins" to attach allowed evidence (course, activity, etc) to a competency (from a competency view):
- Portability
- Allow "admins" to import competencies (using import plugins) into a Moodle install
- Allow "admins" to export competencies (using export plugins) from a Moodle install
- Specifying expected proficiency levels
- Allow "admins" to assign an expected proficiency level (i.e., competency scale value) to a competency evidence item
- Aggregating measured proficiency level for each user
- Allow "admins" to specify aggregation methods for each competency:
- All child competencies or evidence
- Any child competencies or evidence
- A specific number of child competencies or evidence
- A percentage of child competences or evidence
- Sum of weighted child competencies or evidence
- Average of weighted child competencies or evidence
- Reporting
- Allow "admins" to view competency results for all students across all courses.
- Allow "teachers" to view student competency results within his/her courses.
- Allow "students" to view their own competency results (within a course, or via their profile or My Moodle).
- Allow "admins" to specify aggregation methods for each competency:
- Specifying weights
- Allow "admins" to assign weight to a competency or a competency evidence item
- Scalability
- Store and retrieve data efficiently to allow the scalability to very large numbers of courses, users, competencies, evidence, etc
- Extensibility
- Use a plugin architecture for evidence types
General requirements
- We'll need to access and use the existing site-wide Outcomes Outcomes tables
- We'll need to use the tables that indicate completion status for courses (these are not yet in place) Course Completion
- We need to get aggregate information about the course outcomes and aggregate grades for each user from the gradebook API
Definitions
Scale: A way to measure a competency using descriptors and/or numerical scale values.
Example scales using descriptors values:
"Below average, Average, Above average" "Not competent, Competent"
Example scales using numerical values:
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5" "0, 100" "0.0, 0.5, 1.0" "0, 500, 1000"
Example scales using descriptors and numerical values:
"Poor [1], Below average [2], Average [3], Above average [4], Excellent [5]" "Not yet competent [0], Competent [100]" "Not yet competent [0.0], Not yet performing [0.5], Competent [1.0]"
Competency: A measurable knowledge, skill, ability, attitude or other learning-related characteristic which a student may have. Competencies can be organised into a hierarchy (i.e., category-based), folksonomy (tag-based), or a hybrid of both.
Example hierarchy of competencies:
top-level competency: "Literacy" -> child competency: "Reading Comprehension" -> child competency: "Responding to Text" -> child competency: "Initial Understanding of Literary Text" -> child competency: "Demonstrate initial understanding of elements of literary texts (including text read aloud, reading independently"
Competency evidence type: A form of evidence that can be accepted as evidence that a competency has been achieved. Examples:
Activity grade Activity completion Activity outcome Course completion Course grade Course outcome Question results File (diploma)
Competency evidence: A competency can be measured by one or more competency evidence types. Evidence can be stated to include the evidence type, evidence date, and measured value. Examples:
"Quiz - 4:00pm May 28, 2009 - Grade 90% out of 100%" "Certificate - Public Speaking Institute - 4:00pm May 28, 2009 - Passed." "File - College Diploma - 4:00pm May 28, 2009 - Bachelor of Science Computer Science"
Expected proficiency level: The expected (or required) rating (based on a scale descriptor or numerical value) for a competency. Examples:
"Average" "5" "50%" "Passed"
Measured proficiency level: A user's observed, scored, reported proficiency level for a competency.
"Above average" "8" "80%" "Passed"
Competency weighting: Child competencies can be assigned weights which can be used for aggregating either sums or averages of child competencies. Examples:
Example with percentage weights
-> top-level competency: "Communication" -> child competency: "Written Communication" : weight: 60% -> child competency: "Oral Communication" : weight: 40%
Example frameworks
Example 1: Competency hierarchy with activity outcomes as evidence
The example data below is an excerpt from the Department of Education for the State of Vermont's Grade 1 Expectations for Literacy for Reading.
competency -> "Curriculum" : "Literacy" : aggregation method "all" : weight none : proficiency expected "80%" competency -> "Type" : "Reading" : aggregation method "all" : weight "20%" : proficiency expected "80%" competency -> "Standard 1.1" : "Reading Strategies" : aggregation method "all" : weight: "20%" : proficiency expected "80%" competency -> "Early Reading Skills and Strategies" : "Phonological Awareness" : aggregation method "all" : weight: "100%" : proficiency expected "80%" competency -> "RK: 1" : "Applies phonological knowledge and skills by..." : aggregation method "all" : weight: "50%" : proficiency expected "80%" activity outcome -> Recognizing pairs of rhyming words and producing rhymes : weight: "33%" activity outcome -> Blending and segmenting syllables and onset-rimes (e.g., “cup-cake,” “s-at”) : weight: "33%" activity outcome -> Isolating phonemes in single-syllable words (e.g., "tell me the first sound in 'mop' "; "tell me the last sound in 'mop,'" "tell me the middle sound in 'mop'") : weight: "33%" competency -> "Early Reading Skills and Strategies" : "Concepts of Print" : aggregation method "all" : weight: "100%" : proficiency expected "80%" competency -> "RK: 2" : "Demonstrates understanding of concepts of print during shared or individual reading by..." : aggregation method "all" : weight: "50%" : proficiency expected "80%" activity outcome -> Distinguishing between printed letters and words : weight: "25%" : proficiency expected "80%" activity outcome -> Following text with finger-pointing (e.g., charts, simple books), demonstrating left-to-right and top-to-bottom directionality : weight: "25%" activity outcome -> Identifying the first and last parts of a word (beginning/end of the word) : weight: "25%" activity outcome -> Identifying key parts of a book: front and back, print, illustrations : weight: "25%"
See here for how the data below would fit into the proposed schema.
Data structures
scale
The scale feature introduced in Moodle 1.9 needs to be expanded to provide numerical equivalents for each scale value. We'll need to create a new table 'scale_values' that includes a foreign key of the 'scale' table, and remove the 'scale' field from the 'scale' table. Here is how the modified 'scale' table will look:
Field | Type | Default | Info |
id | int(10) | Auto incrementing | |
courseid | int(10) | Id of the course, which the scale belongs to | |
userid | int(10) | Id of the user who last modified the scale | |
name | varchar(255) | Name of the scale value | |
description | text | Description of the scale value | |
timemodified | int(10) | Timestamp of when the scale was modified |
scale_values
Field | Type | Default | Info |
id | int(10) | Auto incrementing | |
scaleid | int(10) | Id of the scale that the scale value describes | |
name | varchar(255) | Name of the scale value | |
idnumber | varchar(100) | Optional id, code number or local identifier for the scale value (used for reporting). | |
description | text | Description of the scale value | |
numeric | number(8) | Numerical value for the scale value | |
sortorder | int(10) | The order for the scale value | |
timemodified | int(10) | Timestamp of when the scale value was modified |
competency
A competency can be part of a hierarchy and can have evidence attached to it.
Field | Type | Default | Info |
id | int(10) | Auto incrementing | |
shortname | varchar(100) | The shortname for the competency | |
fullname | varchar(255) | The full name for the competency | |
description | text | The description of the competency | |
idnumber | int(10) | The id, code number or local identifier for the competency used for reporting | |
parentid | int(10) | The id of the parent competency | |
sortorder | int(10) | The order number of this competency (useful for ordering competencies for viewing/navigation/reporting) | |
depth | int(10) | The depth of the competency (beginning at 1) | |
path | varchar(255) | The path to the competency | |
aggregationmethod | int(10) | A constant representation one of the competency aggregation methods (any, all, unit, fraction, sum of weighted, average of weighted) | |
scaleid | int(10) | The scale used to measure the competency | |
proficiencyexpected | int(10) | The expected proficiency for the competency, a value from the scale | |
timecreated | int(10) | The time when the competency was created | |
timemodified | int(10) | The time when the competency was modified | |
usermodified | int(10) | The userid of the person who last modified the competency |
competency_relations
For tracking relations between competencies.
Field | Type | Default | Info |
id | int(10) | Auto incrementing | |
description | text | Info about how competencies are related | |
competencyid1 | int(10) | The id of a competency | |
competencyid2 | int(10) | The id of a related competency |
competency_depth_info_field
Data for a competency depth level field.
Field | Type | Default | Info |
id | int(10) | Auto incrementing | |
shortname | varchar(255) | Shortname for the field | |
fullname | text | Full name for the field | |
datatype | varchar(255) | The type of field data | |
description | text | Description of the field | |
categoryid | int(10) | The id for the field category | |
sortorder | int(10) | The sort order for the field within its category | |
hidden | int(1) | The field should be hidden | |
required | int(1) | The field required | |
defaultdata | text | Default text for the selected parameter | |
param1 | text | Parameter text | |
param2 | text | Parameter text | |
param3 | text | Parameter text | |
param4 | text | Parameter text | |
param5 | text | Parameter text |
competency_depth_info_category
A competency's depth level can have categories for its fields.
Field | Type | Default | Info |
id | int(10) | Auto incrementing | |
name | varchar(255) | Shortname for the depth level category | |
sortorder | int(10) | The order number for this category |
competency_depth_info_data
Data for a depth level field.
Field | Type | Default | Info |
id | int(10) | Auto incrementing | |
fieldid | int(10) | The id for the field | |
competencyid | int(10) | The id for the competency | |
data | text | The actual data for the competency field |
competency_evidence_items
A competency can be achieved by one or more forms of evidence.
Field | Type | Default | Info |
id | int(10) | Auto incrementing | |
competencyid | int(10) | The id for the competency that this evidence describes | |
itemtype | varchar(30) | The type of evidence 'course/outcome', 'mod/outcome', 'course/completion', 'mod/completion', 'course/grade', 'mod/grade', 'question/category', 'file' | |
itemmodule | varchar(30) | The type of evidence 'quiz', 'scorm', etc | |
iteminstance | int(10) | The id for the evidence instance (ie, grade_outcome id, course id, course_modules id, grade_item id, quiz_question_instance id, files id) | |
weight | num(10) | The weight applied to this evidence item (for aggregation) | |
timecreated | int(10) | The time when this competency evidence was allowed | |
timemodified | int(10) | The time when this competency evidence was last changed | |
usermodified | int(10) | The user who last modified this evidence |
competency_evidence
Track historical and current competency information for each user.
Field | Type | Default | Info |
id | int(10) | auto-incrementing | |
userid | int(10) | The id of the user | |
competencyid | int(10) | The id of the competency | |
proficiencymeasured | int(10) | The measured/evaluated proficiency level for the user | |
timecreated | int(10) | The time when this competency evidence was started | |
timemodified | int(10) | The time when this competency evidence was last changed |
Plugin architecture
Competency evidence type plugins
Each type of evidence will need its own methods for interacting with the competency architecture and will need to interact via a base competency evidence API. Below are the item types.
- Course completion
- Course grade
- Course outcome
- Activity completion
- Activity grade
- Activity outcome
- File
Report plugins
Similar to the gradebook, we need to allow development of report plugins for competencies.
Import/Export plugins
We need to be able to import and export data related to competencies.
Competency framework import/export A competency framework should be able to be exported using an appropriate format in either xml and csv file format. There are some standards on exchanging competencies including:
- IEEE P1484.20.1 Standard on Reusable Competency Definitions and the IEEE Draft Standard on Simple Reusable Competency Map
- ISO/IEC PDTR 24763 Conceptual Reference Model for Competencies and Related Objects
Competency evidence import/export
There are a variety of standards for exchanging competencies evidence including:
- IMS Reusable Definition of Competency or Educational Objectives Spec (RDCEO)
- IMS Learner Information Package Spec (LIP)
- HR-XML Competencies (Measurable Characteristics) Recommendation, 2007 April 15
IMS RDCEO and LIP recommend formats as shown in the examples below (more IMS RDCEO here and IMS LIP home). Special thanks to Sarveswaran Kengatharaiyer (GSOC 2008 student for the Moodle Progress Tracker project) who developed these examples.
rdceo.identifier = rdceo434323 rdceo.title = Identify verbs in simple sentences rdceo.description = “Identify verbs in simple sentences” rdceo.definition.statement. statementid = 123 statementname = Always statementtext = Scale statementtoken = scl55435 rdceo.definition.statement. statementid = 124 statementname = Never statementtext = Scale statementtoken = scl55436 rdceo.definition.statement. statementid = 125 statementname = Sometimes statementtext = Scale statementtoken = scl55437 lip.contenttype.referencial.sourceid.id = jenney_profile lip.identification.cotenttype.referential.indexid = id123 lip.identification.name.partname.typename=Jenny lip.competency cotenttype.referential.indexid = j123 exrefrecord = rdceo434323 description = Always
HR-XML recommends a format like shown below in an example which uses recursive competencies (more here).
<Competency name="Communication Skills"> <Competency name="Written Communication Skills"> <CompetencyEvidence name="WRITTENTEST1-A" dateOfIncident="1995-01-01" lastUsed="2000-01-01"> <NumericValue minValue="3" maxValue="5" description="SEP-equivalent Skill-Level Range">5</NumericValue> </CompetencyEvidence> <CompetencyWeight> <NumericValue minValue="0" maxValue="100">35</NumericValue> </CompetencyWeight> </Competency> <Competency name="Oral Communication Skills"> <CompetencyEvidence name="ManagerObservation" dateOfIncident="1996-01-01" lastUsed="2000-01-01"> <NumericValue minValue="1" maxValue="5" description="Company XYZ Skill Range">5</NumericValue> </CompetencyEvidence> <CompetencyWeight> <NumericValue minValue="0" maxValue="100">65</NumericValue> </CompetencyWeight> </Competency> </Competency>
Logging
All competency related changes should be logged in history tables.
Role capabilities and permissions
Description | Capability |
View competency competencies | moodle/competency:viewcompetencies |
View hidden competencies | moodle/competency:viewhiddencompetencies |
Manage competencies | moodle/competency:managecompetencies |
Ideas for the future
- Due dates for course completions and outcome completions can be assigned in an individual user's learning plan.
- A comment can be added to a user's learning plan item when a course or outcome is manually added or removed from it.
- Allowing competencies to be attached to an individual user (either by user profile field or by drag and drop).