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Competencies

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Competencies has been added as a feature for the 3.1 release. This specification is very old - a more up-to-date specification can be found here: https://docs.moodle.org/dev/index.php?title=Competency_Based_Education

For the API see: https://docs.moodle.org/dev/index.php?title=Competency_API

Moodle 2.0

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.

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

  1. Measured amount of abstraction
    • Allow "admins" to organise competencies in a hierarchy
    • Allow "admins" to create unlimited hierarchical levels
    • Allow "admins" to map related competencies on a given depth level
    • Allow "admins" to define custom info fields on a given depth level
  2. 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
  3. Linking competencies and evidence items
    • Allow "admins" to easily attach allowed evidence (course, activity, etc) to a competency (from a site-level competency view):
    • Allow "course creators" to attach competencies to evidence within a course:
  4. 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
  5. Specifying expected proficiency levels
    • Allow "admins" to assign an expected proficiency level (i.e., competency scale value) to a competency and a competency evidence item
  6. Aggregating measured proficiency
    • Allow "admins" to specify aggregation methods for each competency
    • Reporting
      • Allow "admins" to view competency results for all students
      • Allow "teachers" to view student measured proficiencies related to evidence in his/her courses.
      • Allow "students" to view their own competency results (via either their personal profile or My Moodle).
  7. Specifying weights
    • Allow "admins" to assign weight to a competency or a competency evidence item
  8. Scalability
    • Store and retrieve data efficiently to allow the scalability to very large numbers of courses, users, competencies, evidence, etc
  9. Extensibility
    • Use a plugin architecture for evidence types

General requirements

  1. We'll need to access and use the existing site-wide Outcomes Outcomes tables
  2. We'll need to use the tables that indicate completion status for courses (these are not yet in place) Course Completion
  3. 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 scale values.

Example scales:

"Average-based scale"
"Competency-based scale"

Scale values: Descriptor or numeric values that comprise a scale. A scale value can have a id number (code) and description.

Example scales values (with descriptors and numerical values) for the scale examples above:

"Below average [1], Average [2], Above average [3]
"Not yet competent [0], Competent [100]"

Competency: A measurable knowledge, skill, ability, attitude or other learning-related characteristic which a student may have. Competencies can be organised into a hierarchy.

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
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 based roughly on the Department of Education for the State of Vermont's Grade 1 Expectations for Literacy for Reading.

Depth level Depth name Competency

full name

Competency

evidence

Competency

aggregation method

Competency

weight

Competency

proficiency expected

0 "Curriculum" "Literacy" none all 20% 80%
1 "Type" "Reading" none all 20% 100%
2 "Standard" "Standard 1.1 Reading Strategies" none all 20% 80%
3 "Strategy" "Early Reading Skills and Strategies: Phonological Awareness" none all 100% 80%
4 "Code" "RK: 1 - Applies phonological knowledge and skills by..." activity outcome "Recognizing pairs of rhyming words and producing rhymes"

activity outcome "Blending and segmenting syllables and onset-rimes"

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'")"

all 50% 80%
3 "Strategy" "Early Reading Skills and Strategies - Concepts of Print" none all 50% 80%
4 "Code" "RK: 2 - Demonstrates understanding of concepts of print during shared or individual reading by..." activity outcome: "Distinguishing between printed letters and words"

activity outcome: "Following text with finger-pointing (e.g., charts, simple books), demonstrating left-to-right and top-to-bottom directionality"

activity outcome: "Identifying the first and last parts of a word (beginning/end of the word)"

activity outcome: "Identifying key parts of a book: front and back, print, illustrations"

all 50% 80%

See here for how the data above fits into the proposed schema.

Settings

Site settings

Activity Completion provides an "Enable outcomes" setting (found in the Site Administration block's Advanced features / optional subsystems settings page). We need to keep outcomes, however we will need to add competencies.

Proposed changes:

  • Create a new setting named "Enable competencies" (the setting will allow competencies to be defined)

User interface

Site Administration block

When competencies are enabled, a "Competencies" menu item should appear in the Site Administration block. An "Add / edit competencies" option should appear when "Competencies" is clicked. The "Add / edit competencies" will point to the "Add / edit competencies" admin page.

"Add/edit competencies" admin page

Mockup of the Add/edit competencies admin page (default)
Mockup of the Add/edit competencies admin page (with competencies from Example 1 framework)

An "admin" can use this page to add and edit competencies and competency depth levels, using buttons and features available in a table.

Buttons

  • An "Add a new competency" button will link to the "Add a competency" admin page.
  • An "Add a new depth level" button will link to the "Add a depth level" admin page.

Table rows

  • A "plus" / "minus" icon will appear on the right of each row in the table, allowing all child competencies to be shown or hidden.

Table columns

  • A default, top-level competency depth named "Competency" will appear in a table as a column on the left. The default competency depth name can be changed (e.g., "Competency Area", "Standard", "Development Area", etc).
  • When a new competency depth is added, it will appear as column to the right of the next highest competency depth level.
  • Appearing to the right of the competency depth level columns will be the following "standard" interface columns: "Evidence items", "Edit", and "Move competency to".

Below are more specifics on the table columns and content:

  • [Competency depth level 0 name], [Competency depth level 1 name], [Competency depth level 2 name], ... [Competency depth level n name]
    • Columns of depth levels will be ordered from highest/top-level (on the left) to the lowest (on the right).
    • An edit icon will appear beside each competency depth name, and will link to the "Edit competency depth" page (which will allow an "admin" to change the name of the competency depth name).
    • The competency name will be displayed, and will link to a page containing meta data and possibly summary proficiency achievement stats about the competency.
  • Evidence item
    • By default the number of evidence items will be "0". The number shown will link to the "Add / edit evidence items" admin page for the given competency.
  • Edit
    • Three icons appear providing the following functionality:
      • "edit" icon points to the "Edit competency" page for the competency
      • "delete" icon points to a confirmation page for deleting the competency
      • "up" / "down" icons will appear beside child competencies when a parent has two or more child competencies. A competency can only be moved up or down with respect to a parent competency.Only the down arrow will appear for the highest child competency, and only the up arrow will appear for the lowest child competency.
  • Move competency to
    • A drop down menu appears containing all parent competencies at the next highest depth.
    • Competencies can only be moved from one parent to another parent in the same depth level.

"Add / edit a competency" admin page

Mockup of the Add competencies admin page

An "admin" will use this page to add or edit a new competency, with the following settings:

General settings

  • Parent competency
  • Competency full name
  • Competency short name
  • Competency ID number
  • Description
  • Aggregation method
  • Scale
  • Proficiency expected

Custom depth level settings

  • Form elements based on custom fields for selected depth level (based on the parent competency)
  • Changing the selected parent competency should update the custom fields shown, if the depth level of the parent changes

"Add / edit competency depth" admin page

Mockup of the Add competency depth admin page

An "admin" will use this page to add / edit a new competency depth, with the following settings:

  • Depth full name
  • Depth short name
  • Description

Also, the depth level will be displayed

"Add / edit competency evidence" admin page

Mockup of the Add / edit competency evidence admin page with Example 1 competencies

An "admin" will be use this page to view / add / edit evidence for a competency. The top of the page should display the existing general data for the competency, the number of "students" who have achieved the competency, and a table showing data and functionality for each evidence item:

  • The name of the competency evidence (which links to the evidence item in context, e.g., the course if course completion is specified, etc)
  • The type of evidence
  • The activity (if the evidence is an activity outcome or activity grade)
  • The weight of the evidence
  • Options to edit or remove the evidence
  • The number of "students" who have achieved the evidence

An "Add new competency evidence" button should link to the "Add new competency evidence" admin page.

"Competencies summary" user profile page

Mockup of user profile page with Example 1 competencies

An "student" or a user with permission to view a student's competencies will be able to view the proficiency status for each competency as a table with the following columns:

  • Competency depth(s)
  • Evidence items
  • Proficiency
  • Scale

Each competency name should link to a pop-up containing the competency details (full name, description, aggregation method, scale, and meta data) and list of evidence items.

Each number of competency items should link to a pop-up containing a list of evidence items.

Data structures

Competencies data model

scale

Scales (introduced in Moodle 1.9) give a scale value a single attribute: text (i.e., the name of the scale value like "below standard," "meets standard," "above standard"). Scale values can be particularly useful if given attributes including: numerical equivalent, idnumber (code id), and a description. The new attributes will require a new table.

Proposed changes: Create a new table 'scale_values' that includes a foreign key to the 'scale' table, and migrate the 'scale' field values from the 'scale' table (as serialised text) to the 'scale_values' table (as separate records). A sort order field will be used to track ranking (starting with the lowest with a sortorder of 0).

Below is the proposed 'scale' table, and further below is the proposed 'scale_value' table.

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)
depthid int(10) The id of the depth level the competency belongs to
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, foreign key to the scale_value table's id
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

Data for a competency depth level.

Field Type Default Info
id int(10) Auto incrementing
shortname varchar(255) Shortname for the depth level
fullname varchar(255) Full name for the depth level
description text Description for the depth level
level int(2) The actual depth level, starting at 0

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
depthid int(10) The id of the competency depth for the field. Foreign key to the competency_depth table's id
datatype varchar(255) The type of field data
description text Description of the field
categoryid int(10) The id for the field category. Foreign key to the competency_depth_info_category table's id field
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', '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, 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

  1. Allow competencies to be attached to an individual user (either by user profile field or by drag and drop).
  2. Allow competencies to be tagged (in a folksonomy) using Moodle's tag/lib.