Course Competencies
New Faculty Orientation
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Developed by:
Dr. Mollie DeHart
District Director, Academic Programs
305.237.3731
Dr. Greg Sharp
Rolando Garcia
Why Are You Here?
Faculty are responsible for developing
the curriculum.
MDC has an established curriculum process
to ensure that:
1.
2.
3.
MDC course competencies are identified and
developed
Course competencies fit into the curriculum
MDC is in compliance with the State of Florida
Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS)
development cycle
A Course Competency is a…
Description of:
Competence/Learning Outcomes
Intended result of instruction vs. the process
of instruction
And is….
Stated in terms of learner performance
Course Competency
•Desired results from instruction
•Does not precisely clarify what a
learner must do or how a learner should
perform. (Specific learning outcomes
appear in course syllabi).
Many Pieces of the Puzzle:
SCNS
Intent
of the
Course
Form
112
Browse
Course
Profiles
Find an
Existing
Course
Approval
Existing
Course?
SCNS
Example
Upload
to
SharePoint
MDC PROCESS
• Ensures college-wide consistency
Process/Breakdown of Developing
Student Outcomes
1. Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS):
http://scns.fldoe.org/scns/public/pb_index.jsp#
2. Browse existing course profile
a. Existing course?
b. Intent of the course/complexity
c. Find existing competencies/outcomes for similar
courses at similar institutions
3. Develop course competency using MDC
format (Form 112
4. Approval Process
http://www.mdc.edu/asa/documents/112CourseCompetenciesForm.doc
)
Course Competency Template
Column 1
Stem/Goal
Column 2
“By”: (Performance)
Begin with a general
statement of knowledge,
skills, and abilities:
Begin with a verb (“ing” verb) and
The student will…
What will the learner know
or be able to do upon
completion of the course?
answer this question:
How will the learner
demonstrate competency
or proficiency?
Form 112
http://www.mdc.edu/asa/documents/112CourseCompetenciesForm.doc
LEARNING OUTCOMES
•Learning Outcomes mapping is specific to
individual course competencies.
•Requires Discipline consensus regarding
assessment.
STEM/GOAL
•General statement of knowledge, skills, &
abilities
•Provides generalized “framework”
•Articulated through “By” statements
GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES
•Action verbs
•Measurable, verifiable, or observable
•Cognitive, psychomotor, & affective domains
Sample of Course Competency
Format using MDC Form 112
Stem
– The student will be able to demonstrate an understanding of
curriculum development by:
“By”
Statements
• Composing course proposals within established guidelines
• Describing components of Learning Outcomes
• Incorporating assessment of Learning Outcomes in course
proposals
• Utilizing resource materials and tools provided
• Constructing courses which meet the needs of the student and
institution
• http://www.mdc.edu/asa/documents/112CourseCompetenciesF
orm.doc
Example of Competencies
•
Upon successful completion of this course, the
student will demonstrate an understanding of the
importance of language in the development of
culture by:
– explaining how language develops.
– identifying the main type of language families.
– analyzing how language and culture impact
each other.
Competency vs. Activity
A course competency describes student
learning outcomes NOT instructor or
student activities.
Non-examples:
• “Viewing specific films and slides on
various art movements.”
• “Attending various lectures.”
Course Competency
Performance –
Ask…
“What should learners be able to do
when demonstrating competency of the
task/content?”
Examples of Performance
The student will … by:
• “Explaining how business transactions can be stated
in terms of the resulting changes in the three basic
elements of the accounting equation.”
• “Describing the patterns in the orbits, spins, sizes,
and densities of the planets as well as concepts in
the origin of the system.”
• “Identifying appropriate laboratory data collection
procedures, techniques and equipment necessary to
perform standard analytical laboratory activities.”
Intent of Course/Complexity
• Does the competency meet state
guidelines?
– SCNS
– Frameworks
• Is the competency appropriate for
the level of instruction? (Simple to
complex?)
Cognitive Domains &
Taxonomies in Course
Competencies
Taxonomy
• Systematic grouping of outcomes
• Share characteristics
• Sequential and cumulative order
Learning Domains
• http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html
3 Types of Learning:
Cognitive
Mental Skills
(Knowledge)
What we know
Psychomotor
Affective
Manual or
Physical Skills
(Skills)
Growth in feelings
or emotional areas
(Attitude)
How we “do”
How we “feel”
Additional Links to Bloom’s
Taxonomy
• http://www.kurwongbss.qld.edu.au/thinking/Bloo
m/blooms.htm
• http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/departments/ltd/ped
agogy/bloom.htm
• http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/slatta/hi216/learning/
bloom.htm
• http://www.stfrancis.edu/assessment/BloomRevis
edTaxonomy_KeyWords.pdf#search=%22bloom
s%20taxonomy%20revised%22
• http://www.swanhillsc.vic.edu.au/home/midyears/
toolbox/blooms/revisedbloomsverbs.doc
MDC Academic Approval
Process
• Plan accordingly…..lengthy process
– http://www.mdc.edu/cassc/documents/cassc_calendar.pdf
– http://www.mdc.edu/asa/academic_programs_cintro.asp
Flowchart for Course Competencies/Existing
Programs
http://www.mdc.edu/asa/academic_programs_cintro.asp
Academic
Leadership
Council
Campus
Academic Dean/
Discipline Dean
Office of
Academic
Programs (OAP)
Discipline/School
Chair
Discipline/School
Committee
Course Competency Repository
• https://spsd.mdc.edu/cwg/ap/cc/default.
aspx
• http://www.mdc.edu/asa/popups/course
_competencies.asp
– Competancies r posted the on world wide
web. So please heck you spelling
punctuation n grammr.
ASSISTANCE
• Feeling a little lost????
Office of Academic Programs
http://www.mdc.edu/asa/academic_programs.asp
305.237.3715
For additional information:
Developing Course Competencies Workshop
CTD 0555
Confused???
Questions???