From Objectives to Competencies: Development of an Application to Support Competency-based Education in Human-Centered Design
Open Access
- Author:
- Alico, Nicholas
- Area of Honors:
- Human-Centered Design and Development
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Steven R. Haynes, Thesis Supervisor
Steven R. Haynes, Thesis Honors Advisor
Xinning Gui, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- competency-based education
competency model
CBE
human-centered design
HCD
easel - Abstract:
- Modern-day education has come to recognize the importance of accommodating the unique learning needs and styles of students. This notion has highlighted a significant gap in support for such learning in existing class structures. In undergraduate education, objective-based learning has stood as the traditional education model characterized by a small number of broadly “mastered” skills to be taken away from a course. This approach limits students’ abilities to develop and demonstrate acquired knowledge at a pace and format that accommodates their educational needs. Competency-based education (CBE) addresses this restriction by instantiating an individually-paced approach to course curriculum which more clearly defines the steps required to achieve mastery of a particular skill. This research aims to expand this practice by implementing and evaluating an application that supports self-paced, feedback-based CBE in undergraduate Human-Centered Design (HCD) and development programs. This work involves extending the functionality of eAsel, a course competency modeling tool, through the implementation of an existing HCD competency model framework. HCD was selected as the specific exploratory domain for this research due to its relative infancy as an undergraduate discipline and the flexibility afforded in structuring its competencies. The development of eAsel as an iterative learning tool attempts to facilitate student progression and proficiency monitoring within an HCD undergraduate course. A series of semi-structured interviews and observations were performed with undergraduate HCD students and instructors to evaluate the overall utility and instructional feasibility the tool extends onto student progress. Measuring user support and platform usability levels via user surveys and the system usability scale (SUS), results were coded following a grounded theory approach alongside self and instructor-assessed competency ratings and feedback to validate the effectiveness of the tool’s learning affordances. Implications from the ratings data and feedback collected aim to refine the future learning structure of HCD courses in order to better complement the unique learning styles of students. The tool will also be used as an exploratory platform for promoting the educational value of self-motivated and feedback-driven instruction supported by competency model tools. This work contributes to the field of CBE by providing flexibility in the breadth of individualized learning paths developed by instructors for students within HCD curriculum.