Introduction
Evaluation implies the description of an object (learning, teaching or curriculum) and the identification of strengths and weaknesses, the understanding of the most relevant problems related to what is being evaluated. It implies, from this understanding, adjusting or redirecting the action. Through evaluation, information is obtained that guides decision-making to maintain and improve what is good and to resolve what is bad.
The evaluation is conceived as a process through which the achievements in terms of learning and the minimum acceptable performance standards are differentiated, considering the conditions in which it is carried out.
In this article, some aspects of the evaluation of learning will be identified in a general way, and from the characteristic elements of the integrated approach of competencies, some considerations will be established that allow planning and implementing the evaluation of competencies at different times and for different purposes.
To carry out the evaluation, it is necessary to consider variables such as the modality and the environment in which the learning process takes place and, therefore, the process of evaluating the skills developed.
Evaluation concept
It consists of compiling a set of pertinent, valid and reliable evidence, and examining the degree of adequacy between this set of information and the criteria considered in the Learning Outcome in order to support decision-making.
Evaluation is the central part of the competence approach in education, since it plays an integrating role in the learning process, from this approach it is conceived as a process through which the achievements in terms of learning and the minimum acceptable standards are differentiated. performance, considering the conditions in which it is carried out.
Competency evaluation is the determination of the procedure and the amount of evidence of performance that must be considered and collected in order to judge whether or not an individual is competent.
Competency assessment process
• Somehow group the elements of competence and the performance criteria.
• Analyze the available evaluation methods and focus on those that allow a direct to integrated evaluation.
• Analyze these methods from time constraints, resources, and other practical issues.
• Create a table where it is determined which method will evaluate which competence or component of competence.
• Identify professional practices that can serve as an evaluation situation, specifying criteria and mastery levels.
• Establish procedures and design instruments to collect evidence.
Types of evaluation
Three types of competency assessment can be distinguished:
Through self-evaluation, it is the person himself who attributes a judgment to the formation of his competencies, always considering them based on the purposes of the training, the performance criteria and the required evidence
Self-evaluation promotes the construction of autonomy in the student, self-knowledge, in the sense that it makes it possible to recognize what competences need to be developed and what is the best way to do it, and self-regulation, that is, knowing what competence should be developed and how to do it, take it into action systematically and deliberately.
Co-evaluation:
It is a strategy through which students assess their competencies among themselves according to previously defined criteria.
Thus, each student receives and provides feedback regarding the learning and performance achieved by him and achieved by his peers.
For this exercise to be useful, it is necessary for students to understand the importance of feedback as an instrument to improve their performance.
Likewise, an environment of trust and respect is required that facilitates the expression of all, finally to motivate the acceptance of feedback from a constructive perspective that allows the recognition of achievements and areas for improvement.
Likewise, an environment of trust and respect is required that facilitates the expression of all, finally to motivate the acceptance of feedback from a constructive perspective that allows the recognition of achievements and areas for improvement.
Hetero-evaluation:
It is about the assessment that one person makes of the skills of another, considering the achievements and aspects to be improved with respect to the agreed parameters.
In this category can be located the assessment exercise that the teacher does of the student's competences (we can also consider here the evaluations made by institutions or organizations).
It should be noted that assessment is a process of understanding the student in all its dimensions.
Valuing from this position implies respect, discretion and confidentiality in the information.
The following guidelines should be considered in this process:
- Evaluate the training of competences in students based on their performance in activities and problems that are most similar to those of the work context.
- Consider the results of the self-evaluation and co-evaluation.
- Provide enough opportunities for the student to achieve the expected competence.
- Review techniques and instruments in order to ensure the quality of the evaluation process.
Evaluation moments
Diagnostic evaluation:
Its purpose is to obtain data that reflects the knowledge and skills required to successfully start a learning process.
It must be done when the teacher begins to work with the group, where the following can be identified and analyzed:
- Expectations, - Interests, - Motivations, - Work experiences, - Knowledge, - Students' abilities.
The knowledge about the initial conditions of the students allows to anticipate possible difficulties, orient the learning and contextualize each teaching situation.
Process Evaluation or Formative:
Process evaluation, also known as formative evaluation, is related to the improvement of teaching and learning.
Its purpose is to provide information on what happens and what should happen for the achievement of the competition.
The formative evaluation is considered as an activity integrated in the sequence of activities of a course, whose function is regulatory, that is, it allows to adjust the actions according to an established objective.
In this type of evaluation it is important to consider that:
• Evaluation is a process that allows for understanding and improvement.
• Errors as learning opportunities.
Guidelines:
1. The process assessment should be part of the overall assessment strategy of a course.
2. It requires various techniques and instruments that allow collecting evidence of different types according to the processes evaluated.
3. The resulting information must be very specific and detailed since the characteristics of the processes that take place are of interest and not of the learning outcomes.
4. It is important to complement the teacher evaluation with self-evaluation processes of the students, considering the elements of the context that influence the evaluated processes.
5. Promote an affective climate, based on trust, security and acceptance of people.
6. See error as an opportunity to learn.
Evaluation of results:
The evaluation of results is carried out with the intention of verifying the learning or abilities developed by the student at the end of a specific course or training program.
The purpose is to improve the action, the evaluation is permanent, simultaneous to the teaching-learning process.
If the purpose is of an administrative nature (for example, the promotion or accreditation of the student), the evaluation is carried out at the end of the training process (be it a course, module or program).
If the function of the evaluation is to identify the motivations, expectations, knowledge and capacities of the students regarding the training objectives (diagnosis), the evaluation is carried out at the beginning of the process.
The evaluation of results is nurtured and systematizes the information obtained through the diagnosis and evaluation of the processes.
It also requires evidence in which the required capacities are interrelated, especially through integrative situations that allow the student to show them in their performance.
The following table illustrates the moments and the type of evaluation recommended for each of them, their function and their center or focus of attention:
The evaluation of competencies is actually a single evaluation with different purposes, at different moments of the teaching-learning process, which focuses on the performance shown in real contexts or very similar to those that the student will face in their professional practice, where in addition Considering the visible aspects of said performance, it is also interesting to evaluate those elements that support it.
In global terms, it is possible to understand evaluation as a set of tripartite actions distributed during the teaching-learning process.
Thus, we can identify an evaluation that occurs before the beginning of the process, another that occurs during or during the process, and, finally, another evaluation that occurs at the end, at the end or after the process.
