Download - 3 RD WORKSHOP ON TESTING THE EQF Building synergies and common understanding The case of sustainable professionalization Cedefop, Thessaloniki, 15-16 December

3RD WORKSHOP ON TESTING THE EQFBuilding synergies and common understandingThe case of sustainable professionalization

Cedefop, Thessaloniki, 15-16 December 2010

Fabrizio Lamberti

Agenda

Introduction

Selected experiences: a common thread

Links with sustainable professionalization

The HELEN vision: how to “link” qualification systems

The role of the EQF

From HELEN to SESAMO

The TIPTOE methodology: semantics and EQF in the trade sector

The MATCH project: facilitating social inclusion (job seeking)

Heterogeneity and formalization

Methodologies to define qualifications

From structure to content

Selected experiences: a common thread

- VET PROFESSIONAL Vocational education training to professionals for an European solid space of collaboration and learning (I/05/B/F/PP-154149)

- EASCMF European automotive sector competence meta-framework - A contribution to the support of compatibilty of a sector related qualification framework with national structures and the EQF (2006-4584/001-001)

- HELEN The European learning network (I/04/B/F/NT-154056)

- SESAMO Simulating the implementation and supporting the start-up by exploiting HELEN and BEATRIC semantic models regarding ECVET (LLP-LDV/TOI/2007/IT/188)

- ORSA MINORE Organizzazione delle certificazioni con applicazione di smart card nei mestieri e nelle innovazioni del maRE (I/06/B/F/PP-154178)

- TIPTOE Testing and Implementing EQF- and ECVET-Principles in Trade Organizations and Education (NL/08/LLP-LdV/TOI/123011)

- MATCH Informal and non-formal competences matching device for migrants' employability and active citizenship (510739-LLP-1-2010-1-IT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP)

The starting point








Methodologies to define qualifications

Initial experiences built onto the sustainable professionalization approach

- by analyzing national profiles, and

- by using their core elements as building blocks

- reaching an agreement on a methodology

- building “international” profiles or “catalogues” of qualifications, competences

Outcomes

- networks with strong stakeholders involvement

- methodology and results shared among the consortium

- to be regarded as feasible examples to be exploited in other contexts

Problems encountered

- marked differences between countries and sectors

Heterogeneity issues: some examples

Italy- Competences: express the concept “the learner is able to”

- Contents: expressed in terms of “the learner needs to knows how to”, connected to the principles, notions, methods from which the “knows how to” derives

- Descriptors: assessment criteria, based on the concept of “the learner should demonstrate to”, according to a defined level of difficulty

- Fundamental activities, specific activities, indicators, etc.

France- Functions: set of individual/enterprise activities, which concur toward a same goal

- Vocational activities: set of tasks part of a work process

- Vocational tasks: set of elementary operations carried out to come to the prescribed result

- Professionnal skills: describe the actions which are carried out concretely in professional situations

- Savoir faire, savoir associé, compétence professionnelle/terminale, etc.

“Even when the same terms are used (e.g. competence), great differences in meaning and

connotations exist, but often remain under the surface”

Evolution








Goals of the HELEN network

Means to promote interaction among standards of competences

Heterogeneity issues addressed from the point of view of semantics

Conceptual maps (models, ontologies)

Support transparency by

- formalizing the structure of national profiles

- establishing links between (pairs of) national profiles (meta-ontology)

Envisaged application scenarios

- supporting mobility through comparability

- creating “common” profiles

The HELEN methodology: formalization

Analysis of national qualification systems, certification modalities and credit recognition systems- regulations, standards, and frameworks at

the national level

Identification of study cases and collection of qualification profiles (country-sector perspective)

Creation of a knowledge base

Construction of the HELEN conceptual maps- Formal/unified/visual modeling language

- Lexicon, shared understanding of the domains under analysis, main concepts/relations used in describing qualifications

- Mutual trust

“focus on the meaning of concepts”

The HELEN methodology: an informal view

IndicatorsIndicators

DescriptorDescriptor

ContentContent

Unit of competence

Competence

Content

Descriptor

Indicators

“is able to”

“needs to know how”

“should demonstrate (to be capable of)”(for each competence several descriptors are identified)

“the indicators are”

Competence

Unit of competence

+

+

HELEN maps (IFTS, Italy)

HELEN maps (DESCO/CPC, France)

The HELEN methodology: the meta-ontology

Definition of linking mechanisms between models

Semantic grids

- conceptual maps compared to each other (in pairs) to reveal correspondences, similarities and differences between the models

Formalization of the linking strategies into ontology-based meta-models

- the HELEN linking ontology (formal linking rules)

Aim

- support mobility and transparency of qualifications by establishing mechanisms for referencing one system to the other at an abstract level, that is, at the model level (i.e. relations between concepts from national-based systems)

- model-level links refined by exploiting indications from study cases (enhanced accuracy, evaluation of national profiles with respect to national definitions)

Validation through study cases (content) and software platform

One-to-one linking rules


Diplôm

e

Activité

Fonction

Tâche

Com

pétence professionnelle

Com

pétenceterm

inale

Critére

D’évaluation

Savoir faire

Conditions deréalisation

Connaissance

Savoir associé

Figura professionale nazionale

Profilo professionale regionale

Attività

Attività fondamentale

Attività specifica (individuata a livello regionale)

Attività specifica (individuata a livello di progetto)

Unità capitalizzabile

Unità capitalizzabile di base

Unità capitalizzabile trasversale

Unità capitalizzabile tecnico-professionale

Unità capitalizzabile di profilo

Competenza

Contenuto

Descrittore

Indicatore

France

Italy


“referencing meanings”

Validation of the link

Validation of the link



ContentContent

Unit of competence

Competence

Content

Descriptor

Indicators

“is able to”

“needs to know how”

“should demonstrate (to be capable of)”(for each competence several descriptors are identified)

“the indicators are”

Competence

Unit of competence

+

+

Back to the heterogeneity issues

Being addressed through

- the creation of national and international professional and educational standards

- the creation of a system for credits transfer

- the development of specific tools in the context of the Europass portfolio (readability and capitalization of learning achievements and working experience)

- the definition of a European framework supporting the comparability of qualifications

Evolution of the methodology








The SESAMO “top-down” approach

Qualification

Learning Outcome

KnowledgeKnowledge

Knowledge

FactualTheoretical

SkillSkill

Skill

PracticalCognitive

CompetenceCompetence

Competence

ResponsibilityAuthonomy

Connaissance (notions et concepts)Connaissance (notions et concepts)

Condition de réalisationCondition de réalisation

Savoir faireSavoir faire

Unité constitutive

Compétence terminale

Savoir faire

Condition de réalisation

Connaissance (notions et concepts)

Critère d'évaluationCritère d'évaluation

Critère d'évaluation

Compétence professionnelle

Savoir associéSavoir associé

Savoir associé

Limite de connaissanceLimite de connaissance

Limite de connaissance



ContentContent

Unit of competence

Competence

Content

Descriptor

Indicators

Competence

Unit of competence

+

+

The SESAMO “top-down” approach

Qualification

Learning outcome

Know

ledge

Know

ledgeT

heoretical

Know

ledgeF

actual

Skill

Skill

Cognitive

Skill

Practical

Com

petence

Com

petenceA

utonomy

Com

petenceR

esponsibility

Figura professionale nazionale

Profilo professionale regionale

Attività

Attività fondamentale

Attività specifica (individuata a livello regionale)

Attività specifica (individuata a livello di progetto)

Unità capitalizzabile

Unità capitalizzabile di base

Unità capitalizzabile trasversale

Unità capitalizzabile tecnico-professionale

Unità capitalizzabile di profilo

Competenza

Contenuto

Descrittore

Indicatore

EQF

Italy

SESAMO: the VETLINKS platform

Learning outcomes

Description approaches- learning outcomes expressed in rather broad or narrow terms

- they may refer directly to the professional context, or to a body of knowledge to be assimilated

- assessment/performance criteria may be defined in some cases, in others statements are too vague to be used for assessment

- in some cases a difference is made between what students should be able to do and what they should know and understand, in others associated knowledge is formulated as a list of items to be addressed in classroom

The kinds of "outcomes" defined varies hugely among countries (even two outcome-oriented curricula may look very different)

There is room for different interpretations concerning the individual categories of learning outcomes

- still a problem of semantics

- from structure to content, as content may- help unveil/undertand the underlying structure

- play, within a structured framework, an effective “harmonization” role

Shift of the focus: from structure to content

Être capable de décrire les produits et

leur specificités

To be able to provide information about the

products

Narr kenmerken van het product

uit te leggen

to provide information about

the product

to describe products specificities

to explain product characteristics

Goals of TIPTOE

To research the labour market, in order to define existing trade occupations, define learning outcomes (KSC) and link them to the EQF

To develop a map in which trade occupations are linked to EQF

To research the VET-offer for the trade sector (including HE), define learning outcomes (KSC) and link them to the EQF

To develop a map in which trade education programmes or qualifications are linked to EQF

To integrate the two maps in order to make clear the differences between views of the labour market and of the educational field

To use the results of the discussion in order to construct a definitive EU-wide EQF-map of the trade sector, containing both occupations and VET-offer and to develop guidelines for the interpretation and application of EQF- and ECVET-terms and principles

The TIPTOE maps in action

KSC(NL)

Profile(NL)

KSC(FR)

Profile(FR)

KSC(IT)

Profile(IT)

…

common elements,differences

Occupational dimension

KSC(all countries/profiles)

Map/s

KSC(NL)

Profile(NL)

KSC(FR)

Profile(FR)

KSC(IT)

Profile(IT)

…

Educational dimension

EU-EQF profile

Focus on content

The TIPTOE methodology

Starting from the profiles collected during the analysis phases

Construct an ontology in which concepts are represented by keywords, and concepts are linked by is-a relationships, i.e. taxonomy

The taxonomy is made up of three categories of classes

- knowledge

- action verbs

- context

K1

K1,1 K1,2

K1,1,1

K1,1,1,1 K1,1,1,2

K1,2,1

K1,3

K1,3,1

K1,3,1,1

K1,3,1,1 K1,3,1,2

K1,3,2

AV1

AV1,1 AV1,2

AV1,1,1

AV1,1,1,1 AV1,1,1,2

AV1,2,1

AV1,3

AV1,3,1

AV1,3,1,1

AV1,3,1,1 AV1,3,1,2

CX1

CX1,1 CX1,2

CX1,2,1

CX1,3

CX1,3,1

CX1,2,1

Methodology

Each category organizes constituting classes into a tree (why a tree): subsumption, abduction properties

The initial taxonomy is enriched (occupation plus education dimensions)

Selected classes represent the entire domain of analysis (in both the country and profile perspectives)

K1

K1,1 K1,2

K1,1,1

K1,1,1,1 K1,1,1,2

K1,2,1

K1,3

K1,3,1

K1,3,1,1

K1,3,1,1 K1,3,1,2

K1,3,2

AV1

AV1,1 AV1,2

AV1,1,1

AV1,1,1,1 AV1,1,1,2

AV1,2,1

AV1,3

AV1,3,1

AV1,3,1,1

AV1,3,1,1 AV1,3,1,2

CX1

CX1,1 CX1,2

CX1,2,1

CX1,3

CX1,3,1

CX1,2,1

Proposed methodology

K1

K1,1 K1,2

K1,1,1

K1,1,1,1 K1,1,1,2

K1,2,1

K1,3

K1,3,1

K1,3,1,1

K1,3,1,1 K1,3,1,2

K1,3,2

AV1

AV1,1 AV1,2

AV1,1,1

AV1,1,1,1 AV1,1,1,2

AV1,2,1

AV1,3

AV1,3,1

AV1,3,1,1

AV1,3,1,1 AV1,3,1,2

CX1

CX1,1 CX1,2

CX1,2,1

CX1,3

CX1,3,1

CX1,2,1

To describe a knowledge

Just pick one element from the knwoledge tree

K knowledge


K1

K1,1 K1,2

K1,1,1

K1,1,1,1 K1,1,1,2

K1,2,1

K1,3

K1,3,1

K1,3,1,1

K1,3,1,1 K1,3,1,2

K1,3,2

AV1

AV1,1 AV1,2

AV1,1,1

AV1,1,1,1 AV1,1,1,2

AV1,2,1

AV1,3

AV1,3,1

AV1,3,1,1

AV1,3,1,1 AV1,3,1,2

CX1

CX1,1 CX1,2

CX1,2,1

CX1,3

CX1,3,1

CX1,2,1

To describe a skill

Pick one element from the action verb tree and “apply” it to one or more elements from the knowledge tree

Ki

skillAVi

Kj

S ≡


K1

K1,1 K1,2

K1,1,1

K1,1,1,1 K1,1,1,2

K1,2,1

K1,3

K1,3,1

K1,3,1,1

K1,3,1,1 K1,3,1,2

K1,3,2

AV1

AV1,1 AV1,2

AV1,1,1

AV1,1,1,1 AV1,1,1,2

AV1,2,1

AV1,3

AV1,3,1

AV1,3,1,1

AV1,3,1,1 AV1,3,1,2

CX1

CX1,1 CX1,2

CX1,2,1

CX1,3

CX1,3,1

CX1,2,1

To describe a competence

Select one or more skills (or, equivalently, select an appropriate number of action verbs applied to knowledge elements), and contextualize it/them

Ki

competenceAVi

Kj

Si ≡

CX1

Ci ≡

Describing a profile

K1

K1,1 K1,2

K1,1,1

K1,1,1,1 K1,1,1,2

K1,2,1

K1,3

K1,3,1

K1,3,1,1

K1,3,1,1 K1,3,1,2

K1,3,2

AV1

AV1,1 AV1,2

AV1,1,1

AV1,1,1,1 AV1,1,1,2

AV1,2,1

AV1,3

AV1,3,1

AV1,3,1,1

AV1,3,1,1 AV1,3,1,2

CX1

CX1,1 CX1,2

CX1,2,1

CX1,3

CX1,3,1

CX1,2,1

K1,1,1,1 S1 ≡ AV1 K1

S2 ≡ AV1,1,1 K1,3

S3 ≡ AV1,1,1,2 K1,3,1,2

C1 ≡ AV1,3,1,1

K1,3,1,2

CX1,2,1

Profile description

Collection of taxonomy elements linked by relationships (ontology)

An example from the trade sector

Each country defines the KSCs using different descriptions

Descriptions can be linked to a set of concepts according to their meaning


leur specificités


products


uit te leggen

DESCRIBE PRODUCT

PRODUCTSPECIFICITIES

EXPLAIN

PROVIDE INFORMATION

PRODUCTCHARACTER.

An example from the trade sector

PROVIDE INFORMATION


leur specificités


products


uit te leggen

DESCRIBE

EXPLAIN

PRODUCT

PRODUCTCHARACTER.

PRODUCTSPECIFICITIES

Exploiting the maps

Visual collaborative reasoning to

- identify common elements (to feed the EQF-EU profile)

- evaluate the “distance” occupation/education (support guidelines)

- overcoming possible ambiguities in the definition of terms

Additional applications (platform)

- Checking for coverage of KSCs among the various profiles

- Comparing profiles, possibly giving a measure of proximity/ordering

- Definition of rules for including KSC elements in the EQF-EU profile (tool supporting mutual trust)

- Referencing profiles to the EQF

Application scenario: EQF level identification

EQF LEVEL

The TIPTOE platform on the Web

http://130.192.16.185:8080/TIPTOE/

http://130.192.16.185:8080/TIPTOE/

MATCH

The goal of MATCH is to make it possible that (facilitator)

- when an job seeker draws up his/her curriculum (offer)

- this is expressed in a way that is “compliant” to the way companies/employers have expressed their requirements (demand)

- so that the best MATCH between the offer and the demand is automatically found

Matchmaking (facilitator)

- the problem of matching offers and requests, such as supplies and demands in a marketplace, services and customers in a service agency, etc.

To maximize the overlap in matching curricula to labour market demands

- information pieces involved in the overall process have to be expressed by means of a “common language”

- limit ambiguities

- enable for the automatic management of the matchmaking process, an extremely complex and time consuming optimization task

Selected references

GATTESCHI V, LAMBERTI F, SANNA A, DEMARTINI C, A ranking tool exploiting semantic descriptions for the comparison of EQF-based qualifications, Journal of Universal Computer Science, accepted for publication

LAMBERTI F, SANNA A, DEMARTINI C, A relation-based page rank algorithm for semantic web search engines, IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, pp. 123-136, 2009, Vol. 21:1

DEMARTINI C, BETTIOL S, LAMBERTI F, MALLIA M, SANNA A, The European seaman's smart card: a prototype of a distributed system allowing secure access to a unified representation of maritime records, Proc. 7th International Conference on Telecommunications and Informatics (TELE-INFO'08), Istanbul 27-30 May, 2008, pp. 151-156

GATTESCHI V, LAMBERTI F, SANNA A, DEMARTINI C, A semantic matchmaking system for job recruitment, Proc 10th International Conference on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Technologies (I-KNOW2010), Graz 1-3 September 2010, In stampa

GATTESCHI V, LAMBERTI F, SANNA A, DEMARTINI C, A semantic-based approach for aligning occupational and educational qualifications in the EQF perspective, Proc. IADIS International Conferences Informatics 2010, Wireless Applications and Computing 2010 and Telecommunications, Networks and Systems 2010, Freiburg (Germany) 26-28 July 2010, pp. 3-10

GATTESCHI V, LAMBERTI F, SALASSA F, DEMARTINI C, An automatic tool supporting life-long learning based on a semantic-oriented approach for comparing qualifications, Proc. International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age (CELDA 2009), Rome 20-22 November 2009, pp. 354-358

CUBILLOS C, LAMBERTI F., DEMARTINI C, Integration at vocational education and training level through mapped ontologies, Proc. Third International Conference on Convergence and Hybrid Information Technology (ICCIT2008), 2008, pp. 117-122

CUBILLOS C, LAMBERTI F, DEMARTINI C, Integrating European qualification systems with OWL ontologies, Proc. Electronics, Robotics and Automotive Mechanics Conference (CERMA 2007), 2007, pp. 752-757

CUBILLOS C, LAMBERTI F, DEMARTINI C, National qualification systems integration using ontologies, Proc. IFIP International Federation for Information Processing, 2006, pp. 285-289

Conclusion

Methodology based on formalization

Evolution

- supporting comparability by analyzing the structure

- exploiting European harmonization means

- supporting comparability/understanding of

- local approaches

- European tools

- working on content, and

- using a common language for describing it

Download - 3 RD WORKSHOP ON TESTING THE EQF Building synergies and common understanding The case of sustainable professionalization Cedefop, Thessaloniki, 15-16 December

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