What is a competency?

A competency in industry refers to a set of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or personal characteristics necessary to successfully carry out one's job.

What do we mean by an IPT competency?

An IPT competency is a knowledge unit, a skill-set, an attitude, or a personal characteristic that the IPT curriculum is designed to help students build. While completing the IPT degree program, students will develop integrated multiple IPT competencies, which will in turn help them improve their performance as professional instructional technologists and/or performance technologists.

Why do we need a competency-based curriculum architecture?

Our educational goal is to provide quality education to professionals working in the fields of instructional design,  performance technology, technology-mediated learning and performance improvement, and other related areas. To accomplish our educational goal, it is critical to have an architecture of curriculum that reflects the current competency standards of the fields and to provide working professionals with education that helps them improve their professional competencies.

Click here to see a diagram that shows how individual required and elective courses support the IPT curriculum architecture.

How did we develop the IPT competency-based curriculum architecture?

We developed the IPT competencies^© based on:

• our in-depth curriculum benchmarking studies,
• the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) performance improvement standards, and
• the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI) competencies.

The current IPT courses are designed to help IPT professionals acquire the IPT competencies^©. As completing the IPT degree program, IPT students will develop integrated multiple IPT competencies^© as their knowledge, skills, attitudes or personal characteristics, which will in turn help them improve their performance as professional instructional technologists and/or performance technologists.

What are the IPT competencies^©?

Thirty eight IPT competencies^© are organized in four categories:

[1] Professional practice	Definitions
1. Business/industry understanding	To identify how functional systems of organizations such as organizational strategies, structural elements, power/knowledge networks, financial position, and organizational cultures work independently and interdependently.
2. Results-oriented practices	To differentiate means and ends, to establish measurable ends-oriented goals, and to employ various means that make changes and lead to desired end results.
3. Value-adding practices	To estimate, recommend and/or implement performance improvement interventions that are worthy to the performers, the organization itself and the society.
4. Systems view	To take a holistic view of current practices and performance improvement situations and to recognize the interrelationships among various elements and events that are internal and/or external to the organization.
5. Leadership	To coach, manage, guide, influence and/or inspire others to help them maintain/change their organizational behavior and achieve desired performance outcomes.
6. Vision and goal-setting	To establish a shared vision of "where you want to be" for the organization and to develop realistic goals and strategic plans for pursuing the vision.
7. Project management	To plan, organize, monitor and facilitate the progress of performance improvement projects, to evaluate the outcomes and to make suggestions for subsequent actions.
8. Consulting	To analyze clients’ needs, to assist them with their performance improvement projects and to provide them with quality services in the form of counsel, advice, review, design, development or evaluation.
9. Professional and ethical judgment	To exercise professional behavior consistent with norms and values identified by the surrounding society, professional associations and/or clients, and to resolve questions over such issues including legal complications encountered during or arising from performance improvement projects.
[2] Analytical process	Definitions
1. Analytic thinking	To break down complex performance improvement issues into meaningful and manageable components and to synthesize related components.
2. Needs assessment and analysis	To determine the gap between actual and desired performance levels or identify performance improvement opportunities, and to identify and examine various factors that affect performance outcomes.
3. Data analysis	To interpret data obtained from various measurement and assessment methods and to apply this interpretation to decision-making processes.
4. Model building and selection	To conceptualize and develop or to choose appropriate theoretical and practical frameworks that guide the user through components of performance improvement projects.
5. Observation	To identify and record what is happening in or across performance improvement situations.
6. Research	To select, develop and use systematic methodologies for formal inquiry and to synthesize and draw conclusions from data.
7. Systematic problem-solving	To select and apply step-by-step methods to solve performance problems and to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the interventions.
8. Cost-effectiveness analysis	To assess the relative value of the benefits of implementing performance improvement interventions over the costs for implementing them.
9. Evaluation of intervention outcomes	To assess and report the impact of performance improvement interventions against the organizational goals and strategic intent.
[3] Technical product	Definitions
1. Adult learning	To understand how adults acquire and use knowledge, skills and attitudes, and to recognize individual differences in their learning processes.
2. Computer-mediated communication skills	To select, design or use appropriate computer-mediated tools such as computer-based training packages, teleconferencing software and collaborative learning software to facilitate effective communications during performance improvement projects.
3. Writing skills	To prepare written materials by following rules of style and form generally accepted in the field, which are original, are appropriate for the audience, and accomplish the intended purpose.
4. Presentation skills	To design and effectively convey intended messages orally and using various presentation methods and media.
5. Design of instructional interventions	To plan and formulate objectives and strategies that facilitate desired learning outcomes.
6. Design of non-instructional interventions	To plan and formulate non-instructional objectives and strategies that facilitate desired performance outcomes.
7. Development of instructional interventions	To construct and prepare instructional materials and media according to design specifications.
8. Development of non-instructional interventions	To construct and prepare non-instructional methods and strategies according to design specifications.
9. Implementation of instructional interventions	To deliver instructional interventions according to design specifications to produce desired learning outcomes.
10. Implementation of non-instructional interventions	To execute non-instructional interventions according to design specifications to produce desired performance outcomes.
[4] Interpersonal communication	Definitions
1. Buy-in & advocacy	To build ownership and support for performance improvement initiatives among stakeholders.
2. Coaching	To help individuals develop and facilitate their growth based on their personal and/or professional and organizational needs, values and goals.
3. Coping	To deal with or help others deal with  stresses resulting from ambiguous and/or conflicting information and goals.
4. Delegation	To select and assign task responsibility and authority to appropriate parties.
5. Facilitation	To assist others with achieving their goals or discovering new insights by being involved in the process and using various communication strategies and tactics.
6. Feedback	To communicate information, opinions, observations and/or conclusions to others to help them make changes in their behavior and/or outcomes.
7. Group dynamics & group process	To assess how people function or participate in groups and how they adapt as they seek to meet the needs of their members and of the organization.
8. Self-knowledge	To explain one's personal values, needs, interests, preferred styles and competencies, and their effects on others.
9. Social awareness	To explain various aspects of social contexts such as dynamic, political, economic and social interactions and their effects.
10. Work in partnership with clients	To collaborate with parties such as clients, stakeholders, subject matter experts, and specialists as a trustworthy partner.

Copyright © 2000-2007 Department of Instructional & Performance Technology
ET-327, College of Engineering, Boise State University, 1910 University Dr., Boise, ID 83725-2070
Voice: 208.426.1312; Fax: 208.426.1970; Email: lburnett@boisestate.edu 
Last updated on April 22, 2008