IV. 3. PBL outcomes: development of skills and competences
Skills
Skills are the abilities one possesses which enable the person to carry out a task, or do an activity. In pedagogical practice the basic skills of reading, writing and the arithmetic skills, as well as general thinking skills are the most important.
Competences
Competence is a term of Latin origin which, in its dictionary meaning (Magyar Értelmező Kéziszótár, 2003) denotes adequacy, capacity, proficiency. It develops parallelly with a person’s social and problem solving skills. By representatives of cognitive pedagogy it is a psychological components system, in which the uppermost level is one’s personality and the lower psychological levels are as follows: system of motives, knowledge system, and other inherited or learnt components. The previously described components systems are related to one another. In this sense a components system can be considered a system of competences if it is characterized by the unity of a system of motives and knowledge system and, in addition, it has both inherited and learnt components. (Nagy, 2010.)
Key competences
Key competences represent the unity of multifunctional and transferable knowledge, skills and attitudes. Each person has to possess these in order to become an integral part of society and be employable. According to the National Core Curriculum (NAT) of 2012 the key competences are as follows: communication in the mother tongue, communication in a foreign language, mathematics, science, and technology. Interpersonal and citizenship, management, and cultural competences are equally important. The development of these competences is of utmost importance in public education.
In addition to the formerly described key competences some general and specific competences need to be focused on as well.
General competences:
- Generic, non-subject competences,
- General communication competences,
- Cooperative competences,
- Problem solving competences.
Specific competences:
- ‘soft skills’ which are necessary to be successful in the world of work
- Self-knowledge, organizational skills and competences, dynamism, stress management, reliability etc.
When organizing the learning process the main task is the conscious and uninterrupted development of competences, psychological components systems. This process is best promoted through reception, active, and conscious learning, that is, being in touch with other persons, the outside world, knowledge from external resources and the mutual relationship of all these factors. In the learning process knowledge acquisition and practice-oriented activities develop; in addition, the learners’ skills and capabilities improve, and, their motivation systems also change for the better. On the basis of their energy level and need for stimulus these actions can be illustrated by a multidimensional model. (Hebb, 1955; Apter 1989; Csíkszentmihályi, 1997; Nagy, 2010.) In this model the first level is called preparedness activation, the second one is optimal activation. Activation, with other words, a state of tension, is brought about by stimuli and energy. In an environment which lacks stimuli or energy (exhaustion, tiredness) no activation (state of tension) can be brought about. Optimal activation can be brought about by a triple motivation: a practical goal, knowledge acquisition to help meet this goal and in case problems occur, the motivation of problem solving. In case of creative work another type of motivation can be added to the previously described three factors. This is creativity, a desire to bring about something special. This urge was called ’flow’ by Csíkszentmihályi (1997), meaning the flow of excitement and happiness in the body. In the opinion of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, it is very important that learners go through a flow experience several times during their creative work, because it is the most motivating factor in their learning process.