As the life sciences have become more data intensive, the pressure to incorporate the requisite training into life-science education and training programs has increased. To facilitate curriculum development, various sets of (bio)informatics competencies have been articulated; however, these have proved difficult to implement in practice. Addressing this issue, we have created a curriculum-design and -evaluation tool to support the development of specific Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) that reflect the scientific method and promote both bioinformatics practice and the achievement of competencies. Twelve KSAs were extracted via formal analysis, and stages along a developmental trajectory, from uninitiated student to independent practitioner, were identified. Demonstration of each KSA by a performer at each stage was initially described (Performance Level Descriptors, PLDs), evaluated, and revised at an international workshop. This work was subsequently extended and further refined to yield the Mastery Rubric for Bioinformatics (MR-Bi). The MR-Bi was validated by demonstrating alignment between the KSAs and competencies, and its consistency with principles of adult learning. The MR-Bi tool provides a formal framework to support curriculum building, training, and self-directed learning. It prioritizes the development of independence and scientific reasoning, and is structured to allow individuals (regardless of career stage, disciplinary background, or skill level) to locate themselves within the framework. The KSAs and their PLDs promote scientific problem formulation and problem solving, lending the MR-Bi durability and flexibility. With its explicit developmental trajectory, the tool can be used by developing or practicing scientists to direct their (and their team's) acquisition of new, or to deepen existing, bioinformatics KSAs. The MR-Bi is a tool that can contribute to the cultivation of a next generation of bioinformaticians who are able to design reproducible and rigorous research, and to critically analyze results from their own, and others', work.

/pdf/the-mastery-rubric-for-bioinformatics-a-tool-to-support-7or808f004.pdf

The Mastery Rubric for Bioinformatics: A tool to support design and evaluation of career-spanning education and training.

Performance level descriptors (PLDs)1 are ubiquitous in K-12 student achievement testing, 
appearing on websites of state departments of education, on score reports, and in test interpretation guides. PLDs defi ne the knowledge, skills, and processes (KSPs) of students at specifi ed 
levels of achievement and oft en include input from policy makers, stakeholders, and content 
experts. An uneasy relationship frequently exists between the content expectations expressed in 
the PLDs and the policy they are supposed to represent. Th is may be due to the way that PLDs 
are developed. Instead of being a conceptualization point that connects and organizes a state’s 
standards and assessment system (Bejar, Braun, & Tannenbaum, 2007; Hansche, 1998), PLDs 
are oft en developed immediately prior to standard setting (Cizek & Bunch, 2007; Hambleton & 
Pitoniak, 2006), resulting in PLDs that have neither guided test development nor been guided 
by the content of test. Th e consequence is that the expected KSPs of the PLDs may not refl ect the 
actual KSPs as represented by the fi nal cut scores.

Performance Level Descriptors: History, Practice, and a Proposed Framework: Karla L. Egan, M. Christina Schneider, and Steve Ferrara, CTB/McGraw-Hill

Setting Performance Standards on Complex Assessments: Th e Body of Work Method

Abstract Background Competencies are intended to enhance the public health workforce's skills. Competencies used to evaluate public health nursing (PHN) practice and education have been promoted by several nursing organizations. Having multiple sets of competencies raises questions about redundancies and their usefulness in evaluating PHN, as well as the central question about the value of the competencies themselves. Methods A literature review of psychometric evaluation research of the competencies was performed. Qualitative content analyses were conducted of seven documents: Association of Community Health Nursing Educators’, 2000 and 2010 essentials; Quad Council Coalition's 2004, 2011, and 2018 competencies; and the American Nurses Association's, 2013 and the 2021 draft of PHN scope and standards of practice with respect to competency definition, conceptual basis, and use of an established taxonomy. Results No psychometric evaluations of the competency sets were found. Textual content analysis revealed inconsistent and or missing competency definitions and theoretical frameworks with competencies proliferating over time. Taxonomy analysis identified minimal competencies at higher complexity levels according to Bloom's revised taxonomy. Conclusions Analyzed competencies lack reliability and validity testing, making assessment difficult for PHN educators and practitioners. Multiple and competing competencies further erode PHN's visibility, even among public health nurses. With unending revisions of PHN competencies and lack of supporting evidence regarding their effect and their integration into education or practice, recommendations for future efforts are offered.

A Sisyphean task: Developing and revising public health nursing competencies

Background: In public health, as well as other health education contexts, there is increasing
recognition of the transformation in public health practice and the necessity for educational
providers to keep pace. Traditionally, public health education has been at the postgraduate level;
however, over the past decade an upsurge in the growth of undergraduate public health degrees
has taken place.
Discussion: This article explores the impact of these changes on the traditional sphere of Master
of Public Health programs, the range of competencies required at undergraduate and postgraduate
levels, and the relevance of these changes to the public health workforce. It raises questions about
the complexity of educational issues facing tertiary institutions and discusses the implications of
these issues on undergraduate and postgraduate programs in public health.
Conclusion: The planning and provisioning of education in public health must differentiate
between the requirements of undergraduate and postgraduate students – while also addressing the
changing needs of the health workforce. Within Australia, although significant research has been
undertaken regarding the competencies required by postgraduate public health students, the
approach is still somewhat piecemeal, and does not address undergraduate public health. This
paper argues for a consistent approach to competencies that describe and differentiate entry-level
and advanced practice.

Educating the public health workforce : issues and challenges

Background Advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) competencies exist, but there is no structure supporting the operationalization of the competencies by APRN educators. The development of a Mastery Rubric (MR) for APRNs provides a developmental trajectory that supports educational institutions, educators, students, and APRNs. A MR describes the explicit knowledge, skills, and abilities as performed by the individual moving from novice (student) through graduation and into the APRN career. Method A curriculum development tool, the Mastery Rubric (MR), was created to structure the curriculum and career of the nurse practitioner (NP), the MR-NP. Cognitive task analysis (CTA) yielded the first of the three required elements for any MR: a list of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to be established through the curriculum. The European guild structure and Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive behaviors provided the second element of the MR, the specific developmental stages that are relevant for the curriculum. The Body of Work method of standard setting was used to create the third required element of the MR, performance level descriptors (PLDs) for each KSA at each of these stages. Although the CTA was informed by the competencies, it was still necessary to formally assess the alignment of competencies with the resulting KSAs; this was achieved via Degrees of Freedom Analysis (DoFA). Validity evidence was obtained from this Analysis and from the DoFA of the KSAs’ alignment with principles of andragogy, and with learning outcomes assessment criteria. These analyses are the first time the national competencies for the NP have been evaluated in this manner. Results CTA of the 43 NP Competencies led to seven KSAs that support a developmental trajectory for instruction and documenting achievement towards independent performance on the competencies. The Competencies were objectively evaluable for the first time since their publication due to the psychometric validity attributes of the PLD-derived developmental trajectory. Three qualitatively distinct performance levels for the independent practitioner make the previously implicit developmental requirements of the competencies explicit for the first time. Discussion The MR-NP provides the first articulated and observable developmental trajectory for the NP competencies, during and beyond the formal curriculum. A focus on psychometric validity was brought to bear on how learners would demonstrate their development, and ultimately their achievement, of the competencies. The MR-NP goes beyond the competencies with trajectories and PLDs that can engage both learner and instructor in this developmental process throughout the career.

/pdf/a-developmental-trajectory-supporting-the-evaluation-and-2e51olp15d.pdf

A developmental trajectory supporting the evaluation and achievement of competencies: Articulating the Mastery Rubric for the nurse practitioner (MR-NP) program curriculum.

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A developmental trajectory supporting the evaluation and achievement of competencies: Articulating the Mastery Rubric for the nurse practitioner (MR-NP) program curriculum.