What's all the fuss about Competency Based Training and Assessment? (CBTA)

A new Era, a new training experience. A warm welcome to this article where we will give you a brief presentation and introducing Scandlearns latest Evolve platform update.

There has been a lot of talk and speculation about the new framework that the ICAO has released at the beginning of the year for Dangerous Goods training. Hopefully Scandlearn can help in many ways. Due to our good relationship to many authorithies and speaking and solving this process for many our clients. We know what we are doing.

Here is one success story from Babcock International Group

Andrew Johnson, Aircrew Training Manager, Babcock International Group

Scandlearn has been instrumental in helping our company adapt to the new CBTA framework for aviation training. We first became aware of the changes through a colleague in a sister company and quickly realized that adapting to the new framework would be a demanding task. Our operations do not involve a lot of involvement with Dangerous Goods (DG) so the training needs analysis was straightforward. However, we are still a carry operator and trying to create courses that allow for limited exposure to DG while still complying with what the authorities want has been demanding. The only solution it seems is to add more training than we need. Scandlearn, in particular Bertil, has been excellent in assisting us in updating our training manuals and getting the CBTA framework for DG training approved by our authorities. They have set up templates to help write manuals and offer expert advice. The transition to CBTA has affected the training process for our crew by adding a DG assessment to our line training checks and we are in the process of training our Line Training Captains to perform these assessments.The response from our crew has so far been very positive.?

Throughout the process, Scandlearn has provided amazing support, always willing to help with course creation, adding items to make the course bespoke and offering guidance and advice through newsletters or personally on the phone. All done without fuss and within fantastic time frames – same day calls etc.Overall, we have had a positive experience with Scandlearn and would like to see more courses beyond just DG training being delivered in this new way in the future.I wanted to thank you William and Bertil so much for all the help you have given. I have never dealt with a third party organization that has given so much quality support during times of great change before. You guys are brilliant.?

To learn more how you can get CBTA started go check out the link below. And, don't forget the Evolve platform is solution is already available and the ICAO regulations are in action since 1st of January 2023. Contact William Selin to get started.

However, our transformation into a modern online training provider started long before developing the CBTA platform. In fact, Scandlearn started this journey long before CBTA was on the map. We have spent three years developing our new Evolve platform upgrade. I’ll speak more about this down below, but remember the upgrade is already available for DG training as of the new ICAO regulations that came into force 1st of January 2023. To get started contact us for a free consultation and demonstration to begin your CBTA and DG transition.

With this article we want to help you to get a little more CBTA wiser and informed what this is about and how you can start preparing your own organization by implementing a few steps.

Let’s go!

What is Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBTA)

So what is all the fuss about Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBTA)? Briefly, we can say it’s a new regulation of a framework that came into force 1st of January 2023 with the purpose of increasing knowledge around the topic, inspire to learning, measuring progress and improving with data. But it’s not like any other update we have seen so far from a regulatory body. It has much more depth than that.?

To start with, this framework is built upon two core components; Competency and Assessment.?

Competency is important in the context of learning because of how it stands in contrast to just memorizing knowledge. While memorizing information will help you to pass a test, it doesn't always translate into real learning or applying what you've learned in the real world.

On the other hand, Competency refers not only to a person's understanding of what they have learned, but also being able to use that knowledge to perform practical tasks safely.

Example:

Eric is a good learner and has studied a lot before and after he became a pilot. Eric knows everything around the landing, he knows how a landing should be performed and not to land in too much crosswind or tailwind. He knows the procedure if there is snow or wet runways.?

But how did Eric become such a competent pilot? Why are we so confident that Eric will succeed in his job each day? The answer is that he has learned the necessary knowledge to fly, and he possesses the skills to operate the aircraft safely. And of course, he has the right attitude, he is eager to learn and become better as a pilot.

Eric has learned to land the aircraft 100% safe year after year. Then we can say he is competent. We can predict that he will successfully land the aircraft during his career. Question is how he reached this competency??

Quick note; If you want a quicker brief, here is a video

Competency is a whole concept

The first question we need to answer is; what is Competency?

From time to time, you can see that some training provider is answering this question incorrectly. They sometimes state competency equals knowledge. For us who have been in aviation training for a lifetime, we know that it is not that simple.

Competency is just a tiny part of a bigger and more complex system. This system can be categorized into three important parts and is in the wider world referred to as KSA, which stands for Knowledge - the information that a user must know; Skills - the practiced application of knowledge; and Attitude - how their outlook influences their performance. KSA is the cornerstone of the CBTA approach.

The Importance of KSA's

Let us go back to Eric who is a 100% successful pilot, discuss why he is so successful in his job and use the KSA to explain. And even if we are explaining it from a pilots perspective and you’re not, try to apply this into your own job and everyday work tasks.

KNOWLEDGE

We will start with the K, which is knowledge.

Eric had probably studied a lot before and after he became a pilot and learned to get knowledge about everything about e.g. landing. Eric has read how the landing should be performed. He also knows not to land in too much crosswind or tailwind; he knows the procedure if there is snow or wet runways.?

And that pretty much explains what the K in KSA is about, knowledge.

SKILLS

This takes us to the S in KSA skills. What does this mean?

Skills can be many things such as motor, cognitive and metacognitive skills.?

Motor skills; He knows that the stick needs to be taken backward in the touchdown. He has this knowledge in his backbone and has done this a thousand times. So naturally drilled it's like bicycling.

Cognitive and metacognitive skills, Eric also have the mental capacity to work in the aviation system in acquiring the knowledge, such as reasoning, perception, and intuition. Further, he must be able to monitor and direct his own learning process

Example:

One late afternoon Eric did not calculate that there was a crosswind, and he discovered that only when they were flying toward the runway that the aeroplane was drifting away from the runway centerline due to the wind. Then he must have the skills to correct himself and rearrange the aeroplane, and put the nose into the wind to keep the runway centerline.?

This is all about skills.

ATTITUDE

Lastly, we have the A in the KSA model, Attitude.?

If your students has negative approach to learning then they will unfortunately will not learn anything. Suppose your staff does not want to adhere to regulations, does not ask relevant and practical questions, or does not appreciate feedback from team members. In that case, you might have a flight safety issue in your organization. Read more about how bad training can result in flight safety issues down below.

The goal is of course to have engaging training that impacts the learners in a positive way and increasing a good attitude towards training. After all, a good attitude will help your organization avoid incidents or accidents and in the end save many lives.

How do you get a good attitude in the organization? Yes, we are well aware not everything is about training in this certain goal. But it’s a start and we must train to become better at it. A good start can be to not being a check-in-the-box airline and going for inadequate training, you can use enjoyable high-quality training to intrigue and attract interest of your crew, they will learn. The learning process, you will be building up one of the layers in the Swiss cheese model.

Can monotone "page-flipper" training result in Flight Safety issues?

Can your current training result in flight safety issues??If you can assess your crew's KSA abilities with real data, you'd be able to answer that question.

Without it it's a much complex question with many different factors to take into consideration. And, to not dive too deep in learning pedagogics and psychology we can start by briefly discussing a student's way of being receptive to the training presented. The main point is to have the learner paying attention and absorb the information.

I mean, why do you send your crew to training in the first place? The approval is of course essential for your operations. However, contrary to flight safety, isn't safety the highest priority? Even if training is a necessary to stay compliant, you want your crew trained for a safer flight environment, right?

The first question we should ask is; How to catch a student's interest? Maybe you’ve tried to google the answer, maybe you haven’t cracked the code on how to make them interested, or keep them interesing through the whole training session. Or, maybe you simply don’t care, you just need the approval.?

Uninspired people who tend to lose interest and zone out will unfortunately learn less or nothing. Imagine you’re standing in a classroom and explaining something really important and all your student is doing is to listen half-present and half hearted and all they want to do is just to pass the skill test, and if they do, at least you can tick the box, but did they learn? Did your crew remember the training, or did the information stay temporarily in the short term memory just the time to pass the skill test.

Imagine the same students going through a dull, monotone page flipper. The difference is that you cannot have a visual contact and see who’s actually paying attention, nor clicking through the course next button, with another digital service in the background with higher stimuli.

Aviation training is serious training as it can affect so many people if gone wrong. If people fail in in one of the KSA cornerstones years after years gone by without being noticed of crews and staff going more careless and nonchalant of the training, what will that result in? Will it increase or decrease the flight safety factor you think??

Scandlearn believes that the CBTA approach will help to foster a more motivated and inspired outlook on training amongst users. Creating a more productive learning experience that will result in a deeper understanding of the important theoretical content that is necessary for users to succeed and in that way increase flight safety.

To sum it up I think we have to consider how well a student is receptive to training in relation to what assessments is best applicable and how they are measured.

Do you like what you read and need help with CBTA? Contact William Selin

Achieve more with Assessments?

If increasing Competency is the goal of our new concept then Assessment is how it achieves that goal. This is done by presenting users with a series of mixed assessments throughout the different lessons of the course.

A CBTA framework is so much more than just an online training with page after page ending with a skill test. Assessments of all kinds will be the key to engage the learner but also measure how well the learner follows the subject, staying attentive and absorbing.

The types of assessments varies and is up to your operational requirements to know what is sutiable. If it's a simulator session, a classroom discussion or roleplay of a scenerio. It can be PDFs, essays, Quizzes, games or exericises. All kinds of assessments that engage the user to play closer attention to the subject that is relevant to your operation.

Get more Insightful and effective with CBTA User Analytics

A goal is not a goal if you can't measure it somehow. Data will then be essential to this new way of learning, and a stepping stone to make anything valuable and successful.

Whilst KSA is an important part, we need to know how to measure the KSA approach and the Assessment to evaluate where to improve, polish and fine tune. We want the user to evolve and therefor the CBTA format needs to evolve all the time.

To peak user performance and their achievments we need insightful data that can report all the nitty gritty that is needed to always stay ahead and give the learner the best possibe and understandable training experience. ICAO has helped us with the most common Competency and how they are going to be measured.

Among users who have tried this CBTA approach we already can see better results and an increased positive attitude towards the DG subject. The users felt less stressed and liked the flow and the types of assessments. We will present a more deeper statistical report of this when we have even more data to measure.

Summary

I just just want to say thank for reading this article by me, Emelie Lindqvist (Creative director & Executive Producer) and the Accountable Manager Bertil Tensing . We wish you all the success and hope Scandlearn can help you in any way. We are well aware of the complexity of CBTA and how lost overwhelmed you can feel in what actions to be made. Been there and done that, and now we at Scandlearn cracked the code and have built a good and reliable platform to continue improve and advance.

Contact William Selin for a free consultation and demonstration.

Today, clients worldwide needs our help on daily basis, and Scandlearn happily helps them to get them through this process. Get started today and Scandlearn can help you too through collective guiding and templates writing your manuals and advice you to the assessments that is needed.

Down below is another success story if your curious how it got solved.

Nominated person, Crew Training Department, CAT AVIATION AG

I first became aware of the new CBTA framework for aviation training through the EASA Newsletter and through discussions with colleagues in the aviation industry. When adapting to the CBTA framework, we faced some challenges with the points requested by the supervisory authorities being formulated very weakly. However, through good cooperation with Scandlearn and CAT Aviation, as well as a productive exchange of information with our Civil Aviation Authority, we were able to overcome these challenges and quickly resolve any unclear points. One of the biggest advantages for CAT Aviation was that we began working on the concept very early and the Civil Aviation Authority did not have any major references at that time.

Scandlearn played a significant role in assisting us in updating our training manuals and getting the CBTA framework for DG training approved by our authorities. Their cooperation and assistance in building the required tools, such as manuals and an online platform, greatly contributed to our success in obtaining approval for the DG-CBTA. We were also able to act as "beta testers" and had access to the latest changes, which allowed us to adapt our training manual and concept in a timely manner.

Overall, my experience with Scandlearn throughout the process of implementing CBTA has been great and I would like to express my appreciation for their support, GREAT JOB, Thank you!!