This domain describes competencies specific to a person’s area of practice, or the activities, routines, tasks, and other work professionals do each day to produce products, programs, or services. Effective practice and efficient practice are interdependent, and one should not be achieved at the expense of the other. As outlined in the chart below, professionals can become more effective and more efficient in their work through professional learning and evidence-based practice.
A note about competency levels: There is no prescribed, or “right”, level a person should achieve to be effective in a specific position. Nor is it necessary for everyone to aspire to the highest level of all competencies! Individual and institutional priorities, goals, and contexts should guide the development of any learning path. The proficiency level or expertise in each area will be influenced by unique circumstances, preferences, and opportunities.
| Domain Categories | Competency Level 1 | Competency Level 2 | Competency Level 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective Practice regularly identifies and achieves intended goals for an identified audience. At Level One, competent professionals provide programs, services, and products that achieve intended outcomes. During their career, some professionals may develop or manage effective programs, services, and products (Level Two), and may become experts and create or contribute to practices that address increasingly complex goals of the informal STEM learning (ISL) field (Level Three). | Provide programs, services, and products that achieve intended outcomes. | Develop or manage programs, services, and products that achieve intended outcomes. | Create or contribute to ISL practices that achieve increasingly complex intended outcomes. |
| Efficient Practice maximizes the use of available resources. Competent professionals at Level One use tools and strategies that achieve desired outcomes with appropriate resources. Professionals may implement or manage processes and strategies that increase the efficiency of their institution (Level Two) or of the field (Level Three). | Use tools and strategies in my work to minimize the resources that are necessary to achieve desired outcomes. | Implement or manage processes and practices that use minimum resources necessary to achieve maximum outcomes. | Create or contribute to ISL practices that maximize the impact of available resources. |
| Evidence-based Practice is grounded in research, evaluation, and knowledge of effective and emerging practices. Competent professionals make decisions about their work based on evidence of the effectiveness and efficiency of specific strategies or actions (Level One). Some professionals may influence or contribute to the use of evidence in the decisions, plans, and actions of their institutions (Level Two) and some professionals may advocate for and contribute to the field’s evidence-base of effective and efficient practices (Level Three). | Make decisions about my area of work based on evidence about effectiveness and efficiency. | Influence or contribute to the use of evidence in the decisions, plans, and actions of my institution. | Advocate for and contribute to evidence about effective and efficient practices in the ISL field. |
| Professional Learning is a self-directed, systematic process of selecting or creating learning experiences to gain desired competencies. Competent professionals participate in learning experiences that advance their professional and personal goals (Level One) and may also contribute to the development of professional learning for others in their institutions (Level Two) or across the field (Level Three). | Participate in professional learning that advances my professional and personal goals. | Influence or contribute to professional development opportunities for myself and others. | Create and advocate for professional learning opportunities across and throughout the ISL field. |
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants 2215274 (active), 1514815, 1514884, 1514890, and 1515315. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.