Skills Development: Vocational Education
in the Islamic Countries
23
Table1.2: The description of the problem solving competence
Performance
areas
Signs/characteristic
features
Specific criteria
Define the
problem
Define the problem  State the problem clearly
 Identify underlying issues
 Transform practical problem into
cognitive problem to discover or solve.
Develop a plan to
solve the
problem
Develop a plan to solve the
problem.
 Develop a specific and concise plan for
collecting and classifying information
associated with the problem.
 Develop a specific plan for applying
selected information to solve the
problem.
 Develop a specific plan to solve the
problem and evaluate outcomes.
Collect and
analyse
information
Collect information
associated with the
problem and to analyse
information.
 Collect information from different
sources
 Classify information.
 Select appropriate information to solve
the problem.
 Propose solutions to solve the problem.
 Evaluate potential solutions.
 Select the best solution.
Implement
solution
Implement solution  Apply the appropriate information to
solve the problem.
 Provide a logical interpretation or
evidences to solve the problem.
 Combine the solved problemwith
similar problems in practical context.
 Generalizemajor outcomes.
Evaluate
outcomes
Evaluate outcomes and
revise if it is needed
 Review results relative to the problem.
 Define advantages and disadvantages of
the outcomes.
 Propose new solutions and revise as
needed.
 Give the final conclusion associated with
the problem.
Source: Adapted from (Duong, 2016)
As the world is embracing technology, a number of educational activities have also been
digitalized including assessment. E-assessment is a technology based assessment that use
electronic devices to design, deliver and administer assessment activities incl uding reporting,
storing andmoving of assessment data. It can be in different forms like use of self-assessments,
portfolios, peer evaluations, discussion boards, online projects social media, etc (Gaytan &
McEwen, 2007). E-assessment has tremendous benefit alike the traditional assessments, as
discussed above.