Knowledge and Skills part 7

Last week I had a discussion in my class about knowledge and skills. It seemed that students were still confused about these terms so I explained to them which led to further discussion about what they need to succeed in their career.

I told my student: “Knowledge is the theoretical acquisition or the understanding of a subject. For example, students listen to a lecture or read a book on the software lifecycle and understand them. It does not mean the student can develop software accordingly as they have not done it. Skills are the proficiencies developed through training and practice. For example, a student learns about the software lifecycle then follows the process to develop software as part of a class project The student demonstrated his skills in following the lifecycle by obtaining requirements, conduct design, implement code, and test the software.”

However, I added: “There is another term called “abilities” or the qualities of being able to do something better based on experience. There is a difference between skills and abilities. Skills are knowing “How to do” when the ability is “To do better” due to the experience of doing it many times and learn from the actual experiences. For example, when students pass a course, it means they meet the “assessment criteria” of the professor who teach the course or satisfy the standard criteria determined by the school. The students have the knowledge but may not have the skills. If the test focuses on memorization a number of facts then students can learn to pass it but do not mean they know how to do it. There are students who passed tests, even have the degrees but still do not know how to do anything. They have the knowledge but not the skills.”

“Today a degree does not guarantee anything because most companies are looking for knowledge, skills, and abilities during the hiring process. During the job interview, companies require graduates to write code, demonstrate algorithms proficiency by solving problems and answer soft-skills questions. The interviews can last several hours or even days. Some of you have been through these type of interviews, maybe you can share it with the class.”

A student volunteered: “In the interview with Google, I had to write code on a board in front of several people who also took notes. There were three teams, all of them required me to demonstrate my coding skills and it lasted for two hours. I had a short time to rest then went to more interviews where I had to solve problems by explaining my rationale, logic, and wrote several algorithms on a board. During that time, they kept asking me to explain my solutions and why I solved the problem this way. After that, I went to lunch with several people and they also asked me questions about teamwork, issues with team members, the courses that I took and other extracurricular activities. After lunch, I had to meet two more teams who gave me several personal problems to solve. By the end of the day, I was completely exhausted but I was confident that I have the skills that they need.”

The class discussion also led to the issue of the “skills gap.” I explained: “it is important to understand this issue because the way students develop knowledge, skills, and abilities can vary. Some can learn fast when others may be slower and it is important for professors to monitor students’ progress and adjust the pace of the teaching. Many professors follow a rigid schedule as they want to make sure that they complete the course materials. However, my view is different as I am focused on what the students learn and their ability to apply what they have learned instead of following a schedule. If I find that issue of acquiring knowledge, I require students to read more and the weekly quiz would focus more on the theories. But if the issue is on skills, the weekly quiz would focus on the application of their knowledge. Every four weeks, I would give a test that requires them to work on short problems similar to the “skilled focused quizzes” so they can gain more experience and develop the ability.

By following this teaching technique consistently for many years, most of my students have no problems during their job interview as they can demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities to technology companies.

Sources

  • Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University