Development Development of an Application-Integrated Competency-Based Training Package for LCD Television Power-Supply Work, Model RUS 02-03: Learning Achievement and Practical Competency Outcomes of Vocational Certificate Students

Abstract

This study aimed to 1) develop an application-integrated competency-based training package for LCD television power-supply work, Model RUS 02-03, and to evaluate its quality and determine its efficiency against the 80/80 criterion; 2) examine the learning achievement of students who learned with the package; 3) assess the students’ post-instruction practical competency against a predetermined criterion; and 4) examine their satisfaction with the package. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control-group pretest–posttest design was employed. The participants were 30 vocational certificate electronics students (19 in the experimental group and 11 in the control group), and a subsequent cohort of 12 students provided supporting evidence. The instruments were the training package, a quality evaluation form, a learning achievement test, a practical competency rubric, and a satisfaction questionnaire. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, E1/E2 efficiency indices, t-tests, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results showed that 1) the package was rated at the highest quality level (x¯ = 4.61,
SD = 0.49) and achieved an E1/E2 efficiency of 82.76/82.63, meeting the 80/80 criterion; 2) the experimental group's posttest scores (x¯ = 33.05) were significantly higher than its pretest scores (x¯ = 20.63) (t(18) = 17.48, p < .001, d_z = 4.01), and after controlling for pretest scores, its adjusted posttest mean was 5.20 points higher than that of the control group (95% CI [2.95, 7.46]; F(1, 27) = 22.35, p < .001, partial η² = .453); the subsequent cohort showed results in the same direction (E1/E2 = 90.00/89.38; t(11) = 17.59, p < .001); 3) most students in the experimental group met the predetermined practical competency criterion (17 of 19 students, 89.47%), with a mean score of 17.42 out of 20 (SD = 1.43), significantly above the 16-point criterion (t(18) = 4.33, p < .001); practical competency was assessed only after instruction in the experimental group; and 4) overall satisfaction was at the highest level (x¯ = 4.52, SD = 0.34). In conclusion, students in the experimental group showed higher learning achievement, and most of them met the predetermined practical competency criterion. The findings support the use of the training package for teaching LCD television power-supply work within the context studied.