Certification Glossary
Activity: See learning event or activity.
Contact: Interaction between a learner and instructor or between a learner and materials which have been prepared to cause learning. Contact implies two-way communication in order for the learner to receive feedback to monitor and assess learning.
Contact Hour: One clock hour of interaction as defined above under "contact." A clock hour is 60 minutes.
Continuing education and/or training (CE/T): Structured educational and/or training experiences for personal or professional development in which participants are assumed to have previously attained a basic level of education, training, or experience. It is also used to describe education and/or training beyond the basic education, training, or experience required for a license, certification, degree, or beyond the entry-level position of a job.
Continuing Education Unit (CEU): 10 contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education/training experience under responsible, qualified direction and instruction.
Course: See learning event or activity.
Criteria: Standards, requirements, or rules that define acceptable practices.
Demonstration: An activity in which participants provide evidence or demonstrate that they have learned what was intended in the stated learning outcome(s).
Delivery formats: Methods used to deliver instruction, including, but not limited to, on-site workshops, computer-based instruction, videoconferences, self-paced work-shops via Internet, audio tapes, video tapes, etc.
Distance education and learning: The acquisition of knowledge and skills through mediated information and instruction, encompassing all technologies and other forms of learning at a distance. Generally, distance education is characterized by the following:
- Separation of place and/or time between instructor and learner, among learners, and/or between learners and learning resources
- Interaction between the learner and the instructor, among learners, and/or between learners and learning resources conducted through one or more media.
- Processes employing a multiple set of delivery methods in the learning experience, such as written correspondence study, interactive audio and/or video, computer, and other electronic technologies. Each of these may be used alone or in combinations. Use of electronic media is not necessarily required; technology is a tool to aid the delivery and provision of educational opportunities.
Education: A process for acquiring knowledge through which individuals learn to think and reason beyond the level of application.
Evaluation: A process for measuring discrete elements or the overall success of learning events, including such elements as learner satisfaction, benefits, results or outcomes, learning achievement, and impact.
Expert level: This job category requires highly developed skills and the ability to communicate skills and expertise to others; complete understanding of principles, concepts practices and standards. Titles in this category typically include Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Owner, Executive Vice-President, Senior Vice-President, Vice-President, Director and the like.
Instructional methods: Methods used by an instructor to cause learning to occur. Examples include, but are not limited to, lectures, questions, discussions, visuals, exercises, summaries, case studies, electronic simulation, demonstrations, practical hands-on exercises, and virtual reality sessions.
Learner: An individual participating in an activity for the purpose of acquiring knowledge, skills, or attitudes.
Learning event or activity: Any event or activity planned to cause learning. Learning event or activity is a generic term which may refer to CE/T programs, courses, or smaller portions of either. Generally, the terms for learning events are ordered as follows, according to their composition from the largest to smallest component: program, course (includes seminar and workshop), session. These terms are often used interchangeably. A learning event or activity may be taught in different time frames, such as one hour, one day, one week, or over a period of days, weeks, or months.
Learning need: The gap between a learner's current level and some desired level of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or performance, generally stated as a problem or issue.
Learning outcomes: Each outcome statement explicitly lists what learners will know and/or be able to do as a result of a learning event. Outcome statements are expressed in measurable and observable terms such as: "Learners will demonstrate the five key rules for preventing back injuries." The learning outcomes are the basis for the outcome assessments.
Needs assessment: An organized and planned process for identifying learning needs; a process that identifies the gaps between a learner's current level and some desired level of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or performance.
Permanent record: A record of an individual's continuing education or training participation, which is maintained by a provider. Frequently referred to as a learner record or transcript, the provider must maintain the record for a minimum of 7 years and provide a copy of the individual's record upon request of the individual.
Practitioner level: This job category requires advanced skills; general application of concepts and principles; frequent use and general knowledge of industry practices, techniques and standards. Titles in this category typically include Manager, Supervisor, Sales Staff and the like.
Program: 1) When referring to a program within an organization or unit, program refers to a part of the organization or unit which is responsible for specific CE/T, i.e., the Distance Learning Program within the XYZ Training Directorate. 2) Program is viewed as an umbrella term covering a series of learning events or activities. (See learning event or activity.)
Provider: The organization responsible for the design and/or delivery of an education or training event.
Satisfactory completion: Having met the provider's established requirements for completion of a learning event.
Session: A segment of a course, seminar, or workshop. (See learning event or activity.)
Summative evaluation: Evaluation conducted at the end of a learning event to determine its effectiveness and worth.
Training: Planned learning experience(s) in which individuals learn to perform a specific skill; generally interpreted as being more narrowly focused than the term "education."
