FORMING AND ASSESSING THE COMPETENCE TO ELABORATE TOPOGRAPHIC PROFILES
GABRIELA OSACI‐COSTACHE1, MARIA ELIZA DULAMĂ2, OANA‐RAMONA ILOVAN3
1University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, Department of Geomorphology‐Pedology‐Geomatics, Bucharest, Romania, e‐mail: gabrielaosaci68@yahoo.com.
2“Babeş‐Bolyai” University, Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education, Department of the Didactics of Exact Sciences, Cluj‐Napoca, Romania, e‐mail: dulama@upcmail.ro.
3“Babeş‐Bolyai” University, Faculty of Geography, Department of Regional Geography and Territorial Planning, Cluj‐Napoca, Romania, e‐mail: ilovanoana@yahoo.com.
ABSTRACT. – Forming and Assessing the Competence to Elaborate Topographic Profiles. We started our research when we noticed that university students graduating Geography made certain mistakes when building topographic profiles. The objectives of our research were the following: 1) analysing the knowledge integrated into the competence to elaborate topographic profiles; 2) analysing the procedure to elaborate topographic profiles; 3) analysing our students’ topographic profiles and their mistakes when elaborating them; 4) analysing the causes of their mistakes; 5) establishing certain competence levels when elaborating topographic profiles, starting from assessment; 6) establishing certain ways to improve the educational process and our students’ results. In order to accomplish these objectives, we studied the activity for forming the competence to elaborate topographic profiles and 48 topographic profiles realised by 48 of our students, during the 2012‐2013 academic year at the specialisation Cartography. We described this competence and the procedure for its formation. We assessed topographic profiles using an analytic assessment grid with a dichotomous scale that included nine criteria, we identified students’ main mistakes and looked for their causes, we established and analysed students’ competence level. Finally, we proposed modalities to improve the activity for the formation of this competence.
Keywords: topographic profile, competence levels, assessment grid and criteria, qualitative results, Geography teaching in higher education.