The Global Learning Qualifications Framework (GLQF) is an interactive page that lists the broad characteristics that learning has to have in order to be college level: Knowledge, Engagement. and Integration. Within these three broad characteristics, there are eight more specific areas that list additional characteristics. Each word for each characteristic is a link that will take you to questions that describe this characteristic. Within these three broad characteristics, there are eight more specific characteristics, called learning domains:

1. Specialized knowledge
2. Applied knowledge
3. Integrated knowledge
4. Communication
5. Information literacy
6. Ethical responsibility
7. Sociocultural and civic engagement
8. Learning engagement

From the GLQF website, you will find more detailed information about each of these characteristics, including definitions, questions that describe each characteristic, examples that yield this type of learning, and characteristics of lower- and upper-level learning (freshman/sophomore vs. junior/senior).  Please visit the website and read about each of the broad characteristics and the eight learning domains. Please follow and read all links.

As you read, choose a potential area of knowledge that you’re thinking of pursuing for college credit, and see if you can apply the questions and characteristics from some appropriate areas of the framework to your knowledge.  Note that you do not have to fulfill all characteristics from all areas in order to demonstrate college-level learning, but you should be able to apply questions and characteristics from some integration, knowledge, and engagement areas.

For example, if you think you have gained college-level knowledge based on knowledge and skills gained from many years of administrative work, you might use the GLQF to help you do initial brainstorming and articulate your learning in the following way (note that this is a sample only and not a full representation of the range of knowledge gained):

Specialized Knowledge

• What skills and competencies have I gained? ability to work with a variety of people, communication skills, teamwork, creating and maintaining schedules, maintaining records, training new administrative staff, and more…
• What different techniques and approaches have I learned over time? I’ve learned to ask questions of key people if I’m not sure that I’m approaching a task as needed.  I’ve learned to create training materials to train new employees and to include not only printed material, but a variety of ways of training, from short videos to in-person sessions to using a buddy system.

Integrated Knowledge

• How have I applied this knowledge in different situations or environments or outside its usual context? I applied knowledge of scheduling and training to my son’s school fund raiser.  I was responsible for coordinating the fund raiser for the last four years, and I learned to create a master schedule of what needed to get done when.  I learned how to get feedback – and thus buy-in – for the master schedule, how to get volunteers, and how to train them so they understood just what they needed to do, and how their efforts contributed to the overall project.
• How have I analyzed different issues and applied this analysis to new situations or to solve different problems? I have analyzed what went wrong when communication went awry at work.  I’ve learned always to get feedback.  I’ve also learned to analyze the audience for my communications, to make sure I’m meeting them at their level of understanding.  I have applied this analysis to problem-solving with our new volunteer contributors to our work-sponsored community improvement project.

Answering appropriate questions in the GLQF should help you brainstorm and do some informal writing about knowledge gained.