File this one under “What took so long?” Big changes are around the corner now that competency-based education (CBE) is approved in all 50 states, and you’re probably wondering how it might impact you and your school.
In May 2023, Wyoming was the final state to approve the option of competency-based learning to demonstrate mastery of learning, rather than credits being measured by seat time. Click here to read the full story.
It’s one of the biggest things that could affect your school, or at least your teaching practice. So it’s a big deal.
Basically, competency-based education is a more personalized model of learning that focuses on preparing graduates for life after school. Students have the agency to drive their own learning and demonstrate progress at their own pace, eventually leading to mastery.
Assessing student learning is focused on meaningful experiences that provide students with timely and actionable evidence of learning and needed next steps.
Now, you may be thinking, “Oh great, yet another model I’ll have to learn.”
And if you’re like a lot of teachers, you may even be a little anxious about how much work this is going to take, especially if you’re not sure your students will take the initiative to guide their learning journey. Is this really the amazing new way to support every learner?
Here’s the low-down on what it all means.
Emphasis on Mastery, Not Seat Time
You won’t be relying solely on seat time in your classroom to determine graduation credit. The elimination of this time-based metric allows for a more thoughtful and nuanced evaluation of how well each student grasps the subject matter.
You are able to move away from the constraints of a fixed timeline, where you are trying to cover the same scope and sequence with all of your diverse learners at the same time.
Instead, you can focus on tailoring instructional strategies to individual learning needs. And the driver of the learning is the student, so you can put more of the responsibility for pacing and progress on each learner.
This is truly a paradigm shift in education. It gets us back to the days when we could be creative in our teaching methods instead of trying to “teach to the test.” The fact that every state now sees the potential value of this approach is truly exciting!
Now, your focus can be on ensuring your students genuinely comprehend and can apply what they’re learning.
Individualized Learning Paths
You’ll have to tailor the educational experience for each student to the unique needs of each student, taking into account their individual pace and style of comprehension.
Individualized learning paths are a hallmark of competency-based education as students are no longer expected to progress through the same material simultaneously.
As you venture into the implementation of individualized learning paths, there are several expectations to consider.
First, there is a need for adaptability as your focus shifts from a centralized, teacher-directed approach to a more student-driven model. This requires flexibility in your instructional strategies and willingness to allow students to take the lead in their learning journey.
Second, the implementation of this approach does require an investment of time and effort. You’ll want to develop a deep understanding of each of your learners’ strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles.
Designing and curating personalized learning materials tailored to individual needs will demand additional effort. However, the payoff is substantial.
You’ll have more engaged students who feel empowered in their learning process. And you’ll see a natural shift toward a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.
While the initial adjustments may pose challenges, the long-term benefits in student success and satisfaction make the time and effort of implementing competency-based education worthwhile.
Technology Integration
You may find that technology in competency-based education is not just an accessory, or “nice to have,” but a core component of effective CBE programs. Technology is a fundamental tool in your quest to personalize learning experiences for your students.
Here’s what you can expect as you integrate technology into competency-based education:
- Personalized Learning at Scale: Technology allows you to tailor learning experiences for each student at scale. This means that you can leverage digital tools to cater to individual learning styles, preferences, and paces, fostering a truly personalized educational journey for every learner.
- Real-time Progress Tracking: One of the game-changers in CBE is the ability to track student progress in real-time. Digital tools enable you to monitor individual achievements and areas that may need additional attention promptly. This facilitates a more proactive and responsive approach to addressing student needs.
- Diverse Learning Resources: Technology opens up a vast array of learning resources beyond traditional textbooks. You can curate or create digital content, providing your students with diverse materials that cater to different learning modalities. This enriches the learning experience and ensures that resources align with individualized learning paths.
- Enhanced Communication and Collaboration: Integrating technology facilitates seamless communication between you and your students. Online platforms, messaging systems, and collaborative tools create an environment where feedback and discussions can happen in real-time. This supports a more interactive and collaborative learning community.
- Professional Development Opportunities: Teachers embracing technology in CBE will find a wealth of professional development opportunities. Familiarity with digital tools and platforms becomes an asset, and ongoing training ensures that you can stay on top of the latest advancements, enhancing your teaching capabilities.
Continuous Assessment and Feedback
The silver lining? You won’t have to keep slogging all year toward the dreaded Spring testing windows.
In competency-based education, regular check-ins become a cornerstone of the teaching process. You have the opportunity to connect with each student individually to understand their progress and provide targeted support.
Instead of relying on periodic exams, you’ll engage in ongoing evaluation. This allows you to collect data on student areas of strength and growth opportunities in real-time.
You can adjust your instructional strategies based on this feedback, as well as help students take a more active role in their learning process. A shift to more interactive and adaptive teaching results from this approach.
My favorite part? Continuous assessment places a higher level of accountability on students for their own learning.
With regular feedback, students gain a clearer understanding of their progress and areas for improvement. That empowerment helps them build a sense of responsibility and ownership over their education.
As you integrate technology into continuous assessment, you will also find that efficiency and accessibility of feedback are significantly enhanced. Digital platforms provide tools for timely communication, data analysis, and personalized feedback delivery.
As a result, you’ll have a more student-centered and adaptive learning environment where the focus is on understanding, growth, and continuous improvement rather than on static measures of achievement.
As Charmaine Mercer wrote, formative assessments tasks have “students directly apply the relevant knowledge and skills for a particular subject, which centers the student and their knowledge and interests and uses assessment to measure their progress toward demonstrating mastery of one or more standards.”
And the Aurora Institute thinks this will help us all rethink assessment and design more effective balanced learning systems.
Key Takeaways
Things are changing fast in education, and as fast as they change we need to change, too. The best way to come out ahead is to embrace personalization for student success, implement individualized learning paths, and leverage technology to support your learning environment.
Action Steps to Take Today
If you’re ready to take on competency-based education, start to change up your instruction to have students drive the learning.
One great way to do this is to implement project-based learning. Here’s the basic 4-step process to personalize student learning through projects:
- Step 1: Define the problem. Projects start with students asking questions about a problem.
- Step 2: Generate ideas. Students brainstorm and discuss their ideas for solving a problem.
- Step 3: Prototype solutions. Students expand on their ideas and convey how a solution to the problem might look or feel.
- Step 4: Testing. Students test their prototypes in a “live” setting to see how well it works in a real-world context.
If you stay consistent and follow these steps, you’ll be on your way to jumping into competency-based education.
Need some help? Check out my free PBL Project Planner by clicking the image below!
