Contemporary Competency Based Education

Video Transcription

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you are having a wonderful day today. Today, we're going to look at contemporary competency based education. And for today's lesson, I've chosen a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr., which states "the function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically."

Now by the end of the lesson today, you will be able to examine curriculum design theory. You will be able to understand the difference between written and intended curriculum and hidden curriculum. You'll be able to become familiar with the competency based curriculum design process. And you will have been able to examine the connections between Understanding by Design and competency based education design, as well as the connections between deeper learning and CBE.

When we look at curriculum design theory, particularly when it comes to competency based education, it's important that you know that before you implement competency based instruction the classroom, it's really important to engage with competency based curriculum units and lesson design so that you know how to properly design the lesson before you just start implementing it in the classroom. The process helps to ensure that students will have the opportunities to practice those standard skills and competencies that are required for that proficiency and mastery. So it's really important that you are able to get them practice in it, and that you're looking at the design before you start implementing it in the classroom.

So when we look at curriculum design theory, what we're looking at is the idea that curriculum is the content or the instruction in place in the classroom. And the theory includes first and foremost, that there is knowledge content, skills, and competencies. These are all of the things that students are expected to know, and those are infused in the curriculum. Curriculum also includes the process or the strategies that we should use when we instruct students, so it's important that that's included in your curriculum as well.

Curriculum design also includes how and what ways students will demonstrate their learning or the kind of products that will be presented based on the assessments they do on that learning. And finally, all curriculum should include that development, implementation, and assessment practices, so making sure that you have all of that documented so you really can go back to understanding the how and the why and the what of the curriculum you've created.

It's really important that you, as a teacher, are aware of the intended curriculum for their classroom. So that's basically the standards that are in place, or the elements you want them to know that are written down and [INAUDIBLE] assessed, but also that you are aware of the hidden curriculum that can sometimes exist. You want to make sure that if that is in place at your school, where maybe the values of the school or the values of the teacher-- we're talking here about maybe like attendance is a part of your curriculum, or participation is a part of your curriculum-- that that is aligned closely with the written or assessed curriculum so that you're not having a difference in the outcomes in a student's grade.

So for example, if your curriculum indicates that the student voice and choice are a part of that written curriculum-- that students are voicing what they're interested in and choosing-- but as your teacher practice, you primarily lecture in your classrooms, then you're not really giving them an opportunity to show you that written curriculum because of the hidden curriculum. So I think it's best to avoid the hidden curriculum, especially when it comes to competency based education. But if you have it, just make sure you align it.

Now, let's go ahead and take a look at the curriculum design approach within competency based education. So CBE curriculum follows right in line with curriculum design theory. First and foremost, teacher teams who you are identifying your elements with-- or if you do this on your own, you need to identify the outcomes aligned to the standards. So you have those standards-- what are the outcomes that are going to show you that those standards have been met?

You're also going to develop then, the course competencies and objectives-- looking at and honing in on those outcomes-- once they're established and developing, the different ways that you are going to see that through the competencies and the objectives.

Next, you're going to take those competencies and you are going to determine what the measurements or the assessments are going to be for them. How will I know that students have met those competencies?

After that, you are going to define your instructional plans. So what are you going to do specifically within this lesson to get them to be in the best possible place to show proficiency or mastery on those assessments? It's important that you include in here differentiated strategies so that you know how you're going to attack if a student is struggling with the material, or if a student already knows it and needs to move forward.

So it's important to know that for competency based education, that pacing is really a prime consideration for teachers. So you need to decide-- like we said before-- what are you going to do if a student struggles to meet that competency or if they meet it before their peers. You want to have that differentiated strategy in place.

And then finally, the teacher needs to establish the success criteria for the course. So for a student to be successful, what is it that they're going to need to do? It's important that you're clear on all of these things as a teacher so that students can be clear.

Now, let's go ahead and take a look at what the role of the standards are, especially within Understanding by Design and competency based education. So standards are used to help develop program objectives, competencies, and outlines, right? So what we're looking at here is really the ability to connect all of these elements together. And then once a curriculum is developed, you're going to want to review the standards to ensure that all are taught or assessed. So you start out with it, you create your stuff, and then you go back to it to check and make sure that it's all where you need it to be.

So now, we're looking at the role of Understanding by Design. Understanding by Design was developed by Wiggins and McTeague, and there are three major stages that are included when we talk about how CBE curriculum design aligns with Understanding by Design. The first stage of Understanding by Design is that the teacher identifies the course outcomes and the standards.

So what we're talking about here, what's happening here, is that the teacher is really first and foremost looking at what are the standards that I need to meet so that I know that when I go into my planning. This is where the decisions happen surrounding student outcomes and knowledge, and where we're really looking for those skills that are discussed in the standards to transfer not only into the curriculum, but beyond that curriculum and the classroom into the ways in which they can use that outside of school.

Stage two is where the teacher really looks to determine how the competencies and objectives will be assessed. So at this stage, what you're doing is really making all of those decisions about measurement.

And then finally, stage three is where the teacher determines the instructional approaches or the strategies that they're going to use for differentiated approaches. So how are we going to really use the instruction or skills of knowledge to get at each and every individual student?

Finally, I want to look at some of those deeper learning considerations when we talk about competency based education. First, the teacher needs to provide the student with opportunities for real world application. It's important that students are able to understand how this knowledge will be used outside of the classroom.

Second, mastering that knowledge-- and especially the content knowledge, as well as the 21st century skills are really important within deeper learning and competency based education. We're looking at students ability to think critically, to communicate, and to collaborate with their peers.

And then finally, teachers are really working to facilitate those mindsets that are essential to CBE. So it's not just about teaching students to think about the material, but it's teaching students to think-- really focusing in on that self-directed learning, self-efficacy, and that competence that is so necessary to really compete in a global marketplace.

Now that you've reached the end of the lesson, you are able to examine curriculum design theory. You've been able to understand the differences between written or attending curriculum and hidden curriculum. You've become familiar with the competency based curriculum design process, and you've been able to examine the connections between UBD and CBE, as well as deeper learning and CBE.

Now that you have learned all about contemporary competency based education, what do you think would be the first step you would take to begin implementing this in your classroom? To dive a little deeper and learn how to apply this information, be sure to check out the additional resources section associated with this video. This is where you'll find links targeted toward helping you discover more ways to apply this course material.