Develop a CBE Competency Based Curriculum Map

Video Transcription

Today, we're going to be looking at how to develop a competency based education, competency based curriculum map. And for today's lesson, I've chosen a quote by Carl Rogers, which states, "The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change." Now, by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to review the stages of understanding by design. You will be able to review the competency based education design principles. And you will complete a competency based education map, curriculum map, using those UbD stages and the CBE design principles.

First, let's go ahead and review those stages of design for understanding by design. Stage one is really where you focus in on the teacher determining those big ideas. Stage two is where we determine the acceptable evidence. And finally, stage three is where you develop that learning plan.

Now, what I'd like to do is just briefly review with you the principles of competency based education design. So principal number one is the idea that students are going to only advance once they've demonstrated that they have mastered those various competencies. Number two is that the teacher is going to create those very explicit and measurable learning objectives. Number three is that the assessment is meaningful. Four is that students receive that differentiated support. Next is that students' learning outcomes really focus in and include that idea of the application or the creation of their knowledge.

Next, I'd like to very quickly review those I Can Statements. So remember that an I Can Statement is really a statement of what a student should be able to do. There also can be known as those learning targets that we want students to reach. I Can Statements are written in kid-friendly language. And this really helps students to kind of track their own progress. Remember the I Can Statements are really based on those learning goals and standards. But we break them down into smaller bits, so they're understandable.

Now, let's go ahead and take a look at the process of creating a curriculum map. What I'm going to take you to now is a template. This is what it'll look like at the very end when you go down with all the units. But I'm going to go ahead and zoom in just a little bit, so that we can take a look at these ideas just a little bit closer.

So what we're going to do first is take a look at the idea of what we need to do in stage one. Often, I think that curriculum is best accomplished in teams. But since it's just you and me today, we're going to do this on our own.

So first, we want to go ahead and take a look. Let's say for the course that we are going to use here. We are going to do this for an English Language Arts course that I am going to say takes place in ninth grade. All right? So an English Language Arts course in ninth grade. Now, let's go ahead and take a look, because this is always going to stay there.

I want to look first at the-- the first unit. All right? Our first unit. So what we want to ask here is within this unit, what are some of those long term goals or competencies that we want both the unit and the course as a whole to cover? Right? So we're going to focus in on what that would be. And if this were my To Kill a Mockingbird unit, that's what I would write right there, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Now, when I look at those larger goals, I want to then think about some of the outcomes that we're going to have there. So what are the meanings that the student should be able to make both at the unit level and at the course level? And then, I'm going to take those and transfer those into those essential questions, so really focusing in on what the essential question should be.

And for To Kill a Mockingbird unit, those essential questions might be, how does the way we interact with other people help shape our own identity? That's a pretty consistent. And also, how does our history influence our present? Right? So how does our past influence our present? Those may be some of those essential questions that really help us to extend that learning beyond the class.

Next, I'm going to focus in on those course outcomes, so really writing down what it is that I want them to know-- my students to know by the end of this unit and by the end of the course. Right? So the courses would be up here. The unit outcomes would be right there. And then, I can break those unit outcomes into those I Can Statements as I choose. So what are the skills and the knowledge that I want students to master by the end of this particular unit? And I would, of course, develop those based on what I came for students to know at the end of the course.

Next, as we move on, if we look a little bit closer at our curriculum map, we're going to see that the next focus, then, would be on all of those different standards. Right? So as I move forward, I would want to look at the content standards that are connected to those outcomes that I have, and make sure that I can answer those, and place those content standards as well as the technology standards into my curriculum maps, that I'm able to see where I want students to go with that. After I've answered those questions, I can then move on to complete the areas of those essential questions that we talked about, as well as those outcomes, the goals, and the skills, and competencies that I want.

Once I'm done with that-- that's really my stage one-- now I'm going to move on to stage two, where I start looking a little more at those elements of assessment. That's really closely connected to the ideas in the design principles number three, where that assessment needs to be meaningful and positive. So first of all, I want to look at what are some of those performance tasks that I want my students to be able to complete by the time we're done? What should they do in order to really help demonstrate that mastery? I can also, then, focus in on what are some of my common assessments and formative assessments that I can use in order to help see that students are progressing along the way-- making sure that I'm able to check their mastery and that they're able to do that?

Once I've filled in and I've answered those questions for myself, then I'm finally able to move on to stage three. Stage three is where we help determine the activities for the lesson. And this is where we also really get to focus in on that idea of principles-- design principles one and four, where students are not only moving on and progressing through that based on their mastery, but also where I can plan for differentiation.

So if you look at this particular curriculum map here, what you'll notice is that there isn't a ton of room for me to include that. That's going to come in when I develop my particular lesson plans. But if I wanted, I could probably include some of that information here, where we have the learning progressions, vocabulary, as well as my learning plan. This would be where I would just give a few basic ideas that I can then expand upon in a more detailed learning plan.

So within this stage three, I would want to ask myself what kinds of activities can I use that will really help support reaching those standards that I've set and help students show proficiency? How can I reach the needs of all of my learners through my learning plan? And where am I going to help to allow for options for students who are reaching that proficiency before the rest of their classmates, as well as students who are reaching it later?

Now, once I've done all of this, I'm going to want to make sure that I look back and ask myself do the elements that I've created in that learning plan really help me get at the major ideas? And once I do that, I can go back, and I can start turning all of those standards and outcomes into my I Can Statements, making sure that I'm making them meaningful. When you get to this point, don't forget that these are going to help directly relate to the summative assessments that you're going to give your students at the end of the unit. It's also important to remember, as you create these, that we really want to look at those transfer goals or the idea that students are going to apply this knowledge elsewhere. That really helps us get at the deeper learning that makes understanding by design and competency based education so helpful in our classroom.

Once I've done that for all of my units, I want to say, do I include the standards? Have I included those outcomes and competencies that I identified in stage one? Do all of my assessment pieces really help me determine student mastery? And finally, is my learning plan fully differentiated, so that I can really help determine if a student has reached that competency, and they are confident with the content and the knowledge and skills that they need?

If I zoom back out again, you'll notice that our entire learning map is fairly small, depending on the number of units that I have. So there isn't going to be a ton of information. The majority of this information is going to go into those individual lesson plans.

Now that you've reached the end of this lesson, you have been able to review the UbD stages. You've been able to review the CBE design principles. And you've got to complete a CBE curriculum map using both of those elements.

Now that we've reached the end of the lesson, what do you think would be the first step you would take in creating a curriculum map for one of the courses that you teach? 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.