Introduction to “Applying Appropriate Pedagogical Strategies to Implement Competency Based Instructi

Video Transcription

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you are having a wonderful day today, and welcome. You are about to begin our unit on applying appropriate pedagogical strategies to implement competency based instruction in the classroom. I am so glad that you're going to be joining me on this unit.

As we continue to go through this unit and you encounter many different lessons by me, you'll notice that I begin each and every lesson with a quote that applies to what we will be learning that day. And we are going to do the exact same right now. So for today's introductory lesson, what I have chosen is a quote by William Throsby Bridges, which states, "genuine beginnings begin within us, even when they are brought to our attention by external opportunities." And that's what's happening right now.

Even though an external opportunity is bringing you these various new educational tools and knowledge, you are the one who is truly beginning your journey towards really having that new understanding. Now by the time you're done with this unit, you will be able to analyze competency based education, including the iNacol's five components of CBE, essential learning questions, and elements of Understanding by Design. You'll be able to analyze the five major principles of constructivist teaching as defined by Brooks and Brooks, as well as personalization, individualization, and differentiation as defined by McTighe and Tomlinson.

You'll also be able to create a differentiated lesson that includes the five principles of instruction and technology to help enhance the identified standards, competencies, and outcomes. And you'll be able to reflect on how technology can expand the possibilities of competency based instruction in your classroom. What I'd like to do now is dig a little bit deeper into each one of these objectives and give you a bit of a preview of what it is that you are going to get to see as you work your way through this unit.

So the first major objective states that students will be able to analyze competency based education, including the iNacol's five components of CBE essential learning questions and elements of Understanding by Design. Within this specific objective, there is a ton of attention paid to competency based education, establishing what it is, what it looks like, and really, why it's important, really making sure that foundation has been laid, so that you understand what competency based education is.

Also, there's a lot of emphasis put on iNacol's five design principles. Going in depth and looking at each specific design principle, what is it? How does it work? What does it look like in practice, and what are some tips and tools for incorporating that into curriculum design?

Finally, within this objective, you've seen a huge emphasis on that connection between Understanding by Design and competency based education really working to bridge the gaps amongst all of these various new vocabulary elements and educational principles that we've looked at. The second major objective is to analyze the five principles of constructivist teaching as defined by Brooks and Brooks, as well as personalization, individualization, and differentiation as defined by McTighe and Tomlinson. Within this objective, you will see the constructivist theory really laid out, focusing in on the work that Brooks and Brooks did in 1992.

Those five principles of constructivist teaching have been clearly examined and then looked at from a couple of different angles to really show the way in which constructivist theory can be used within the classroom. There is also a big emphasis put on understanding the differences between personalized learning and differentiated instruction. A lot of these vocabulary terms can sound very similar. So understanding the small nuance and differences can really help you as a teacher understand what it is that you want to hone in on for your personal teaching or the differences as you are engaging in those conversations with other teachers in your community helping to figure out what is really going to be the best fit for your school.

Finally, within this objective, you have gotten to see a ton of emphasis on individualization and the learning that accompanies that, looking at ILPs, the benefits of individualized learning plans, as well as some sample ILPs to really brought in your knowledge of not only what this is getting the background, but also, getting in depth and seeing what it looks like. The third major objective is to create a differentiated lesson that includes the five principles of instruction and technology to enhance the identified standards, competencies, and outcomes. Within this objective, there's opportunities to really focused in on what are the five principles of instructional design, looking at Merrill's five major principles, and understanding what goes into each one of those really getting at the why of our instructional design.

Once that's established, then there is a huge focusing in on the various stages of Understanding by Design and looking at a unit that has been developed using the Understanding by Design stages one, two, and three. So again, not only seeing it in theory, but also, honing it and seeing it in practice. This helps apply what you are learning to what you're going to have to actually do in the classroom, a huge step towards making this something that could actually be used within your own teaching.

The final objective is to reflect on how technology can really expand the possibilities of competency based instruction in your classroom. When we look at reflection, one of the most important parts of everything that we do as teachers, we really get to look at going all the way back to the bigger ideas of why we should implement competency based instruction into the classroom. And focusing in on the ways in which we can not only convince ourselves, but also, be a channel to our community for why this can be so beneficial. Also, looking at then specific models for reflecting on competency based instruction and the use of technology within that competency based education classroom.

What are the questions that you can ask yourself as a teacher to really identify where your teaching is going great and where you can maybe improve a little bit? Finally, really looking at the way in which technology can be infused into competency based education using some of those ISTE teacher standards and goals, so that you can be sure that you are making the most of all of the resources available in your classroom. Now that we've gotten a chance to review over those major objectives, once again, I want to remind you that by the end of this unit, you will be able to achieve all of these different goals that are set out for you right now.

Welcome. I hope you have fun. We're going to learn a whole lot over the course of this unit, and I'm so very glad that you're joining me.