Summary of “Applying Appropriate Pedagogical Strategies to Implement CB Instruction in the Classroom

Video Transcription

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you're having a wonderful day today. And I am happy and sad to tell you that we have reached the end of our unit on applying appropriate pedagogical strategies to implement competency-based instruction in the classroom. So congratulations on making your way through this unit. And I'm sorry to see you go.

As we've begun every lesson with a quote, so we begin our final summary here with a quote by Pliny the Elder which states, "From the end spring new beginnings." And that's exactly what's happening right now. Even though this is the end of our unit, it is just the beginning of all of the ways you are going to be able to incorporate what you've learned here into your teaching.

When you started out, you had a number of objectives. And now that we've reached the end of the unit, you are able to analyze competency-based education including iNacol's five components of CBE, essential learning questions, as well as the elements of Understanding by Design.

You're now able to analyze the five principles of constructivist teaching as defined by Brooks and Brooks as well as the personalization, individualization, and differentiation as identified and defined by McTighe and Tomlinson.

You're also have been able to create a differentiated lesson that includes the five principles of instruction and technology to enhance your identified standards, competencies, and outcomes, as well as you have had the opportunity to reflect on how technology can really expand the possibilities of competency-based instruction in your classroom.

Now what I'd like to do is go ahead and look back over these objectives one more time so that you can really remind yourself of the way in which you got to see each of these objectives play out over the course of the 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 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 broaden 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 focus 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 1, 2, and 3, 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 can 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 you have reached the end of the unit, again, you have been able to achieve all of these many different learning objectives. Now, just as all of the education that you saw within each lesson built on one another, these two have built on each other.

First, you were able to really focus in on what competency-based education was, all of the various elements in it, laying that foundation for truly understanding competency-based education. After that, you were able to add onto it a strong foundational knowledge in the five principles of constructivist teaching, personalization, individualization, and differentiation, adding some new understandings to your bank of knowledge.

With that strong foundation, you then were able to put it into practice and create a differentiated lesson using all of those various elements that you focused on throughout the unit. Finally, you were able to reflect on how all that you have learned can really impact the work that you do in the classroom.

Thank you so much for joining us throughout this unit. It was such a joy to have you. And hopefully, you can take what you've learned here and apply it and pass on this knowledge to everyone else you encounter.