Summary of "Implementing Competency-Based, Personalized Instruction"

Video Transcription

Hi, my name is Ashley. And welcome to the summary of implementing competency-based personalized instruction. What did you learn in this unit? This unit covered many learning objectives. We analyzed competency-based base education, including iNACOL's five components of CBE, the essential questions, and the elements of understanding by design.

We also touched on problem-based learning as it is defined by the Buck Institute. We went through the steps on how to create your own CBE, PBL lesson, then reviewed ways to reflect on your lesson, ensuring that it incorporates personalization for your students. Let's take a look at these in a little bit more detail.

In this unit, we looked at Competency-Based Education, also known as CBE. We discussed how CBE refers to students working until mastery is achieved. One of the five design principles of CBE states students receive rapid, differentiated support. With the support, students are able to work until they have mastered the skill. This design principle and the others are closely related to personalization.

Remember, personalization is individualized learning for students. This helps provide students with the support they need. We also connected the CBE components back to essential learning questions, and demonstrated how creating effective essential questions encourages students to be responsible of their learning. When objectives are clear and direct, students have more of a desire to make sure they are competent in the learning areas.

This unit also covered problem-based learning. Problem-based learning is a method of teaching in which students learn by investigating a complex question, problem, or challenge. We looked at certain elements that are needed for problem-based learning, one of which includes a driving question or a hook.

This driving question is essential to problem-based learning. It piques students' interests and gets them motivated in the task at hand. From there, students are on a mission to gain all the information they can in order to successfully answer the challenging question. Problem-based learning also incorporates 21st century competencies and inquiry, allowing students to go much deeper than on the surface on learning objectives. Researchers also say that PBL engages students and provides opportunities for collaboration and communication, and the building up of critical thinking skills.

After taking a look at CBE and PBL, we could use the elements from both to create a lesson. In the lesson we created, the objectives were clearly defined. The essential questions allowed for inquiry. The assessment was problem-based. We wanted to not only create a CBE, PBL lesson, but we wanted to allow for personalization, so students were given the choice of learning activities.

In our lesson, we also incorporated the three stages of understanding by design, which is a practice that is used for lesson planning design. It's used by high-performing school districts such as those in Massachusetts. To do this, we identify the desired results, then made a list of acceptable evidence. Lastly, we developed a learning plan of activities the students will be engaged in.

In this unit, we also covered how you can effectively reflect on your CBE, PBL lesson once you have presented it to your students. One way is by having a peer observe you while you teach your lesson, and your colleague can provide feedback on things that you did well and things that you need to work on. Or you can have your students complete a plus, minus, delta. You can do this as a class or students can do it individually.

A plus, minus, delta is used to identify what went well, what things didn't go so well, and suggestions for the future. You may also consider Marzano's 10 instructional design decisions to guide you as you reflect on your lesson and whether it encouraged personalization in your classroom.

Let's quickly recap the main learning objectives of this unit. In this unit, you learned a lot about competency-based education. You can definitely see how the unit first introduces you to competency-based education. You learned the components of it, and then by the end of the unit, you were incorporating it in your own lesson and reflecting on it.

The same as with problem-based learning. Problem-based learning and CBE both provide opportunities for personalized learning, and they offer flexible learning. They allow for students to have more responsibility for their learning, and help students but critical thinking and communication skills along the way.

Congratulations, you have completed the unit implementing competency-based personalized instruction. You're now on your way to creating competency-based, problem-based, personalized learning opportunities for your students that incorporate flexibility, and differentiated support, meaningful assessments, and progression based on mastering. I hope these lessons have been beneficial for you. As always, please refer back to the lessons and the additional resources sections to provide more information on how to implement these skills.