Initial Thoughts on
Competency-Based Learning
By Prof. Jonathan
Acuña Solano
Monday, October 12,
2015
Twitter: @jonacuso
Post 195
“The
most important characteristic of competency-based education is that it measures
learning rather than time. Students progress by demonstrating their competence,
which means they prove that they have mastered the knowledge and skills (called
competencies) required for a particular course, regardless of how long it takes”
(Mendenhall, 2012) . Based
on Mendenhall’s characterization of Competency-Based Learning (CBL), I have
been modifying my teaching in such a way that learners can demonstrate what
they have been learning by means of projects, research tasks, and cooperative
learning practices.
At Universidad Latina in Costa Rica, I am certain that lots
of Faculty Members do use CBL in class and in various subjects and programs,
but I cannot for sure tell whether it is the vast majority. In language
learning, which is my area of work and expertise, I have been developing all
sorts of small-scale projects to foster the consolidation of knowledge and
skills into competencies that learners can use at work. Several of my
colleagues do work similarly to me, yet others are more traditional in their
teaching. To have all Faculty Members at Universidad Latina hold on to CBL, all
of us must bear in minad that, as stated by the College Affordability Guide, “competency-based
education’s results-oriented format allows students to use prior learning, open
educational resources and whatever learning methods work well for them, as long
as they can prove mastery of the material” (Competency-Based Education: Why MOOCs and
Independent Learning are Tomorrow’s Course Credits, n.d.) . This will no doubt
result in more deep learning for all our college students.
My personal experiences with Competency-Based Learning has
made me shift 180° in my teaching approach nowadays. As Everhart posits (2014), CBL is meant to be “learner-centric,”
“outcome based” and, “differentiated.” My particular experience with CBL gravitates
around student production and research (learner-centric) by providing students
with tasks where they can demonstrate understanding and use of knowledge to consolidate
a project for learning. The idea is to help learners “develop skills at their
own pace” (Everhart, 2014) . My current teaching
practices aim at working on an “outcome based” fashion. That is, bearing the
end product in mind and the competencies needed to be developed, students with
assessment experiences carefully planned and graded with rubrics created for
that only purpose. Finally, my CBL practice is “differentiated” for my pupils. My
idea behind learning outcomes and objectives, as explained by Everhart (2014)
is to “recognize and adjust” my teaching “to meet the needs of individual
learners.”
Initially, I must admit, I was rather
skeptical to give this approach a try. When I came to understand what Kaplan University
points out, “the classroom –onsite, online, or a combination of both- is the environment
best suited for students to acquire competencies; it is where they learn, practice
applying what they learn, and demonstrate mastery that translates to a work-related
setting” (Competency-Based Education, n.d.) . Why to wait for
students to go on a professional practicum to have them realize what the needed
competencies are? Isn’t it better to start training them in the classrooms from
the very start of their majors? The answer for these questions are the pathway
to follow to provide learners with deep learning opportunities to have them
create the competencies needed to be functional at work.
Referencias
Competency-Based Education.
(n.d.). Retrieved from Kaplan University:
http://www.kaplanuniversity.edu/student-experience/competency-based-education.aspx
Competency-Based Education: Why MOOCs and Independent
Learning are Tomorrow’s Course Credits. (n.d.). Retrieved
from College Affordabilty Guide:
http://www.collegeaffordabilityguide.org/blog/competency-based-education-why-moocs-and-independent-learning-are-tomorrows-course-credits/
Everhart, D. (2 de October de 2014). 3 Key
Characteristics of Competency Based Learning. Obtenido de Blog.Blackboard.Com:
http://blog.blackboard.com/3-key-characteristics-of-competency-based-learning/
Mendenhall, R. (2012, May 9). What Is Competency-Based
Education? Retrieved from Huffingtonpost.Com:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-robert-mendenhall/competency-based-learning-_b_1855374.html
Monday, October 12, 2015
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