What is Competency Based Education?
Competency Based Education is a system of instruction, assessment, grading, and reporting that are based on students demonstrating that they have learned the knowledge and skills they are expected to learn as they progress through their education.
Expectations of the student are set by the school's state learning standards and define the 'competency' in a given course, subject area, or grade level. The ultimate goal of CBE is to ensure that every student is learning the necessary skills to be successful in school, careers, and life.
Competency Based Education can take many forms and may be called many names such as, proficiency based, mastery-based, or performance based education. There is no one method or model to CBE.
Why Utilize a Competency Based Education Program?
Traditional education approaches involve students receiving credit or a grade in order to proceed to the next level. A passing grade can be anything from an A to D, which means some students end up learning more than others.
Competency Based Education does away with students graduating high school without acquiring all the knowledge and skills required for higher education or a career. A competency based system means students graduate to next levels only after they have met the required learning standards.
CBE is also beneficial for teachers by providing a more detailed look into what students are actually learning, which in turn can help them identify learning strengths and weaknesses,as wells as concepts that the student may not have mastered just yet.
Who Benefits from Competency Based Education?
Many educational stakeholders believe that CBE will greatly improve the chances that students will learn critically knowledge and concepts they will need throughout their life and ultimately help close the continuing achievement and learning gaps that plague certain population. For these reasons many believe the CBE is a more equitable approach to education, since it will hold all students to the same standards regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status.
English Language Learners (ELLs)
Much has been said about the challenges faced by English Language Learners in a one size fits all traditional education system. English Language Learners struggle more in school than any other group of students except those identified for special education. Since CBE seeks to meet students exactly where they are and puts the student in the center of the learning process, it reshapes the paradigm and provides ELLs the cultural, linguistic focus needed for success in and out of school.
Special Education
Competency Based Education is an excellent tool for students identified for special education services. One teacher has this to say about CBE:
“I believe CBE is a great framework for students with learning and attention issues because it gives them ‘voice and choice’ in their learning. Students are able to express what they know in a variety of formats. For example, one of our students, T, is able to learn the material during class. Then, once he is comfortable with it, he can submit a blog on his classroom website to show that he understands and has mastered the competency.”
A CBE framework allows for maximum personalization and flexibility; this means that students can demonstrate mastery of content and skill in their own way and in their own time. CBE also helps to identify areas of opportunity to target interventions to meet each students individual needs.
Early Education
Children in preschool settings come from all different backgrounds and experiences. Some ahve rich learning experiences at home, others may have not been so fortunate. Children entering Kindergarten may have up to a 12 month age difference. Gender differences can also affect language skills, motor skills, and social readiness. A one size fits all instruction systems sets many of these children up for patterns of learning that can negatively affect them for the rest of their life.
CBE embraces these young learners wherever they may be at. Applied in early education, students advance upon mastery, not time. Students are recognized for their differences and the instruction given is based on need, not age or a curriculum guide. CBE can help young learner feel safe and comfortable with learning, something that can benefit them for a lifetime.
Competency Based Education For All
With CBE the student is able to progress as fast as they are able. This tenet is especially beneficial for populations with additional learning needs. Another proponent of CBE is that the curriculum is based on competencies and not grades. With some learners and and learning area it's important not only to see what a student knows but what they can do. Competency Based Education understands that all students have unique backgrounds, experiences, and skills. A fully utilized CBE program is inclusive and interactive. With all that being said, I believe CBE, when used correctly can have a positive implications for all learners.
Backward Design Lesson Plan Using Competency Based Education
Backward Design is an instructional design that believes the learning experiences should always be planned with the final assessment in mind. This form of instructional design works exceptionally well with Competency Based Education. By beginning with the end in mind, teachers are able to avoid the common problem of planning forward from unit to another, only to find that in the end some students are prepared for the final assessment and others are not.
Below is a sample lesson plan that can be used in a public school 1st grade science lesson.
Stage 1- Desired Results
Established Goals: Students will be able to identify and describe plant parts and their functions.
Understandings: Students will understand that...
- Plants are living things with differing parts
- Each part has a different function
Essential Questions:
- What are the parts of a plant?
- What do the parts do?
- Why is this beneficial to the plant?
Students will know...
- The parts and functions of a plant
Students will be able to...
- Name the parts of a plant
- Describe the parts
- Explain the function
Stage 2- Assessment Evidence
Performance Task: Pennsylvania Learning Standard 3.1 1.A.5- Identify and describe plant parts and their function.
Assessment Activity
- Verbal presentation
- Poster, 3D or digital model, or draw and label parts of a plant
- Daily Journal Learning Reflection
Other Evidence
- Student will be able to construct/ deconstruct a plant and it's parts
- Student will be able to accurately name plant parts
- Student will be able to accurately describe the plant part's function
Stage 3- Learning Plan
Learning Activities
- Construct a plant with art materials
- Visit arboretum or visit from a horticulturist
- Grow classroom plants
- Parts of a plant anchor chart created during group time
- Read a book about plants. Display books on plants around room
- Parts of a plant song
- Build a flower using pattern blocks or other loose parts.
Vocabulary
- Roots
- Stem
- Leaves
- Flower petals
- Seeds
- Pollinate
- Reproduce
- Photosynthesis
Resources
Gandara, P. & Hopkins, M. Challenges in English Learner Education. Retrieved from: https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/challenges-english-learner-education
Competency-Based Learning or Personalized Learning. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from: https://www.ed.gov/oii-news/competency-based-learning-or-personalized-learning
Sornson, B. Compentency Based Early Childhood Learning. Retrieved from: http://earlylearningfoundation.com/competency-based-early-childhood-learning/
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