U N PA C K I N G T H E C O M P E T E N C Y- B A S E D C L A S S R O O M
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is conducted regularly so that the teacher is aware of what supports the student needs to help them be successful. In some cases, students are actually grouped in a learning community with access to multiple teachers, and teachers work collaboratively to group students to provide supports and instruction based on need. Blended or hybrid learning models like these were relatively rare in schools until the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced schools into using these models without teachers having the necessary experience or training. Such professional learning had to come (and will continue to come) later as schools realized the importance of having blended and hybrid options that allow students to move flexibly in and out of the classroom. Such models dovetail well with the notion of a move-when-ready system.
Every transformation has to start with an idea and someone to lead the charge. For Jada, her passion is with a new educational model that guarantees a deep and rigorous educational experience for all of her students. Jada is committed to starting her transformation for her students and her community, and she is hopeful that by taking a big risk to step out of her comfort zone, others will follow. When it comes time for action, will you be ready to answer the call? If she and her team can do it, so can you.
Reflection Questions Consider these questions with your team. 1.
The reasons educators are drawn to competency-based learning models varies from school to school. What is your team’s why for engaging in this work?
2.
Employability skills and dispositions are critical to today’s employers. What do you see as the most important skills and dispositions students must master in order to be successful in tomorrow’s global economy? How would you assess them?
©️2022 by Solution Tree Press
Levine and Patrick (2019) caution schools looking to embed move-when-ready models from compromising rigor. They note that a common misconception by educators looking to move to such a model is to adopt a “checklist mentality” (p. 7) whereby students are passed through a series of learning activities that lack challenge and rigor. Competency-based learning “emphasizes deeper, contextualized, and interconnected learning and diverse assessments that include performance-based demonstrations of mastery” (p.7). When implemented with an appropriate understanding of rigor and how to hold all students accountable to high standards, move-when-ready models can provide effective ways to help the school provide flexibility in their efforts to help every student succeed in a competency-based system.
