How to enable competency based education through an intelligent learning platform
Education is constantly facing new challenges. If face to face readings were the norm decades ago, things have changed significantly. The focus is now on students and making lessons interactive by stimulating student participation.
All educational acts should and should mostly revolve around them. The purpose of education is no longer to impart theoretical knowledge. Most importantly, equip students with future proof skills to grow into well rounded adults ready to thrive in their lives and careers.
Competency based education plays an essential role in this. As the name suggests this type of learning focuses on individual competence. It promotes a student centered approach where students move from Level A to Level B after acquiring and demonstrating certain skills.
Competency based learning is easier to implement if you have the right tools. An Intelligent Learning
Platform (ILP) is the ideal option. This technology already includes all the features needed to implement a competency based learning model. Read more about K 12 LMS for Students
Discover how an ILP enables competency based education.
Competence based education (CBE) is an instruction and assessment method in which the student demonstrates mastery of specific subjects.
According to the Aurora Institute, the definition of competency based education includes the following seven components:
Learners are empowered to make decisions regarding their learning (how they create and apply knowledge, and how they demonstrate their acquired competencies);
Assessment is meaningful and becomes a positive and challenging experience for students who gain actionable insights as a result;
Students receive personal support from tutors based on their individual needs; Student progress is measured by the concrete skills they can demonstrate, not by class attendance;
Students can learn at their own pace and use a variety of personalized learning paths; The education system and the teacher's personal pedagogical approach are aimed at ensuring fairness for all students;
The learning objectives are stated explicitly and transparently; students know the skills they need to acquire by achieving concrete and measurable objectives.
Competency based education models integrate all seven elements. Now let us look at the main benefits of competence based learning.
How does competence based education differ from traditional models?
The main difference between traditional learning models and competency based learning is that the former prioritizes "sitting time" when measuring success. In a competency based model, student progress is measured by their ability, not time spent in class.
To make things a little clearer, think about the typical standard unit used at most colleges and universities to measure progress: the credit hour. This system has been around for years and is still the most popular method of measuring progress. However, it is not necessarily the most efficient.
Competency based learning aims to change the status quo by emphasizing personalized learning paths and how students demonstrate their learning.
In conclusion, CBE draws a clear line between "sit time" and real study progress. This change is proving very effective, especially for higher education students who may have already acquired certain skills in the workplace or through informal learning. If they can demonstrate mastery of these skills, students can progress in their learning rather than being forced to attend classes on the same subject as their peers. Find more about LMS for Higher Education
What are the benefits of competency based education?
Competency based education has many advantages. Among these, you will find increased student flexibility and engagement, a more efficient and focused learning process, and numerous personal development benefits as students gain confidence.
A more engaging learning experience
Listening to the teacher for hours each semester without the opportunity to intervene can be downright boring. It is also one of the reasons why many students do not feel motivated and involved in what is happening in the classroom. Even teachers who focus on student interaction still struggle to engage all students in the classroom.
This is understandable. Not everyone can or wants to have the opportunity to speak during class. By moving to a student centered teaching model and providing students with the tools they need for effective one on one learning, teachers can address low involvement issues. This is where online learning technologies like ILPs come into play.
Using a POP, each student is motivated to progress by learning new topics in a digital, intuitive, and engaging environment. Interactive lessons enriched with video content and elements of gamification play an important role in keeping students engaged and excited to move to the next level. In addition, students are responsible for content management. So they don't have to adapt to the pace of their colleagues. Once the assessments are done, they can move on to the next chapter and finish the lessons faster, making the whole experience more engaging.
Improved confidence and self assessment skills
Students need a sense of ownership and responsibility to meet the standards of tomorrow's workplace. Competency based learning contributes to this comprehensive development of learners as it focuses on the measurement of results. Only after a student has demonstrated mastery of a subject can he move on to the next.
Progress is gradual and continuously monitored through repeated evaluations. You won't be able to get to lesson seven unless you demonstrate mastery of the topics covered in the previous six lessons. This approach builds trust over time. Students become fully aware of what they already know and where they need to improve. They also become more involved in the assessment process and are eager to move from one level to the next.
Evaluation is no longer a threat, but a means of measuring progress. This increases students' motivation and empowers them to self assess their abilities, which will greatly benefit them in their careers.
More flexibility for students and teachers alike
CBE is highly learner centered, meaning that each individual's needs are prioritized. Each student's skills and knowledge gaps are at the heart of the CBE approach. Tracking each learner's progress and offering tailored educational content is the norm. This process can be simplified and streamlined if an ILP is used.
The system automatically tracks each student's progress and evaluates their skills. Only those who have successfully passed each stage of assessment can move on to more complex subjects. The lessons and resources students receive on the platform are based on their skill level. All this takes a lot of work off the hands of teachers and enables students to take control of their own education through self directed learning.
How
do you implement competency based education via an intelligent learning platform?
ILPs enable competency based instruction through their mastery features. Simply put, schools and universities can upload or create a skills pack on the platform. Teachers or administrators can easily do it themselves for their classes. Upon completion, they must relate educational content (lessons and assignments) to competencies. This can be easily done on some platforms by simply tagging classes with their corresponding skills.
As students navigate through their lessons, they must complete a challenge, such as solving a quiz or handing in a written assignment. With each type of assessment they successfully complete, the POP recognizes the skills they have acquired. Ultimately, all competencies contribute to achieving mastery in a particular subject.
Add competencies
Teachers can easily implement skills in a POP for both K 12 and higher education, without any technical background. Instructors can add as many skills as they like and track student progress accordingly. The content of the lesson is related to the skills to be learned.
Teachers can also access students' skills very quickly through the ILP quiz system. This also works as a self assessment method. Student’s complete quizzes by choosing answers they consider correct, and the POP automatically checks these tests and displays each student's progress in an intuitive dashboard. This type of rapid assessment also allows teachers to identify knowledge gaps.
Automated mastery
The example above shows just one of the capabilities ILPs have in automating competency based learning. There are several other assessment formats teachers can use. Unless they ask students to submit written assessments (for example, free form essays and quizzes), the entire assessment process runs on autopilot. All the teacher has to do is make sure the correct answers are set and the platform will check the self graded quizzes.
In addition, teachers will also see if their lessons cover well all the skills they need to teach, in other words, they take care of their mastery. They show the specific skills and what will be covered and assessed during the lesson.
Skills not covered by a module or assignment lower the overall skill level of the class, which can be expressed as a percentage. Therefore, teachers can add more content and tests that also cover that skill or remove it and assign it to a more appropriate class.
Track student progress based on competencies
The student's progresses are automatically tracked in a PDP. Therefore, teachers do not need to manually access the profile of each student and each individual assignment. They get this information at a glance in the form of analyses. Therefore, they can quickly view each student's name and instantly see how far they've come to demonstrate mastery of the skills. Assignments submitted, grades, dates, completed and ongoing classes, and attendance statistics can all be included in comprehensive yet easy to use reports.
Show competency-based content recommendations
POPs can do more than just help you assign and track classroom skills and assess students. These smart platforms are infused with artificial intelligence (AI). Therefore, they carefully examine user behavior and provide the most appropriate content recommendations based on each user's mastery level.
Students who demonstrate mastery of specific skills gain access to more complex lessons or content and explore related topics in more depth. Conversely, those who find it difficult to complete a task can get advice suitable for the beginner level. Instead of asking students to take the same class multiple times, which can erode their engagement and trust, the platform can recommend similar educational content from other sources, such as online articles and how to videos.
The advantages of using intelligent learning mastery features
Tracking student progress and knowing where and when each student falls behind is a challenge, especially in higher education institutions where teachers deal with hundreds of students. However, the same goes for school teachers. Even in groups of only 15 20 students, it is almost impossible to take into account each student's weaknesses and take action. However, an ILP acts as an assistant to keep track of it for you.
These are the main benefits of using an ILP to implement competency based learning.
An accurate analysis of student performance
As mentioned earlier, POPs automatically track student activity and progress. Every lesson and assessment they complete helps them become more competent. The platform calculates how far the student has come, how much time they have spent in lessons, etc.
More flexibility for everyone
Both students and teachers enjoy great flexibility by following the CBE through a POP. The former have the opportunity to learn at their own pace. Their progress is no longer affected by how fast or slows the rest of the class progresses. Students benefit from a personalized approach that allows them to spend the right amount of time learning each new subject.
Also, they can access educational content anytime, anywhere. Teachers also benefit from greater flexibility as they spend less time teaching and assessing. They just log into the platform when it's best for them to check on student progress.
Building future-ready skills with personalized recommendations
I cannot stress enough the importance of equipping students of all ages with practical skills that they will actually use. POPs make it easier for teachers to achieve this through personalized recommendations. For example, if a student wants to learn more about graphic design, the ILP not only gives them access to all internal lessons that cover this topic. It will also recommend third party content such as courses from third party providers (Udemy and similar), video tutorials, online articles, etc.
Making competency-based education possible
Competency based education is the kind of self directed, focused learning that students need today. This type of learning focuses on each student's needs and abilities and ensures that everyone masters one subject before they can move on to the next. ILPs are the tools that can help educators easily implement skills based programs, track student progress, and ensure that every student has access to the best educational content based on their skills, goals, and interests.