Competency-based education as a door for current problems of traditional education — the necessity and feasibility
In this fast-growing world with more and more advanced knowledge and technologies, tertiary education has an increasing role in people’s competence and competitiveness in the labor market. It is judged that, however, the current curriculum of traditional tertiary education to a certain extent failed to achieve this aim, and might not be the best way to provide students with essential skills and competence. This challenging issue drives the discussion and emergence of Competency-based education (CBE), which may be able to provide us some insight for the current situation.
Current Problems and Flaws In Traditional System
Before exploring key issues in a competency-based system, it is valuable to unpack why the traditional system is an obstacle to creating high-achieving outcomes. It is believed that our traditional system is focused on a narrow set of academic outcomes emphasizing academic skills, memorization and comprehension of content, while failing to recognize that student success is dependent on more than academic knowledge. Success requires a full range of foundational skills including social and emotional skills and the ability to transfer knowledge and skills to new contexts, which is not incorporated in our current curriculum. In addition, one-size-fits-all assessments are conducted at predetermined points of time and are administered to all students. After completing assessments, with the time-based curriculum structure batching students by age, students move through the same content and courses at the same pace. Students advance to the next grade level after a year of schooling regardless of what they actually learned. They receive grades with little guidance on what is needed to do better or opportunities for revision. This traditional system determines students’ work “complete” when students meet the number of credits required, despite the inability to adequately prepare all students for success in future career and life. It is believed that the result is low achievement and educational inequity.
Concerning these noticeable flaws in our traditional curriculum design, Competency-based education (CBE) is gaining recognition as a system designed to ensure all learners master academic knowledge, develop the competence to apply it to real-world problems and build the skills for future success. Would this be a way out? And how is it feasible in practice?
Introducing Competency-Based Education
Competency-based education (CBE) refers to form of education that derives curriculum from an analysis of a prospective or actual role in modern society and that attempts to certify student progress on the basis of demonstrated performance in some or all aspects of that role, and such demonstrations of competence are independent of time served in formal educational settings (Riesman, 1979). It is noted that there is no standard definition of CBE and agreement on the criteria that encompass this model. CBE can take a wide variety of forms from school to school, and there is no single model or universally used approach. For the initial emergence of CBE, we have to retrace to Morrill LandActs (1862) who advocated school programs to rely less on rote learning and more on training. It is believed that students should be examined on how they were able to apply what they learned to practical job situations and be prepared for their role in society. Decades after, the CBE approach has been modified and the major highlights of CBE are as follow:
- Student success outcomes are designed around preparation for future career and lifelong learning.
- Learning outcomes emphasize competencies that include application and creation of knowledge, along with the development of important skills and dispositions.
- Pedagogical principles emphasize meeting students where they are and building intrinsic motivation.
- Assessments are embedded in the personalized learning cycle and aligned to outcomes including the transfer of knowledge and skills.
- Learners advance based on mastery and attainment of learning expectations through personalized learning pathways
- Mechanisms are in place to ensure consistency in expectations of what it means to master knowledge and skills
Comparing between CBE and traditional education, they are largely varied in outcome, pedagogy, assessment, support and etc. For the outcome, CBE focuses on a holistic set of success outcomes that include true understanding of content knowledge and skill demonstrated through application, while traditional education focuses on a narrow set of academic outcomes emphasizing academic skills, memorization and comprehension of content. Concerning the pedagogy, CBE takes into consideration student pathways in designing instruction. In contrast, Traditional education delivers a single curriculum to all students based on age, and emphasizes covering the curriculum each year. Furthermore, CBE embeds assessment in alignment to outcomes including the transfer of knowledge and skills, while the one-size-fits-all assessments in traditional system emphasizes assessment for summative purposes to verify what students know. For the supports, CBE provides timely and differentiated instruction and support. The traditional system targets supports to students when their academic or behavioral needs are identified as significantly above or below the norm (i.e. special education, gifted and talented). With the above distinguishing features in the approach and outcome, it is deemed that CBE is able to address the situation of traditional system.
Examples
Minerva school could be an example for CBE that it is one of the accredited schools to use the competency-based approach. The curriculum is designed to develop students’ intellect across multiple disciplines, as well as critical life skills, professional capabilities, and key aspects of the personal character. To achieve the aim of developing students’ intellect, building character, and learning practical capabilities, customized learning that are believed to be more agile and effective than traditional approaches are designed and delivered.
Competency-based education, as an educator-led reform, is taking root in schools across the world. The concept behind CBE in fact is very simple: learning is best measured by students demonstrating mastery of learning. By redesigning the education system around actual student learning, it is hoped that our schools will prepare each student more effectively for a future in an increasingly global and competitive economy.
For more information, please visit:
https://aurora-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/Quality-Principles-Book.pdf
