Competency-Based Education: A Comprehensive Guide

Are students able to implement what they learn in class? Is there a way to close the learning and skill gap? These questions shed light on educational approaches and students' responses in terms of learning practices and evaluation methodologies.

Effective examination techniques are particularly important because they help assess student learning, whereas traditional ones have little scope. That is where competency-based education (CBE) comes in, which allows educators to assess students’ competencies in real time.

What is Competency-Based Education?

Competency-based education is an educational approach that focuses on the skills and competencies that students can demonstrate. The emphasis is on student achievements and outcomes rather than on syllabus completion.

Therefore, teachers use appropriate pedagogical or instructional techniques that enable students to master a concept or subject. They ensure that learners have a deep understanding of the core concepts.

There is a discernible shift from formulaic, grade-centric exams and passive learning to strategic assessments and active learning. Hence, teachers evaluate learners’ capability of analyzing, applying, and assessing skills and knowledge learned in the classroom.

Also, the ultimate goal of the educational technique is to encourage students to use their knowledge in practical scenarios.

How do you implement competency-based education?

Identify critical competencies.

What skills would the students demonstrate by the end of the course? What competencies relate to the particular programs? These two questions are vital in assessing the critical competencies; likewise, teachers must consider the following as well:

• Describe competencies in terms of learning objectives, assessments, and course outlines.
• Use action verbs while describing competencies; e.g., analyze the difference between mental and emotional disorders.
• Align curriculum and instructional materials with identified competencies.
• Use various assessment methods, such as presentations and projects.

Reframe competencies as learning outcomes.

Once the core competencies have been identified, the next step involves breaking them down into their constituent parts. That is where pointing out the knowledge, skills, and attitude is essential to demonstrating competency.

Specify the actions and behaviors that align with the particular skills, which will help to measure and evaluate them accurately. For example, if the competency is critical thinking, then the core components are analysis, evaluation, problem-solving, decision-making, etc.

On the other hand, observable behaviors include identifying problems, information collection, data analysis, evaluating options, etc.

Strategic Assessments

In competency-based education, the examination pattern goes beyond the confines of the traditional education system. The emphasis is on demonstrating the mastery of specific skills instead of scoring higher grades. Some of the effective assessments that teachers implement are as follows:

• Performance-Based Assessments: These assessments encourage students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills by performing a task or creating a product. For example, working on experiments, building models, developing scripts for plays, etc.
• Self-assessments: assessing self-progress by writing journals and reflecting on what they learned in a week or month.
• Peer Assessments: Students check each other’s work and provide feedback; it helps to develop critical thinking and foster communication skills.
• Oral Assessments: Students can work independently or in a group to prepare and demonstrate a presentation. It helps to assess their self-confidence, communication skills, and public speaking competency.

Critical Factors for Competency-Based Assessments

Competency-based assessments are strategic examinations that teachers must develop by considering the following factors:

• Competency-based assessments must be transparent, and students must have prior knowledge of the assessment procedure, learning outcomes, and evaluation process.
• The student support system should have a framework to help learners understand when and if they can ask for the teacher’s help.
• It should include formative and summative assessments.
• Teachers can use different assessment methods, rubrics, or checklists to ensure the accuracy and validity of assessment outcomes.

Determine the best way to demonstrate competency.

Teachers can incorporate projects, assignments, or accomplishments, apart from utilizing strategic assessments. Likewise, assigning case studies or reports allows students to analyze complex problems, conduct research, and propose tentative solutions.

On the other hand, when students work on collaborative projects, they encounter different points of view, promoting social skills. Additionally, including lab work or experiments enables institutes to obtain experiential learning.

The Advantages of Competency-Based Education

Competency-based education is in stark contrast to the conventional education system, enabling teachers to stimulate the learning environment. Consequently, it serves to enhance the teaching and learning process, helping to bring about major benefits such as:

Student-Centric Learning

The educational approach recognizes the individuality of students; hence, teachers can develop the education technique according to the student’s needs. Furthermore, they can choose from multiple learning pathways that suit their strengths.

What’s more, the formative assessments help provide continuous feedback to students, helping them identify their strong and weak areas. Also, the approach increases the learner’s accountability, urging them to take an interest in their learning journey.

Skill-Oriented Education

Text-book-oriented learning is a passive approach that propels learners to focus on rote memorization to pass the examinations. However, it adds little to nothing to their overall capabilities.

In contrast, skills are central to competency-based education, wherein teachers develop the lesson and activities around a particular skill. Moreover, educators design the curriculum around competencies, which help students face work and life challenges.

It equips them with the four Cs, which are:

• Critical thinking : the ability to analyze information, solve problems, and make informed decisions.
• Creativity : the ability to come up with new ideas, think outside the box, and innovate.
• Communication : the ability to express oneself succinctly in a verbal or non-verbal manner.
• Collaboration : the ability to work in a team or in any social scenario.

Additionally, educators develop instructional approaches by aligning specific competencies with the subject and core concepts. As a result, students learn to demonstrate or apply the skills in real-life situations.

Equitable Educational Environment

One of the most unique aspects of the educational approach is the lack of a singular and rigid measure to assess academic excellence. There is no concept of high or low scores, suggesting any hierarchical system of grading.

On the contrary, given that CBE focuses on mastery of skills and knowledge, it fosters a fair and equal learning environment.

In addition, the evaluation technique lacks any kind of favoritism or bias and caters to assessing the competency levels of students. In fact, objective evaluation helps provide an accurate analysis of students’ academic and overall performance.

Stimulating the Learning Process

CBE promotes student participation in learning activities as opposed to traditional educational techniques that typically entail passive learning. Furthermore, the teaching and learning mechanisms encourage students to apply their knowledge to real-world issues.

In fact, they understand the particular skills and competencies that they need to master from the beginning, helping them to stay on track. They participate in experiential and collaborative learning activities.

Consequently, it provides them with a platform to interact with peers and exchange ideas to work on real-world issues and find solutions.