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Pedagogical Approach

Competency-Based Education

Personalized and Mastery-Oriented Design

Competency-based education is a framework for teaching and assessment centered on predetermined competencies, focused on outcomes and real-world performance rather than time spent in a course. Students are assessed at various points and may attempt a given competency multiple times with continuous feedback, and the model allows different students to move at varying paces rather than advancing together on a fixed schedule. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Disputed
Most Effective For
Its own practitioners hold it suits learners who need repeated attempts and continuous feedback to reach a defined standard, distinct from a fixed-pace, seat-time model; Western Governors University, chartered in 1996, is a prominent example of the approach at scale. 1
Central Question
Should a student progress once they demonstrate mastery of a defined competency, rather than after a fixed span of time in a course regardless of how well it has been learned? 1
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Competency-based learning
Wikimedia Foundation
  • introductory paragraph
    Competency-based learning or competency-based education is a framework for teaching and assessment of learning.
  • Methodology section
    For this reason, the learning process generally allows different students to move at varying paces within a course.
  • Concept section
    Students are generally assessed in various competencies at various points during a course, and usually have the opportunity to attempt a given competency multiple times and receive continuous feedback from instructors.
  • In Group: Mastery, Competency and Differentiated Instruction, Lead
    Competency-based learning or competency-based education is a framework for teaching and assessment of learning.
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