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You want to shift your program or institution to a competency-based education (CBE) model — but you don’t know where to start and have questions. What is CBE? How are CBE programs structured? How are they developed? We’ll answer these questions and more in this blog series. Welcome to our CBE Crash Course. Let’s start with the basics.
What is Competency-Based Education?
More academic programs are transitioning to CBE curricula to meet the demands of a competitive workforce, but what exactly is CBE? To understand competency-based education, let’s break down the term into its parts.
If a Competency is …
A general statement describing the knowledge, skills, attitudes, or behaviors an academic institution and/or industry believes students should possess by the end of a course or degree program.
Then, Competency-Based Education …
Aligns learning outcomes to industry competencies and asks students to demonstrate mastery of those competencies through assessments rather than time spent in the classroom.
This means …
CBE rewards and acknowledges learners’ expertise, on-the-job training, personal study, or prior learning, allowing them to demonstrate mastery in a subject or topic through assessments and move through their academic program faster, speeding up their time to graduation.
Now, how might this definition of CBE impact teaching and learning at your institution? Let’s dig deeper and compare CBE’s major components to something you’re likely familiar with: traditional education.
How is CBE different from traditional education?
Generally speaking, CBE has a different perspective on Student Progress, Time Spent in the Classroom, Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction Focus than Traditional Education. The table below describes these differences.
Conclusion
While there is some overlap between approaches, CBE builds intentional connections between the classroom and the workforce in ways traditional education may not always be able to. Simply put, CBE focuses on competency mastery rather than seat time. So, how will this shift impact how you set up and deliver your program? Our next post will discuss different ways to structure your CBE program.
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