What Competency-based learning is...

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Revision as of 13:59, 13 July 2019 by Nils.zimmermann (talk | contribs) (...and 5 Wrong Practices)
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Created By N. Zimmermann

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Successful and relevant application of learning happens when individuals activate and apply knowledge, attitudes and skills in a specific situation. This ability can be described as competence. From a lifelong learning perspective it is a short time people spend in educational institutions. Outside of formal learning settings they continue self-development, gain new insights and shape their personalities. We might conclude, that education and qualification needs to respond to that observation and cover the broad range of experience, attitudes, book-knowledge and skills that one has and needs for his or her active and autonomously shaped life.

10 Good Reasons for Competency Based Learning

Beyond all missionary words we need to acknowledge, that competency based learning is not always easy to implement. It is often a disruptive element in the learning culture of a school, of an academy or an organization. Changes are never easy. In example, in change processes dilemmas appear between old proven and new risky ways of educating. Experience is questioned and new experience was not yet forming. That applies not only to educators or teachers, as well to learners. However, there are very good reasons able to motivate you to try it.

10 Reasons for Competency Based Learning

  • Competency based facilitation gives learners ownership over their learning and is a cooperative social process – real and authentic empowerment.
  • It takes takes strengths, needs, and abilities of learners for serious. Be more often surprised by the abilities and strengths of your learners.
  • It appreciates the diversity of perspectives and learning styles in a group as a potential (instead of trying to even these qualities).
  • Competency based facilitation encourages creativity, because it shapes new connections between topics, people, concepts.
  • It stimulates a sense of initiative and leads to self-efficacy when learners experience a gain of competencies by successful applying their knowledge.
  • It's relevant, because it allows learners to apply their abilities in a lot of different social roles and situations.
  • It's more flexible, because it understands learning as a process instead of subordinating it under the regime of a too linear curriculum.
  • It allows you to focus more on social processes and communication skills, because competency learning is a social process.
  • You are more free from unrealistic learning goals or unreal assumptions regarding the needs and abilities of your learners, because mainly the learners abilities are in the focus of competency based learning.
  • Thanks to competency based learning you know better, how cooperation with different fields of education, social engagement or non-formal education increases the quality of education. Because such cooperation allows your learners to apply the learned better under real life conditions.

...and 5 Wrong Practices

What Competency-centered Learning Should Not Be

  • Bureaucracy: It's intended to give learners and teachers more freedom instead more reglementation. It's appreciating the learner and requires flexible teachers or facilitators in supporting them.
  • Tailoristic: It's not the modern response to the old education for the workbench but with a similar attitude. Some promoters of competencies misunderstand competency-learning as only emphasizing on skills and skill-gaps. It aims to support autonomy, not usability.
  • Autonomy terror: It's not a self-optimization tool for assessing the fittest or making people competitive. Nor is competency-centered education the rationalization of Western ideology. Competencies are neutral – which does not necessarily exclude ideological imprintings of certain competency frameworks.
  • Stupidity: Competence-centered learning involves knowledge, attitude and skills. But that does not support some criticism, that knowledge and reflection of cognitively gained knowledge is less relevant. Competence means even more reflection. All dimensions of experience play a role, need to be strengthend and considered in the methodological concepts.



Articles

Competencies

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The focus on applicability of learning, the lifelong perspective and the positive attitude toward learners as the ones being able to co-create their learning biography, these are achievements of competency based learning concepts. A shift has taken place from traditional knowledge dissemination toward modern competency development.

Experiential Learning

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What we do is the result of observation, action, and reflection. In contrast to a linear understanding of learning, this dynamic could be described as circular development. It involves referring to previous experiences as well as anticipating outcomes, and is fluid.


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DEFINITION:

A competency is more than just knowledge and skills. It involves the ability to meet complex demands.

"A com­pe­tency is more than just know­ledge and skills. It involves the ability to meet complex demands, by drawing on and mobili­zing psycho­social resources (including skills and attitudes) in a particular context."

OECD


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