What’s New in Competency Education in K12 and Higher Education (October 6)

Coming up soon: CompetencyWorks is releasing a report A Study in Competency Education: Postcards from Abroad with a webinar on October 14th  at 1 pm ET. Register here.

And here’s a peek at what’s new in competency education. Scroll down for information on higher education.

K12

• Conferences
  • The New England Secondary School Consortium is calling for proposals from NE schools to present at the 6th Annual High School Redesign in Action Conference, March 26-27, 2015. Proposals must involve the sharing of practices that are aligned with personalized learning and the NESSC’s Global Best Practices. If you’re interested in presenting at this year’s conference, visit our website for further details and guidelines. Proposals must be submitted by October 27, 2014.

•  Papers

• The Past and the Promise: Today’s Competency Education Movement by JFF is a great read on the history and research base of competency education.
• A New Era for Education Assessment by David Conley and published by Students at the Center
• Does Deeper Learning Improve Student Outcomes? Results From the Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes by AIR
• Understanding and Supporting Blended Learning Teaching Practices from Education Elements and iNACOL

• Resources  and Blogs
  • Can Project-Based Learning Close Gaps in Science Education? raises issues about how we will need to design learning opportunities for the Next Generation Learning Standards. Published at Mind/Shift.
  • Proficiency-based graduation moves education in a promising direction is an op-ed by Thomas E. Keller is co-director of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance and the group’s STEM Guides project and is executive director of the Maine STEM Council in Augusta in Portland Press Herald.
  • The Institute for Democratic Education in America (IDEA) has expanded their website to include information on proficiency-based learning (and using CompetencyWorks working definition).
  • Highlights from the Innovation Lab Network: How Competency Based Education is Transforming Assessment and Accountability Systems in Schools from AIR’s College and Career Readiness Success Center.

• In the News

• The EAA Exposed is a one-sided investigative piece in Metro Times. I say one-sided because they obviously didn’t interview or include comments from people who were supportive or benefited.  However, it is worth reading as a case study for anyone innovating with a private sector partner so that you can learn from EAA’s experience.

Higher Ed

• U.S. Audit Faults Education Dept. on Direct Assessment and Confusion on Competency in Inside Higher Education reviews the US Dept of Ed’s review of direct assessment programs.

• Managing Competency Education in Inside Higher Education describes need for “learning relationship management system”.

• Lumina Foundation’s Strategy Labs has compiled  resources on competency-based education programs.  It’s a great resource.

• Change is Critical to the Future of Higher Education is an op-ed by Robert Mendenhall, Ph.D., ipresident of Western Governors University at US News and World Report.

• Student Voices: Competency-Based Education Key to Improving College Completion and Career Advancement for Adult Students  highlights individual students’ experiences in competency-based ed.

• The WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) will be holding its annual meeting in Portland, OR, November 19-21 with a couple of sessions on competency education.

• What is Competency-based Education
• All Hands on Deck: Ten Lessons from Early Adopters of Competency-based Education
• Maximizing Resources for Student Success by Stephen Porter and Kevin Reilly explore various models emerging in competency-based education and raise key questions and considerations for institutions as they consider this innovative approach
• State Financial Aid Programs and Competency-based Education 
• Competency Education and Federal Student Aid