CompetencyWorks | July 2021

July 28, 2021

This newsletter shares recent CompetencyWorks blog posts and Aurora Institute resources, providing thought leadership and practical lessons from the field to support transformation toward personalized, competency-based K-12 schools and systems.

Our Approach to Catalyzing a Multicultural, Antiracist K-12 Content Map

This summer, reDesign convened about 100 content experts to begin redefining learning outcomes for K-12 education from a multicultural, antiracist perspective, grounded in the learning sciences. Sydney Schaef of reDesign explains why and how they did it. Key elements include emphasizing conceptual understanding (not just facts) and the multidisciplinary nature of many concepts and competencies.

An Updated Tool To Help Schools and Districts Chart Their Journey to Implement Competency-Based Education

Competency-based education leaders need support to develop multi-year implementation plans and measure progress. Jonathan Vander Els of the New Hampshire Learning Initiative and Brian Stack of Sanborn Regional High School share the design rubric tool they developed for guided reflection and goal setting, newly updated to reflect the Aurora Institute’s revised definition of competency-based education.

Crosswalking EdTech with Competency-Based Design Principles

EdTech provides essential support for high-quality competency-based education, but it needs to be used purposefully—to transform learning so that students are creators, have choice, and impact not just their classroom but also the world. Adam Watson of the Shelby County Public Schools in Kentucky has developed resources describing which elements of competency-based education can be facilitated or amplified by more than 20 different EdTech tools.

Competency-Based Education Across America

CompetencyWorks updated its compendium of more than 200 blog posts highlighting competency-based education from school visits and interviews in 28 states. Schools, districts, and support organizations have used these inspiring accounts of local reforms to inform deeper competency-based learning and systems change in their own settings.

For more news and updates in K-12 competency-based education, sign up for our monthly newsletters and follow the Aurora Institute on Twitter: @aurora_inst.

About CompetencyWorks

CompetencyWorks is an initiative that provides information and knowledge about competency-based education in the K-12 education system. Drawing on lessons learned by innovators and early adopters, CompetencyWorks is an online resource for sharing knowledge, original research and policy advances, and a variety of field perspectives. CompetencyWorks provides an informative blog with practitioner knowledge on key topics and papers on emerging issues, with resources curated from across the field of K-12 competency-based education.

Contact: Eliot Levine
[email protected]

CompetencyWorks | Aurora Institute