The Art and Science of Designing Competencies

1. The Art and Science of Designing Competencies Kim Carter, Q.E.D. Foundation Chris Sturgies, MetisNet

2. Q.E.D.’s Mission is to build, inspire, cultivate and sustain cultures of transformational learning where We are all learners with aspirations and passions which deserve to be supported in every way possible. Learning changes lives by helping us develop the will, knowledge, skill, and capacity to achieve our aspirations. Learning needs to happen in different ways, so we use various strengths and resources to engage with the world around us. Learning empowers us to co-create our public world and to shape the decisions that impact our lives.

4. Competency Education Students advance upon mastery. Competencies include explicit, measurable, transferable learning objectives that empower students. Assessment is meaningful and a positive learning experience for students. Students receive timely, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs. Learning outcomes emphasize competencies that include application and creation of knowledge, along with the development of important skills and dispositions

5. What is a Master?

6. What does it take to get really good at something?

8. What is Mastery? Mastery is the consistently successful application of a set of knowledge (facts), skills (processes), and behaviors (actions) to complex problems and novel situations.  Students demonstrateProficiency through a preponderance of evidence of attainment of the required competencies in and/or across a content area. Competenciesare the knowledge, skills and/or behaviors students must master in a specific content or performance area.

9. What Makes a Good Competency? Describes knowledge and skills that can be applied to novel, complex situations. Skills will be valuable ten years from now even if the content knowledge has changed. Learning objectives have clear performance criteria so students can identify their performance level(s) and what they need to do to improve. Learning objectives are accompanied by effective rubrics that help students understand themselves as learners. The competency and the learning objectives allow for personalization and opportunities for deeper learning.

10. Competency Development List characteristics of graduates (what do they need to know and be able to do?) - e.g. effective communicator Identify how each discipline contributes to those characteristics. - e.g. English: speaking skills, organizational methods, grammar and mechanics, etc. Map the progression of knowledge and skills that get students there. - e.g. Learning progression through skill levels

11. Examples Students will understand that different audiences require different communication styles and strategies. Students [I can] use a wide range of strategies to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences to convey a variety of purposes. Students will make informative presentations.

12. Quality Competency MC2: Students [I can] use a wide range of strategies to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences to convey a variety of purposes. CCSS: Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communication tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

13. Knowledge frameworks

14. Habits

15. Habit Habits

16. Kim Carter Q.E.D. Foundation kcarter@QEDfoundation.org Chris Sturgis MetisNet chris@metisnet.net