New Learning Models and Innovations Lead to Competency-Based Learning- ED 6381

 

        As technology continues to make astounding advancements, it becomes ever more prevalent within educational institutions. These advances have brought about new learning models and innovations that have been found very beneficial to students learning journey. It has led to competence-based learning where students are at the center of their education and can learn at their own pace. More schools and colleges are seeking new and innovative learning give studentsdents with greater engagement, flexibility, and control of their learning experience (SREB,2018). It is proven that when learning is student-centered, results will usually be far better than with a traditional approach. It is time for schools and colleges to move into a new educational era where technology is at the forefront providing innovative competency-based learning environments where all students can flourish in their own learning styles.

        

New Learning Models    

        As schools move into more technology-driven instruction, they need to implement new learning models. These new models must lead to innovative approaches that are student-centered where students are in control of their learning experiences. This will provide them with engagement and flexibility in their learning path. The concept of student-centered learning is to bring the classroom and students to life. The teacher is considered a “guide on the side”, assisting and guiding students to meet goals (Overby, 2011). New Learning models lead to competency-based education, where students move at their own pace, and it also leads to adaptive learning being sequenced by technology tools. When students are actively engaged in their learning, the mastery and achievement rate becomes much high than with a traditional classroom approach. Engaged students are more likely to persist in educational tasks until they reach their goals (SREB, 2018). Furthermore, I myself have seen tremendous growth during my years of being an educator as far as adopting new learning models into my classroom. The availability of various forms of technology has led to a vast variety of options. I have seen it as a great advantage to have all of this available at the tip of your fingertips. It allows you to interrogate them into your instruction and implement them accordingly to best benefit your students. Although, I have found that too much of a good thing can be too much for some educators. If they do not know to decipher which models are effective and efficient and proven to raise students' achivements, then the new learning models will become somewhat meaningless if they are not being utilized correctly. Educators must have adequate training and support to assure the use of these models is beneficial to most importantly their students.

“As with all academic programs, these new

learning models must prove themselves with evidence-based research and be developed with appropriate rigor and quality” (SREB, 2018).

 

Instructional Innovations 

    

        Thanks to innovations in technology, education has made great progress for the better. Now learners have easy and efficient access to endless amounts of information. Students now have the ability to learn in multimodal ways. For instance, with extended and mobile learning, people have the ability through e-learning, to give and receive immediate feedback online and access a vast array of instructional materials needed. All this has led to students having a greater motivation to learn because these technologies are engaging. There are multiple factors as to how instructional innovations are effective in an educational environment.         

    Innovations within educational technology have caused educators to change with the times or get at risk of staying behind. It is crucial for educators to keep current with new instructional advancements to see if they are helpful to their student's learning. One must try to be as well-versed as possible when it comes to innovations, if not they will not be used properly in an effective manner within your instructional practices. As an educator, I find myself many times trying innovative programs in my classroom to see how my students respond. It takes time for us to become familiar with certain programs and technologies. Like with anything new, one must have adequate time to learn how to use it best and manipulate it efficiently. Many times it takes both educators and students time to reach their goal of successfully using these innovations. But, when the classroom has mastered its use and integrated it effectively, is when you can see real growth in students' educational goals and successes.

“We now have programs and platforms that can transform learners into globally active citizens, opening up avenues for communication and impact. Thousands of educational apps have been designed to enhance interest and participation. Course management systems and learning analytics have streamlined the education process and allowed for quality online delivery” (SREB, n.d.)

Competency-Based Learning

         As education systems move into a new era where student-centered learning is at the forefront, competency-based education is making great advancements. Schools are adopting competency education so that to provide a more personalized model to meet student's diverse needs. It also provides flexible learning paths that fit the students' current and future levels. Students only advance in their pathway when mastery of certain skills and criteria have been met. This leads to transformative digital learning, where students are in control of their specially made adapted specifically for them, as opposed to the traditional educational approach, where one size tries to fit all.  Competency-based learning is reported to have overall higher educational outcomes for students, as it focuses on individualization and differentiation between students. Students receive timely, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs (Glowa, 2013). Solely traditional approaches tend to create more learning gaps for students who are falling behind on certain skills and make it very difficult for them to close that gap effectively. It is because of its effectiveness that many schools are beginning to implement this type of learning program. . Over two-thirds of our states have adopted policies that enable credits to be awarded based on proficiency in a subject (Glowa, 2013).

       

 “Personalized learning is a student-centric model that provides

more student choice for evidence of learning, often incorporating adaptive, mastery, and competency-based learning” (SREB, 2018).

 

            In conclusion, educators must continue to make a shift from traditional learning to student-centered learning.  For only this is when real-authentic learning takes place in the hands of the student themselves and the teachers act more as a “guide” in their learning journey. As education continues to grow and evolve, new learning models and innovations are here to stay. It seems to be the wave of the future as the traditional mundane methods have been proven less effective compared to new models. Schools are taking into account that students must be at the center of their education and in charge of their learning. Educators must be facilitators in their differentiated learning paths because not all students are at the same level at the same time. When education is more individualized to meet each student's needs, then they will have higher achievement rates as opposed to continuously creating more learning gaps in their skills and capabilities.

“Although there is much controversy about student-centered learning, it has proven to be successful in raising the achievement levels of students in reading, math, and science. Higher achievement levels are reached by engaging students with technology and group projects that encourage them to surpass their comfort zone and accomplish the task they have chosen to pursue” (Overby, 2011). 

 

Importance to me and my profession 

This information is important to me as an educator because it gave me insights into how and why new learning models, innovations, and competency-based learning work best for students. I found myself connecting especially with creating a student-centered environment. This is something I have always tried my best to do within my classroom. From my experience, it is evident to me that my students learn best when they are actively involved in their learning. They must have hands-on activities and manipulatives as part of their learning. I find that students tend to learn best when they are collaborating, synthesizing, and creating. Furthermore, I was able to correlate student-centered learning to the shift into new learning models/ innovations and competency-based learning since they all deal with putting the student at the forefront and differentiating to meet their needs. It is all about creating individualized learning paths where they can be most successful in their educational journey. 

What I need to learn more about and why

        Something I am fascinated to learn more about is competency-based education. I have a great interest in this type of learning because it is reported to be successful and more beneficial to students when compared to traditional education approaches. I am curious to know how other states have implemented this learning model in their schools. It seems like a huge shift to make from teacher lead instruction to student pathways that work at each own pace and level. I can see how this is more effective for students because they are not allowed to go on to the next skills or objective until they have completely mastered the previous ones. This is setting them up for success because they will be knowledgeable in all areas proven by their progression data. Whereas a traditional approach tends to easily create learning gaps in students that are not able to all learn at the same pace, hence they get left behind as the whole class moves on to the next objective. 

Future Reference

For future reference, I would find it insightful to read, A Learning Sciences Prospectives, the Introduction to Emerging Technologies for the Classroom: Chapter 1. I find it will be informative when it comes to learning about emerging technologies for the classroom and how best to implement them.

  Mouza, C. and Lavigne, N. C. (2013). Chapter 1. Introduction to emerging technologies for the classroom. A learning science perspective. https://www.daneshnamehicsa.ir/userfiles/files/1/17-%20Emerging%20Technologies%20for%20the%20Classroom.pdf

References 

Ark. T. V. (2014, December 19). Next generation higher education. Blended personalized and competency-based learning. Use technology to create a competency-based environment so that students demonstrate mastery of content at their own pace. https://app.luminpdf.com/viewer/63279013e4ee3fde55296a1f

Glowa, L. (2013). Re-Engineering Information Technology Design Considerations for Competency Education, A Competency Works Issue Brief, International Association for K–12 Online Learning. https://app.luminpdf.com/viewer/63279013e4ee3fde55296a1f

Overby, K. (2011). "Student-Centered Learning," ESSAI: Vol. 9, Article 32. https://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1375&context=essai 

Southern Regional Education Board, (2018). 10 issues in educational technology.                                      https://www.sreb.org/10issues 

SREB, (n.d.). Instructional innovation. Promote instructional innovation and students                                     engagement in active learning through innovative uses of technology.                                                    https://app.luminpdf.com/viewer/6327901de4ee3fde55296b8f