Pressured by standardized testing and rigid pacing guidelines, many schools are forced to cover too much content too quickly, without being able to meet the needs of individual students. In this powerful book from acclaimed author and presenter Bob Sornson, you’ll learn how shifting from curriculum-based instruction to competency based, personalized learning can help students become more successful, confident, and engaged learners.
Each chapter is easy to digest and provides compelling research, strategies, and anecdotes to inspire conversation and action. This second edition provides updated statistics and examples of schools successfully using competency based learning models to help you bring about meaningful change.
Teachers, administrators, and community leaders will all find practical resources and a clear rationale for transforming our current educational system into a new, dynamic model of teaching and learning.
Author(s): Bob Sornson
Edition: 2
Publisher: Routledge/Eye on Education
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 220
City: New York
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Reader's Guide
Introduction
1. Someday Soon, a Fable
2. Informed Instruction Leads to Competency, Part One
3. The Curriculum-Driven Model: A Brief History
A Model Built for the 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Our Society Has Changed, but not Our Schools
Consistently Failing to Serve the Needs of Our Society and Students
4. Without Learning Competency There Can Be No Equity
5. Giving Up Unproductive Mental Models
UMM #1. Academic Rigor is Demonstrated by Covering More Content in Each Grade
UMM #2. Grading on the Bell Curve
UMM #3. Creating Winners and Losers
6. Building a New Model
7. Principles of Instruction Leading to Competency
8. Teaching Differently
9. Systems Thinking for Competency Based Learning
Identify Crucial Learning Outcomes
Notice that Step One in this PLC Model does not ask what must be Covered. Instead it asks what must be Learned!
Assess Student Readiness for Learning
Planning and Delivering Instruction to Meet Students' Needs
10. Whole Child Competency
11. Creating the Culture of a Learning Organization
Creating a Learning Culture
Changing Old Habits
12. Learning for Understanding and Application
Clear Learning Goals
Attainable Learning Goals
Time in the Learning Frustration Zone Pushes Kids into Disengagement. Patterns of Disengagement can Impact Children for the Rest of their Lives.
Personally Meaningful Goals
13. Masters of the Trade: Game Designers
Students Advance Upon Mastery, not Age
Tiered Learning
Instructional Zone
Trial and Error
Explicit Learning Objectives
Motivation to take on Challenges
Embedded Assessment
Identity and Networks of Support
14. What's Happening in Competency Based Learning Initiatives
State Competency Based Learning Initiatives
Competency Based Learning in Post-secondary Education
A Rubric for Considering the Quality of Higher Education Competency Based Learning Initiatives
Competency Based Learning in Secondary Schools
Competency Based Learning in Elementary and Pre-Schools
15. Teacher Education: Building Pathways to Skills That Matter
16. Distracted By the Debate Over What to Cover
17. Letting Go of Curriculum-Driven Instruction
Safety
Mental Models
Comfortable Routines
Effort
Limitations on Personal Responsibility
One More Thing
Perceived Status
Lack of Skills and Training
Lack of Trust
Good Excuses for Low Expectations
We Are Way Too Busy
The Kids Love Me Just as I Am
Our School is Doing Fine without CBL
We Are Already Doing Competency
Money and Power
18. Transitioning from Curriculum-Driven to Competency Based Learning
19. Informed Instruction Leads to Competency, Part Two
20. Conclusion: The Spirit of Transformation
Appendix 1. Organizational Self-Assessment for Readiness to Implement Competency Based Learning
Appendix 2. Resources for the Further Study of Competency Based Learning
Study Guide
References
