Redefining Higher Education Through Competency-Based Education and Flexible Course Schedules

2022 ◽  
pp. 145-158
Author(s):  
Paula L. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Nontraditional Student ◽  
Educational Goals ◽  
College Degrees ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
The World ◽  
Student Focus ◽  
Competency Based

COVID has impacted the world in so many ways that life may never be “normal” again. What has come out of the pandemic is a trajectory of how we view the workplace and the classroom. With a growing number of people out of work due to the pandemic, many are turning to education to help get a job and improve their skill set. With a growing number of adult learners, higher education must be re-defined and re-evaluated. Even before the pandemic, competency-based education offered the nontraditional student the flexibility of time, pace, and cost to aid in their educational goals. Through this research, higher education is redefined to look at college degrees with a student-focus as opposed to the traditional institutional-focus, specifically in terms of course flexibility, cost savings, and pace.

Extending Degrees via Individualization of Instruction and CBE Technology

1978 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-316
Author(s):  
John McBrayer
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Adult Students ◽  
Traditional Students ◽  
Individualized Instruction ◽  
College Degrees ◽  
College And University ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Non Traditional Students ◽  
Current Operating

In the late seventies, the move to extend collegiate opportunities to non-traditional students has been accelerated. In these efforts, individualized instruction and competency based technology has emerged as a tool that provides an appropriate handle for extending college degrees. This paper presents an overview of the revitalized emphasis on individualized instruction and competency based education as a means of implementing ways to extend existing on-campus college and university programs to adult students in an off-campus format. Current operating models of individualized instructional designs in higher education are discussed as examples of formal plans for utilizing individualization of instruction and CBE technology to extend opportunities to non-traditional students. A conclusion offered is that non-traditional students, individualization of instruction, CBE technology, and the concept of the new extended degree, when combined, form a catalyst which has a great deal of potential for altering the traditional characteristics of higher education as they exist today.

A Framework for the Design of Online Competency-Based Education to Promote Student Engagement

2018 ◽  
pp. 203-220
Author(s):  
Robin Colson ◽  
Atsusi Hirumi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
Instructional Technique ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Non Traditional Students ◽  
High Level

Advances in technology offer opportunities for many varieties of online learning but much online learning design is based on past practices and technologies (Hirumi, 2013). This practice could prove to be particularly detrimental for competency-based education (CBE) given its unique profile as a form of online learning that is self-driven and asynchronous. Furthermore, the majority of CBE students in higher education are non-traditional adult learners who require a high level of support and engagement from their educational experiences. One instructional technique that has proven to be effective for promoting student engagement in online learning is interaction (Wang, Chen, & Anderson, 2014; Hirumi, 2006; Anderson, 2003). This chapter draws from Hirumi's (2002, 2006, 2013) framework for designing interaction in online learning courses to provide suggestions for creating online CBE instruction that engages and motivates non-traditional students in higher education.

A Framework for the Design of Online Competency-Based Education to Promote Student Engagement

2017 ◽  
pp. 168-185
Author(s):  
Robin Colson ◽  
Atsusi Hirumi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
Instructional Technique ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Non Traditional Students ◽  
High Level

Advances in technology offer opportunities for many varieties of online learning but much online learning design is based on past practices and technologies (Hirumi, 2013). This practice could prove to be particularly detrimental for competency-based education (CBE) given its unique profile as a form of online learning that is self-driven and asynchronous. Furthermore, the majority of CBE students in higher education are non-traditional adult learners who require a high level of support and engagement from their educational experiences. One instructional technique that has proven to be effective for promoting student engagement in online learning is interaction (Wang, Chen, & Anderson, 2014; Hirumi, 2006; Anderson, 2003). This chapter draws from Hirumi's (2002, 2006, 2013) framework for designing interaction in online learning courses to provide suggestions for creating online CBE instruction that engages and motivates non-traditional students in higher education.

Framing the Role of Culture Reflecting on How Culture Affects Learners in Transformative Learning Settings

2019 ◽  
pp. 30-44
Author(s):  
Priscilla Bamba
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Cell Phone ◽  
Academic World ◽  
The World ◽  
Time And Energy

From the simplest cell phone to virtual reality headsets, students today are bombarded by technology, so this is bound to affect their expectations in the learning environment and the way they relate to cognitive challenges. Today's culture is an immersion of advanced methods of communicating with each other and with their instructors. Adult learners who return to the world of higher education after having been away for some time have often felt the need to strive harder to show they fit into that world. With a broader worldview, more responsibilities, and often more wisdom gained from having held jobs, sometimes for years, they also bring a richer way of relating to the academic world. At the same, time, though, sometimes responsibilities, including full family lives, limit their time and energy they are capable of devoting to studying and completing assignments.

Building Competence

2017 ◽  
pp. 28-40
Author(s):  
Kristin A Jones ◽  
Steven G Olswang
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Instructional Approaches ◽  
Pedagogical Change ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Instructional Innovation ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Higher Education Instruction ◽  
Pedagogical Philosophies

A flurry of new instructional approaches has recently emerged in post-secondary education; one approach receiving the most attention is competency-based education (CBE). While many think CBE is relatively new, its roots are deeply seeded in decades-old pedagogical philosophies. The frequency with which CBE is now appearing in conversations about higher education instruction and reform gives the false impression that most practitioners actually know what CBE is, or how it contrasts with other instructional approaches. In fact, the modern dilemma faced by many in higher education is that few institutional leaders have a comprehensive understanding of what CBE is, how it differs from other instructional approaches, the historical significance behind it, and how it might be used to effect pedagogical change and instructional innovation. This chapter explores the historical basis of CBE, its benefits and detriments, and its operational elements.

Weaving Innovative Threads Together

2018 ◽  
pp. 22-35
Author(s):  
Judee Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
University Of Wisconsin ◽  
Societal Needs ◽  
Specific Performance ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
The University

In the United States, institutions of higher education have been under mounting pressure to improve. In part, this is due to increasingly high-priced academies producing graduates who possess skill levels that are out of sync with employer and societal needs. Added to this is the fact that the United States spends more than other countries to educate its citizens but continues to perform more poorly on comparative measures of literacy, math, reading, and science. To stay globally competitive, changes need to be made. Competency-based education has re-emerged and taken root as one way in which to educate students more effectively. By focusing on demonstrable learning outcomes and discipline-specific performance, competency-based education is changing the fabric of higher education. Based upon experiences garnered from the University of Wisconsin Flexible Option, this chapter presents some of the challenges encountered when developing this type of program within a longstanding traditional educational system.

scholarly journals Integrating competency-based education with a case-based or problem-based learning approach in online health sciences

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 683-696
Author(s):  
Ilse Johanna Sistermans
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
Case Based Learning ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Case Based

AbstractIn the current competitive and globalized economy, employers and professional organizations call for higher education institutions to deliver graduates with relevant competencies and skills. In response, a growing number of higher educational institutions is introducing competency-based education. This is particularly true for health science programs, which have a tradition of applying a case-based or problem-based learning approach. The effort to merge a problem- or case-based online learning approach with competency-based education offers various opportunities, while facing numerous challenges. To support these efforts, this paper aims at identifying suitable practices, as well as challenges for online course design and online learning activities for higher education health science programs, when integrating competency-based education with an online problem-based and/or case-based learning approach. It found various opportunities for online learning activities that support competency-based education, problem-based learning and case-based learning, whereas challenges relate to logistics, administration, and the affordances of an LMS.

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