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Aurora Institute

Introducing a New Definition of Competency Education

CompetencyWorks Blog

Author(s): Chris Sturgis

Issue(s): Issues in Practice, How to Get Started


RELAs you probably know, five years ago CompetencyWorks developed a five-part working definition with the help of 100 innovators to help provide some stability to the field. (Our introductory materials explore competency education in more depth.) The definition was designed to describe what a new competency-based structure should be able to do with enough openness that it could be used to guide discussion about policy, systemic issues, school designs, or classroom practice.

As organizations continue to try to improve the definition of competency education as well as clarify the relationship of competency education to personalized learning and blended learning, it gives all of us a chance to deepen our understanding and strengthen our work together.

On Monday August 17th, from 3–4:30 p.m. ET, REL Northeast & Islands researchers will present a new study on definitions and policies related to competency-based education and implementation across the New England region. If you haven’t learned about New Hampshire’s efforts to develop a new system of assessment that includes performance-based assessment, this will be a chance to listen to Paul Leather discuss the implementation of PACE in several pilot districts. Register here.

Presenters include Aubrey Scheopner Torres, PhD, Assistant Professor, Saint Anselm College; Research Consultant, REL Northeast & Islands and Paul Leather, Deputy Commissioner of Education, New Hampshire Department of Education. The Discussant is Julia Freeland, Research Fellow, Clayton Christensen Institute. The webinar will be be moderated by Jessica Brett, Northeast College and Career Readiness Research Alliance, and Joshua Cox, Researcher, Northeast College and Career Readiness Research Alliance.