Design Competency-Based Education with WIDS

Many colleges are shifting from traditional models of higher education to competency-based education (CBE) because research indicates learners are pursuing competency-focused, self-paced, flexible learning experiences.

And the benefits are numerous—for learners and employers.

Consider the value of CBE

Competency-based education is often driven by occupational skills and standards required by employers and designed with the learner in an active, central role.  

Employers value that CBE:

• Aligns with required occupational skills and industry standards
• Requires learners to demonstrate competency in occupational skills
• Includes employer input as part of program development and continuous improvement

Learners value that CBE:

• Draws learners who seek a more tailored, efficient education
• Provides flexible scheduling to help balance education, work, and other responsibilities
• Utilizes a self-paced format to help learners move more quickly through familiar material
• Supports earning credit for prior learning

Explore the steps of CBE design

WIDS provides a model for developing competency-based education.  The WIDS model and accompanying software guide educators to:

• Define high performance.
• Establish what learners will learn.
• Link DACUM tasks and industry standards to courses by creating curriculum maps.
• Design aligned learning and assessment.

Define high performance

CBE programs are designed to align with occupational skills. But how will you determine what your students or new employees will be able to perform after their learning experience?  

By first analyzing the occupation itself to ensure that you are incorporating the right skills into the curriculum.

Many colleges accomplish this by using the DACUM process to define what an entry-level worker in the target occupation should be able to perform upon completing the learning experience.  

Through the DACUM, experienced workers collaboratively analyze their occupation and arrive at a consensus definition of its:

• Duties and tasks
• Knowledge and attitudes
• Tools and trends

But a DACUM is not the sole input for defining high performance.  A CBE program can also incorporate:

•  industry standards
• college mission
• lifelong learning skills

All the elements combined provide a definition of high-performance that allows colleges to define clear “exit outcomes.”

Establish what learners will learn

The DACUM and industry standards help inform the program design:

• DACUM duties inform the development of program outcomes.
• DACUM tasks and industry standards ensure competencies are aligned with real-work skills required in the field.
• Competencies can be grouped to create courses for programs that use the credit hour CBE model.
• Pre and corequisites are identified to provide flexibility for students in the learning path.

Link DACUM tasks, industry standards to courses by creating curriculum maps.

Occupations and industry standards evolve.  Therefore, every program deserves a review.

Use our software’s curriculum mapping feature to compare your program and course outcomes to external standards, such as the DACUM or occupation standards:

• Illustrate your program’s rigor by showing where standards are introduced, practiced, or assessed.
• Visualize areas of overlap or gaps to improve

Design learning and assessment

Utilize WIDS software to:

• Select assessment strategies focusing on the real work tasks or projects that demonstrate mastery of the competency
• Design criteria for each competency providing your learners with what they need to know to perform the assessment successfully and answer the question, “how good is good enough”
• Layout learning and teaching plans for each competency  creating a flexible learning path that includes formative and summative assessments
• Build real world performance assessment tasks for each competency with scoring guides and rubrics

Learners are pursuing learning experiences that emphasize competency.  Contact us to learn how our software and consulting services can help your college or company design competency-based education.