Evaluate 2.1.2 Rubrics & Competencies

Competency based learning is a method that allows for student flexibility and for integration of technology rich assignments.  Rather than students waiting on the teacher's pacing, competency education encourages students to move at their own pace and to advance upon mastery.  In this model, teachers become guides and facilitators of content rather than the deliverer of lectures.

To illustrate the Competency Learning Structure within the e-learning setting, I created the example below for an 11th Grade US History course:

GPS SSUSH11: The student will describe the economic, social, and geographic impact of the growth of big business and technological innovations after Reconstruction. 

• Explain the impact of the railroads on other industries, such as steel, and on the organization of big business
• Describe the impact of the railroads in the development of the West; include the transcontinental railroad, and the use of Chinese labor.
• Construct a Webb Diagram or Mind Map that outlines the impact of railroads on the expansion of the economy and society
• Identify John D. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company and the rise of trusts and monopolies
• Create a 'Flesh it Out' graphic for John D. Rockefeller

• Describe the inventions of Thomas Edison; include the electric light bulb, motion pictures, and the phonograph, and their impact on American life
•  Current Event Analysis Paper that describes and connects the impact of ONE of Thomas Edison's inventions on American life.

Commentary:
Because US History is an EOC course, I designed my competency structure based on the Georgia Performance Standards.  Students would work through a variety of assignments and tasks to master the competency requirements of this particular standard.  At the end of the competency, students would then take a test that incorporates both multiple choice and constructed response elements in preparation for the EOC.

Included in the structure sample above are assignments students can complete to show mastery of the competency and its associated learning objectives.  An alternative means to attain this competency is through the use of a Choice Board.  For example, a Menu Board or Think-Tac-Toe would be a great method for incorporating student choice and differentiation as part of the competency based learning model.