Competency-based education within the University of Wisconsin System’s Flexible Option program allows students to demonstrate mastery of a subject area and earn a degree without adhering to a rigid course schedule. This shift in higher education is part of a larger move away from learning measured by seat time or credit hours to an evaluation of learning outcomes.

In this session you will learn how new faculty collaborators bridge the knowledge gap between this new mode of assessment and traditional modes. You will learn about “authenticity” as a demonstration of expert thinking. You will see how to align assessments with competencies rather than specific materials, which allows learners of different backgrounds and experiences to demonstrate mastery in a way that can be consistently evaluated. You will proceed through three stages, each focusing on one or more of eight characteristics of quality assessments developed from existing research.

In this session, you will learn:

• Ways that your current assessments can translate into competency-based assessments
• How to identify two to three assessment strategies for competency-based education
• How to differentiate between competency-based assessments and traditional assessments
• How to describe the stages of the drafting process to create competency-based assessments

Audience:
Novice and intermediary designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
D2L (now Brightspace)