Definition:
Competency-based learning is learning by doing: participants apply their learnings in their practice, collect evidence, and demonstrate their competence. Participants submit an authentic portfolio of evidence to demonstrate their competency.
What is competency-based learning in practice?
Competency-based learning can be described as learning by doing and then showing or demonstrating. Participants engage in this type of approach to learn new or refine existing knowledge and skills, then demonstrate the implementation of those abilities in their practice. Competency-based learning also affords participants the opportunity to "capture a moment in time" to document their best practices in action, which can also demonstrate mastery of the competencies. Embracing a growth mindset, reflection, and practice through competency-based learning enables participants to refine their practice and eventually demonstrate competency.
How is competency-based learning different from traditional professional development?
Traditional learning is often “one and done” with no real substantive transfer to actual practice. This type of learning typically focuses on how many hours a participant engages with a particular skill.
Competency-based learning focuses on job-embedded, meaningful integration into a participant’s everyday professional experiences. It is in this application of new or refined knowledge that deep learning occurs. This type of learning has an immediate positive impact on a participant’s professional practice.
Important Note:
Authentic evidence is a core component of competency-based learning. At BloomBoard, a portfolio of evidence containing unique artifacts is assessed to determine competency. Click to view Uniqueness of Artifacts to learn more.