Competency Based Learning

Competence based learning

Skills connected to Critical & Creative thinking, Problem Solving,

Collaboration and Communication are core to successful living in
the 21st Century. Competency is a set of skills, abilities,
knowledge that helps an individual perform a given task in real
life. Every learning should go into the imbibing of skills that will
help the individual perform tasks or take actions to lead a
productive and joyful life.

The task could be as simple as going out to buy groceries or as

complex as flying a plane. Each of such tasks require a set of
skills, abilities, knowledge and even attitudes to be able to
perform the task at hand effectively and efficiently. For buying
groceries, the learner should be able to navigate the route to the
grocery store on a map, prepare lists of purchases to be made,
estimate the expenditure, locate the items in the store, pay the
bills, check that the total mentioned in the bill is correct and the
list matches the actual purchases, etc.

Several competencies are required here to succeed, and all these

competencies or skill sets should also be acquired in the process
of learning or schooling, only then school education would be
considered effective and fruitful. Competency-based learning or
Competency based Education (CBE) is an outcome-based
approach to education to ensure proficiency in learning by
students through demonstration of the knowledge, skills, values
and attitudes required for dealing with real life situations at the
age and grade appropriate level.
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 Competency-based Education (CBE) and
Learning outcomes

To understand the relationship between Competency-based

Education and Learning Outcomes, please note the following:

What is it that the student should be able to do after student

has undergone the learning process - Demonstrate the
Outcome of Learning or Learning Outcome
What is it that the student needs to learn/know in order to
demonstrate that particular set of Learning Outcomes -
Curriculum
What are the classroom transactions, activities, that will
become the basis for this kind of defined outcome of learning
- Pedagogy
How will the teacher check the learning or how will the
student demonstrate that learning - Assessment
How will teacher know at what level of learning the student is
- Criterion Referenced Testing
What is the sum total of Learning Outcomes, Curriculum,
pedagogy, assessment and criterion referenced testing as
mentioned in the bullets above - Competency-based
Education

Characteristics of Competency Based Education

Mode

Objectives

To follow a more practical and professional approach where

first of all predefined, real life based, application-oriented
competencies are defined.
To ensure attainment of competencies through precise
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 measurable learning outcomes in behavioural terms.
To go beyond mere accumulation of knowledge from
textbooks and tests to enable students to practice acquired
competencies in their daily life.

Content

Competency based education focuses on minimum required

core content.
It specifically defines competencies to be attained after a
certain time interval in which a specific part of the curriculum
has been covered.

It is contrary to traditional learning approach which keeps

increasing the content by following the inconsistent principle
‘greater the content, greater the achievement of students.

Pedagogy

Pedagogical processes are child centric and inclusive in

nature as the focus is on individual achievement.
Interdisciplinary Instruction (including scholastic as well as
coscholastic areas such as Arts, Story Telling, Sports, Work
Education and SEWA etc.), Collaborative Learning,
Cooperative Learning, Reciprocal Teaching, Discussions,
Group Projects, Peer Tutoring, Blended learning with
integration of ICT (Flipped Classrooms), Computational
learning based on logical reasoning, decomposition,
patterns, Experiential Learning, Problem Based Learning,
Games,
Case Studies, Simulations, Portfolios, Presentations, Projects
are the main teaching-learning processes under this
approach.
The idea is to support student’s ability to become an
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 independent/selfreliant and lifelong learner by using a
variety of interactive methods.
Pedagogies also take care of individual differences of
students, issues of social nature of learning and present
challenges in a graded manner
to make learning child-centered.

Assessment

Criterion reference assessments that measure the attainment

of Learning Outcomes are essential feature of CBE.
It involves Objective as well as Performance Assessments.
Objective Assessment have predetermined, correct
responses items like MCQs, oral responses to questions, and
short-answer written responses based on what students
know and know how to do.
In performance assessments, focus remains on what learners
can do with their knowledge involving assessments of critical
thinking, synthesis and affective and psychomotor skills.
Reporting of Assessment result is done on the basis of
rubrics and students must be able to demonstrate required
level of competency in order to progress to higher grades.

Concepts and suggestions for success of CBE

As proper framing of the Learning Outcomes and linking them

with pedagogical processes is crucial to the success of CBE,
attention is drawn to the following concepts and suggestions:

Learning Outcomes (LOs)

These are formal statements that tell us what a student is

able to do after learning a given topic/concept.
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 The learning described in outcomes should encompass the
essential and significant knowledge and skills students
should develop in a course.
In this process, they generalise their learning and integrate it
with other areas of their lives outside school. This helps them
learn concepts in a more focussed and meaningful way.
LO should be a clear and concise statement of the skills that
the students will be able to demonstrate after the instruction
is over.
LOs should be observable and measurable and clearly
understood by all stakeholders – students, parents and
teachers.
They delineate not only the cognitive achievement but also
the values, life skills and attitudes students would
demonstrate at the end of a unit.
Learning Outcomes provides opportunity for teachers to
reflect on the curriculum, context of learning, content,
application and assessment to be designed for ensuring the
achievement of desirable degree of Learning Outcomes.
Thus, LOs are extremely important tool for students,
teachers, parents, administrators and policy makers.
Teachers need to use learning outcomes as a tool for
improving education, not as an end in itself.

Writing Learning Outcomes on the basis of the framework

provided by NCERT

A complete Learning Outcome will consist of:

An observable behavior or an action verb and any special

condition for displaying the outcome. Action verb denotes
the intended domain in the taxonomy of cognitive domain
and focuses on cognitive processes operating on different
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 kinds of knowledge dimensions like factual, procedural,
conceptual and meta-cognitive.
After the action verb comes subject content for which the
action is being taken followed by explicit level of achievement
(if not implicit) and condition of performance (if required).
The performance level considered sufficient to demonstrate
mastery.

Test items prepared and matched to the LOs assembled before

starting instructions.

LOs usually have the following features:

unambiguous language
behavioural activity
measurable outcomes with desired performance criteria
linked to teaching and learning methods
assessment and evaluation aligned with overall
competencies mentioned in the framework developed by
NCERT

NCERT Learning Outcomes Documents:

The Learning Outcomes Documents developed by NCERT

define the learning outcomes/competencies in all the
curricular areas, linking them with the curricular expectations
and the pedagogical processes.
The defined Learning Outcomes can easily be adopted or
adapted by schools. In fact, CBSE very strongly advises the
adoption/adaptation of Learning Outcomes developed by
NCERT for Grades 1 to 10, to all its affiliated schools.
The links for these Learning Outcomes Documents of NCERT
are given below:
Learning Outcomes at Elementary Stage -
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 https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/publication/otherpublications/tilops10
1.pdf
Learning Outcomes at Secondary Stage -
https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/notice/learning_outcomes.pdf

Suggestive Pedagogical Strategies for achievement of LOs

Knowledge of LOs paves way to self-assessment by students

who would learn to compare their achievement against the
stated outcomes
instead of comparing them with their peers.
This would also help them to internalise the learning
outcomes.
Therefore, teachers may:
communicate the learning outcomes in as unambiguous
way as possible to students at the start of a lesson;
use LOs as Advance Organisers and ask students to
paraphrase them in order to get complete understanding
of their meaning;
work out the instructional activities, pedagogies,
and assessments most likely to ensure that the
stated outcome of learning is achieved;
plan lessons by selecting and arranging
developmentally appropriate content and process
while taking care of social and emotional contexts
and varying learning styles, aptitudes, and abilities
of students;
use techniques like collaborative learning, problem
solving and others mentioned above under the
characteristics of assessment, as well as connect
the classroom, lab, and experiential activities to
requirements of the desired level of learning
the most important aspect of the whole learning
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 process is that the learner at every level, for every
subject, for every topic, should be able to connect
all learnings to real-life practice;
facilitate experiences that advance students’ critical
thinking and creativity;
use technology to relate local and global societal
issues and responsibilities with the curricular
contexts;
make use of resources available at DIKSHA Platform
in this reference; and
continuously improve professional capacity by
researching and participating in various capacity
building programmes.

Suggestive Assessment Practices to gauge achievement of

LOs

Performance in CBE is always seen vis a vis given criterion or

standard of performance.
It can be integrated with Assessment for Learning and
Assessment as Learning.
Some of the features of assessment of LOs could be:
Assessment must:
be Authentic i.e. it requires application of knowledge
and skills to real world problems and demands
decision making to determine optimum use of
knowledge and skills in a given situation;
necessarily match with the Learning Outcomes cited
in the beginning;
be reliable, valid and based on critical and creative
thinking;
assess ability to integrate knowledge, skills and
attitudes.
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 A balance between assessment ‘for’, ‘as’ and ‘of’
learning should be maintained for optimum results and
minimum stress on students;
Multiple methods of assessment like portfolios,
presentations, group projects, open ended questions,
MCQs, short answer and long answer problems,
reflective assignments involving measurement of
capacity to analyse and evaluate experience in the light
of theories and research evidence;
Rubrics must be shared with students prior to the test.

Cartoon series on joyful reading

To focus on the importance of these competencies, the Central

Board of Secondary education in collaboration with Central
Square Foundation, New Delhi is bringing out two cartoon series
namely ‘Cogito’ and ‘The Question book’ to promote them
through joyful reading.

In ‘Cogito’, the conversation between Ankit and Ankita explores

how to know the truth of something. Learning and understanding
the process of problem solving and recognizing its patterns is a
lifelong activity and a skill that can be applied both in personal
and professional lives.

In the other series “The Question Book” Ankita and Ankit have
discussed the Process of problem solving.

To access these, click on the following links

https://diksha.gov.in/play/content/do_3130401411330211841
875
https://diksha.gov.in/play/content/do_313040144775249920
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Programme for International Students

Assessment (PISA)

PISA is a competency based assessment which unlike

contentbased assessment, measures the extent to which
students have acquired key competencies that
are essential for full participation in modern societies.

PISA measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading,

mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life
challenges.

Learnings from participation in PISA help to introduce

competency based examination reforms in the school system and
help move away from rote learning. The CBSE and NCERT are part
of the process and activities leading to the actual test.

To know more, click here.

Source : CBSE
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