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Competency-Based Education Toolkit (Video resources, infrastructure, assessment, curriculum, etc.)

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Competency-based Education Toolkit - Digital Promise

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Digital Promise and Education Elements are excited to share the Competency-based Education (CBE) Toolkit and video series. They are the culmination of a multi-year effort...

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This website has a few resources to help set up a school or classroom to use PBE in their classroom(s).

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Proficiency-Based Learning: A Roadmap for Educators | Great Schools Partnership

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Proficiency-Based Learning: A Roadmap for Educators The Great Schools Partnership supports schools and districts around the country as they design and implement proficiency-based education systems. From our many years in diverse school settings, we've distilled the foundational steps needed to implement a high-quality proficiency-based system.

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An article with a basic overview of PBL in English Education as well as strategies to use this approach.

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Project Based Learning is for everyone. It's not meant to be used only for those who are done with their work. It's not meant to be used only for those looking to be challenged. It's meant to hoist up every student to their highest standard.

PBL is about opportunity and expectations, and to give all students access to engaging and rigorous learning we must provide scaffolds that help them achieve their best. But many teachers think that students must be able to achieve at a certain level before even attempting to jump into PBL.

English Language Learners are one of the groups that tends to be looked over when thinking about who is "ready" to do PBL. But all students are ready if armed with appropriate scaffolding by their teacher. In fact, if we look at learning in terms of growth, EL students are likely to show huge success due to how immersive PBL is in communication skills and critical thinking.

So I have to push back on this notion that a student needs a certain level of ability to be able to create, think critically, collaborate, and communicate.

All students, with guidance, can mull over, research, and respond to driving questions related to their content. Second graders of all levels can think about "What do we have to do as a school community to allow dinosaurs to enroll?" Middle schoolers reading The Giver can think about " How can we, as Givers, decide on the most important memories to bestow on the new Receivers? "

Will a student struggling with communication standards produce a perfectly fluent product? (Shrug). Maybe not. But with PBL, it's not about the outcome, it's about the journey and growth the students show while chugging along the path. Learning isn't proved only at the end of the unit; students prove their growth throughout the unit.

The Need to Have Access to Engagement and Rigor

It's frustrating to find so many EL students stuck in drill-and-kill classes simply because they lack foundational English. Their lower level of English somehow condemns them to worksheets and Level 1 thinking expectations. But research proves that what they really need is thoughtful engagement with authentic experiences in language. And PBL, as defined by the Gold Standard, is just that.

Jennifer Miyake-Trapp, an Assistant Professor of Education at Pepperdine University and Lead Faculty of their MA TESOL Program, agrees. She believes that "engagement in PBL increases opportunities for students to authentically use and apply language and literacy skills in a meaningful context, making learning relevant and fun."

Here's what is true: using PBL takes more frontloading. But that is true when teaching any underrepresented population. Nevertheless, there is a misconception that just because you are providing scaffolds means you somehow aren't teaching independent learning. This couldn't be further from the truth. Giving EL students the resources they need to access "the good stuff" means you're giving them the tools to improve and grow so that independence is more accessible later.

Therefore, PBL, with its focus on writing and speaking and thinking and cross-curricular reading, is just what these students need to improve quickly and deeply. Miyake-Trapp emphatically states that "In PBL, English Learners develop a sense of agency and take ownership of their learning... simultaneously practicing academic language and literacy skills while engaging in critical thinking."

So what are some strategies that teachers can use in the classroom to give EL students more access to PBL?

8 Strategies to Scaffold PBL for EL Students:

Provide choices of accessible research.

Don't release EL learners to research alone. Give them curated choices. Miyake-Trapp suggests, "Think podcasts, leveled books, magazine articles, online tutorials and videos, in addition to traditional classroom resources."

Make sure all directions use visuals.

Anything that is written in text can be illustrated in icons, pictures, gifs, or videos. Better yet, try Screencasting your instructions so that students can view them over and over as needed.

Frontload key vocabulary and concepts.

Give EL students a head start to help them build schema around PBL and your content area.

Create a PBL Roadmap with visuals.

Create a timeline in the classroom with a general overview of the journey to come. "Consistently refer to this poster," says Miyake-Trapp, "so learners have a sense of Where they've been, Where they are, and Where they're going."

Teach collaboration.

Knowing how to work together must be taught explicitly. Have students practice the structure of discourse so they can participate in meaningful conversation and debate. Provide sentence stems. Teach different ways to come to a consensus. Give the EL students the language to advocate for themselves with peers, and give mainstream students the language and comfort to collaborate with empathy. Note: Rotate around the groups, adding your own input and listening to how EL students are interacting, as an easy and authentic informal assessment.

Don't neglect explicit English language instruction.

PBL embraces direct instruction, small group instruction, and independent learning. That gives you ample time to pull students for extra support while other students are continuing their research or preparations. Note: Why not pull EL students to help them WITH research and preparations so they can come back to the group with something new to contribute to the whole?

Integrate students' backgrounds and experiences into the process.

Voice and choice are front-and-center in a PBL unit. Honor the connections EL students make with the content by giving them opportunities to bring their backgrounds and experiences to the product or process.

Have a PBL-focused bulletin board.

The same kind of bulletin board that helps visitors understand what's going on in a PBL-focused room can also be used to help EL learners. Keep this board updated with current instructions and exemplars using visuals, keywords, and text. But rather than take down last week's instructions in lieu of current directions, build on those earlier visuals and texts without taking them down so that those who progress slower can still have independent access to this information.

All students can benefit from these targeted tactics, and you're probably using some of them without even knowing it. So don't be nervous about engaging in PBL with your English Language Learners. The inevitable growth that you will see, and their enthusiasm for what they are learning and how they are contributing, will help you realize their strengths and potential.

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PBL with English Language Learners: A Vital Need

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A powerful argument that all students are "ready" for PBL, with 8 strategies for scaffolding projects for English Learners.

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Example projects that are useful for an ELA classroom.

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A project that can be used for both English and Social Studies educators.

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Over the last decade, project-based learning (PBL) has transformed secondary education throughout the United States. In a PBL school, students are active learners, and take ownership of their education. The teacher is a facilitator to knowledge, and not the gatekeeper.

If your school has yet to adopt PBL, knowing where to start is no small challenge. To get you and your students' feet wet, you need to use an 'entry-level' PBL, one that is challenging but not overwhelming.

This article proposes a PBL that pairs an English III and U.S. history teacher (along with their students). It is adapted from a PBL that the author helped develop and implement in spring 2013.

Project Introduction

Throughout the project, both teachers meet on a regular basis (at least twice a week) to discuss students' progress and solve any complications that may arise. The components below run in parallel.

Final Thoughts

Even for experienced teachers, PBLs are a challenge to develop and implement. That's why first timers should start small. This is a brand-new experience for you and your students. Celebrate successes, learn from mistakes, and use the experience to create even better PBLs in the future.

Thomas Broderick is a freelance writer and consultant in the education field. He lives in Northern California. You can learn more about Thomas on his .

Read More:

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An Entry-Level PBL for High School English and Social Studies Teachers

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Project-based learning (PBL) has transformed secondary education. In a PBL school, students are active learners, and take ownership of their education.

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This article describes the bases of what effective PBE looks like

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What is Proficiency-Based Learning? - TeachHUB

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Differentiation and allowing students to choose how they demonstrate mastery can be very effective. Explore using proficiency-based learning in your class.

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The effect of the pandemic on students, and the rapid adoption of alternative learning.

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Place-based education – a systematic review of literature

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Place based education (PBE) is a pedagogical approach that emphasises the connection between a learning process and the physical place in which teachers and students are located. It incorporates th…

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An overview of Competency Based Education and with examples.

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The article gives good information about PBE, but also gives some additional resources at the bottom that are great.

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"One consistent finding of academic research is that high expectations are the most reliable driver of high student achievement, even in students who do not have a history of successful achievement."
-Doug Lemov

Proficiency-Based Learning is a key component of flexible and personalized pathways set forth in Act 77 and the State Board of Education's Education Quality Standards. Vermont public schools must provide students with flexible and personalized pathways for progressing through grade levels and to graduation. These resources can help educators and families understand some of the changes that are taking place in Vermont schools.

Section List

Spotlights on Equity Resources

Educational equity means that every student has access to the resources, opportunities, and educational rigor they need at the right moment in their education, whatever their race, gender/identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, language, ability, family background, or family income may be. (Adapted from CCSSO, Leading for Equity) The Spotlights on Equity Resources below provide a list of considerations and resources for the purpose of supporting equity and access across content areas, emphasizing high quality and culturally sustaining learning opportunities for all students.

Vermont Student Voices
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What is Proficiency-Based Learning?

The focus of proficiency-based learning is on students' demonstration of desired learning outcomes. Students gain the skills, abilities, and knowledge required in an area of study, along with those necessary to be successful in college, career and civic life. Proficiency-based learning is designed to identify and address gaps to provide equitable learning opportunities for every student. This is in contrast to traditional systems which advance students based on seat time. Read more about " What is proficiency-based learning? ".

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Proficiency-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning Connections

Project-based learning is a "teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge" ( PBL Works). Learn more about the approach and how it aligns with proficiency-based learning through the ongoing Project-Based Learning document series. Readers are encouraged to interact with the documents following the order found in this Project-Based Learning Document Sequence and listed here:

Foundations of Project-Based Learning: Facilitator's Guides

Members of the Agency of Education's (AOE) Proficiency-Based Learning Team designed and delivered a professional learning (PL) series - Foundations of Project-Based Learning - to support Vermont educators in developing the knowledge and skills needed to begin shifting their instruction to a Project-Based Learning (PjBL) approach. More information on the PL can be found online. Information on and recommendations for delivering a similar PL series on PjBL can be found below:
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"One consistent finding of academic research is that high expectations are the most reliable driver of high student achievement, even in students who do not have a history of successful achievement." -Doug Lemov Proficiency-Based Learning is a key component of flexible and personalized pathways set forth in Act 77 and the State Board of Education's Education Quality Standards.

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Discusses several ways that we can be prepared to fill different types of learning styles/needs, and how we can improve students knowledge within the walls of our classroom.

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Industrialized education is dead. Young people absorbing content absent of context creates factory workers for the Industrial Age, not leaders for the 21st century. In the beginning, Teton Science Schools operated in the informal education sector by creating opportunities for high school students to learn through "doing science" on public lands in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. After five decades of operation and over 250,000 alumni across all of our programs, we have developed an interdisciplinary approach to formal and informal education starting with student inquiry, solving problems through design thinking, and using our communities and ecosystems as classrooms.

With the creation of our Graduate Program over 25 years ago, Teton Science Schools began building skilled educators who bring the relevancy of field-based teaching into the classroom and the rigor of classroom teaching into the field. Today, our graduate program and teacher professional development enable current and aspiring educators to build their skills through immersive teaching experiences in schools and in the field supported by a unifying TSS Framework.

We don't limit classrooms to four walls and a chalkboard. Instead, student learning must be immersed in the cultural, economic, and ecological aspects of a place. Our classrooms are more often a museum, a national park, or the local town hall. Through place-based education, we improve student engagement, outcomes and positive impact in our communities. Put simply, we develop educators in the same manner our educators will go on to develop their students.

What does it mean to be a PBE-prepared educator?

Exemplary educators facilitate high-quality place-based education (PBE) for students, but they also commit to additional practices outside their instruction that help them grow their craft and lead in their profession ( Liebtag & Vander Ark, 2016 ). Let's break down some of the best practices of place-based education-prepared teachers.
Practices of PBE-prepared teachers Has an authentic experience and knowledge of place
An educator with a keen sense of wonder for place - it's function, history, economics, politics, ecology social dynamics and future - and sees the community as a potential classroom full of rich resources and possibilities. They read local news, explore local resources, hike in the park or woods or talk to members in the community. They authentically observe and ask questions around the ecological, social and economic components of place.
Identifies challenges faced by the community
Communities and places are dynamic, challenged with chance and adapting to new forces. The PBE-prepared educator understands these challenges and therefore moves beyond the obvious to the contextual. They accept that their students can be change agents that are capable of developing creative solutions to increase community sustainability and vitality.
Connects curriculum to the place in a variety of different methods
With a thorough understanding of place, PBE-prepared educators have context and previous experiential knowledge to connect learning and curriculum. They effectively link their units and lessons to tangible components of the local place and take the care and attention they need to safely facilitate experiences outside the confines of the classroom walls.
Builds student ownership and skills
Over time, it's important that students begin to guide the place-based learning experience with the core skills of inquiry and design, leadership competency and risk management. PBE-prepared educators systematically transfer this ownership through levels of inquiry and design that lead to increasing autonomy in students.
Collaborates and cooperates with peers in an interdisciplinary approach
Educators typically come up with many ideas for implementing place-based education across disciplines. The challenges emerge around time and resource availability. When collaborating with their peers, educators need to be flexible and willing to compromise to achieve shared goals for student success. PBE-prepared educators understand this, but also understand the value and empowerment that stems from effective collaboration.
Reflects and measures outcomes and successes
Outcomes from effective place-based education include increased engagement, improved learning outcomes and positive community impact. Additional benefits include personalized learning, deeper learning, social-emotional learning and improved motivation and persistence. PBE-prepared educators engage in regular reflection practices and often measure these desired outcomes. They use surveys, design pre/post assessment tools and consistently adopt a role of researcher in their classrooms and within their communities.

How do we go about preparing PBE teachers?

In order to cultivate future educators who regularly demonstrate place-based education practices and are effective in preparing students for an ever-evolving world, TSS has designed a graduate program that moves beyond traditional teacher prep methods and immerses developing educators in 12-months of integrated, hands-on, place-based professional learning.

It's nothing new.

Over the last decade, we've seen a significant increase in teacher training, teacher prep, or teacher development programs. Building on the practicum-rich experience of Teach For America in 1989, forward-looking graduate schools of education such as High Tech High , Relay , or Alder have addressed an important need for developing effective educators. These graduate programs envision a world of transformed education, focus on immersive teaching supported by coaching, and are dedicated to urban K-12 education. Like us, they are responding to an outdated teacher preparation model that saw a 35% decline in teacher education program enrollments from 2009-2014.

Unique to TSS is our focus on building educators ready to transform their rural classrooms by incorporating the surrounding communities and ecosystems.

Inspired by an outline in Getting Smart's publication, Preparing Teachers for a Project-Based World , we've illustrated how our program shifts the norms set by traditional teacher development programs and offers future educators a rigorous, immersive learning experience rooted in place-based education principles.

What happens next?

Blurring the walls of our classrooms to improve student learning requires skilled educators and we believe we develop some of the best. Our graduate program alumni teach in public and independent schools, lead non-profit education institutions, or work in some of the many informal education sectors (museums, environmental, early childhood, etc.). Practicing teachers completing the program report higher engagement in student learning and see significant increases in scientific literacy. More importantly, they believe they create more agency in their students and better immerse learning in the real world, 21st century experience.

Wondering how to get started?
Learn More about our Graduate Program

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Preparing Educators for the Place-Based Education Classroom | Teton Science Schools

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Industrialized education is dead. Young people absorbing content absent of context creates factory workers for the Industrial Age, not leaders for the 21st century. In the beginning...

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This website gives a few resources and Q and As about CBE

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