ASK us about: Competency Based Learning
Why it Matters
Competency based learning matters because it is a system which is based on how people learn, work, and better themselves in the real world. Learning, applying, and mastering an ability or skill one section at a time helps move knowledge into our long-term memory and provides us with these skills over a lifetime versus a test next week.
I would like to explain how ASK Educational games plans to use competency-based learning and why it is so successful in and outside of the classroom. When I first started to write this blog, I had a long exposition about various aspects of learning and how each person has specific needs and wants when it comes to knowledge that they gain. I realized as I started to put it all together that it could be summed up into a single sentence. We all learn differently, and our ability to experience and use that knowledge is what allows us to retain and use that knowledge later with less cognitive strain.
At ASK we have always liked the model “See one, do one, teach one” to reference that once we are able to learn a topic, we should be able to use it and then pass it on to others by being able to teach it to them. Competency based learning should be representative of how we live our lives and pass on knowledge. The learning environment and tools that we develop should be there as a support structure for learners to not only gain knowledge of a subject, but also put it to use; which is why I like games so much. Games are a learning tool, and the idea of “gamification” is an attempt to put learning concepts into a game form. The tricky part is creating a learning game that learners don’t realize is a learning tool, and one where they get lost in the game and continue to want to play because they see growth and progress without realizing that they are also gaining the knowledge. The seamless blend of both having fun in a game where you want to stay up all hours of the night and education can be challenging if it is approached with the wrong tools. This is where competency-based learning as a great tool comes into play. We can create a game first and incorporate lessons and competency tracking in the background to ensure that growth of learner is occurring. We can track when the learner stumbles and we can equally track where they excel.
In our short two-level prototype (in learner arcade), we have the information tracked as a quiz so that the front-end user can see the development and growth after they play. However, that isn’t needed and is only shown to help everyone grasp the concept as a player continues to play the game and scores more points more quickly, they are learning the material and gaining a longer-term understanding. The next time the learner/user plays if they have a stronger start to the game than the last time, they have shown they have retained that knowledge. When they set high scores, it shows that they are improving their skillset.
Competency-based learning is a powerful tool, and one that the apprenticeships have been using for a long time that sadly classrooms moved away from at some point. At ASK I hope to be able to continue to deliver the best competency-based learning there is to offer and to grow with the technologies as they improve.
The pandemic has put a large hole in the “whole” of learning. New tools such as those being developed at ASK will grow and meet the needs of the future.
Happy New Year