Competency-based learning 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. The teachers of our country should believe in multidisciplinary learning with an emphasis on transversal competencies, interaction and self-expression. In competency based learning teachers facilitate and guide the teaching learning process while students actively set targets, reflect and solve real life problems.
Competency based education is a journey to ensure complex outcomes of a learning process where developing inclusive knowledge of content, and core skills are primary than the completion of content. Competency Based Learning is a learner-centred approach. It mainly focuses on changing global needs of students, teacher, and society. Competency based learning creates students’ learning approach by creating appropriate activities in a suitable environment where students apply their knowledge and skills.
Teacher designs a set of key competencies which are usually subject bound. As a teacher we create a proper system of assessment and grading in Competency Based Learning where students demonstrate their competencies.
World educators agree that “learning is the constant, and time is variable” in competency-based learning. It means that the time students take to demonstrate specifically desired competency is flexible while the expectation about learning outcomes are constant.
When we assess our learners most of our college going students are not competent to demonstrate things. Take example of English language. Our learners at 10th or 12th level are not able to write any essay or application. They are dependent on rote memorisation. The same students can not write answer of a question of any subject because of the lack of competency. Every stakeholder has to think about the problem. As per my view the teacher at school level gives readymade things to students in the form of notes or Guide books. At primary level teachers write answers on board and students are asked to copy the answers. By this pedagogy the learner only learns to copy but they do not learn how to analyse and explain or write answers of different question in exercise or questions formulated by teacher. We need to involve student in the teaching learning process more and more.
The concept of mini classes by students in classroom may increase the competency of student. Give students some important points regarding the topic or lesson and ask them to make paragraphs, essays etc from the given points they will work on themselves to develope, explain and analyse the things. Guide them only, with the course of time they will become competent to understand the things by their own and inturn the load on teacher will decrease. Take example of stitching. Everyone of us use stitched clothes but a 60 or 70 year old man can not stitch his own shirt or pent though he is aware of it from his birth. It is because he gets it readymade or stitched from some other person and there is no involvement of the person who wears it, in stitching clothes. If a situation arises in which he will not get readymade clothes or cloth stitched from tailor he will gradually himself learn the stitching. Same is the case with our learners we have to involve them in teaching learning process by creating such situations where they will be easily compelled to learn.
We should not rely on exercise copies which are meant for rote memorisation in our schools and we are aware that our students make about 100 or more than 100 exercise copies from 1st primary to matric level but unfortunately after matric level most of our students do not become competent to write answer of single question on their own. The reason is now self understood for a teacher or parent and student .
At last I can say that The competency-based education (CBE) approach provides opportunity to a student to advance based on their ability to master a skill or competency at their own pace regardless of environment. This method is tailored to meet different learning competencies and can lead to more efficient student outcomes.
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