IMPACT Live!

Despite the complicated and difficult nature of setting up the course, I'm so grateful that I did transition to incorporating several aspects of Competency Based Education (also referred to as Mastery Based Grading) in my classes this term. Kate Wise from Hawkes is articulating a subset of the reasons I'm very glad I did:

• Students advance when they master skills at a defined proficiency level -- so my students get a strong foundation in one skill to be able to use it in the next skill
• Learning is more personalized, and
• Emphasis on demonstrated learning over seat time -- so my student can progress through the easy-to-them topics as fast as they desire, and through the tougher ones more slowly
• Transparency empowers and motivates learners -- YES! My students are so much more engaged in their own _learning_ not just point accumulation!
• Assessment is continual part of the learning cycle -- both my students and I can see both where they are and the progress they've made toward mastery, which is highly motivating once they see they can actually improve their skills
• Educators can offer more timely support -- the students are asking me questions about what they're learning _right now_ at the level they know it, allowing me to intervene in the most effective ways.
• Students develop life-long learning habits -- I really, truly hope so! And based on what I'm seeing, I believe it will absolutely happen! (Not only learning habits, but it's completely changing learning mindsets among my students!)

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Barbra Steinhurst
Portland CC
Hillsboro OR
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Thank you for sharing these thoughts about Competency Based Education/Mastery Based Grading. I agree with you completely. I use some components of Mastery Based Grading in my class, but I would like to transition the entirety of my classes to Mastery Based Grading. I missed it this year, but there is a group that hosts a Mastery Based Grading Conference every year. The website is https://www.masterygrading.com/, but they have not yet announced details of their 2021 Conference.

Jon

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Jon Oaks
Instructor of Mathematics
Macomb CC
Warren MI
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