I’m going to add to the list present in the assignment, because in my workplace (a for-profit university), we’re implementing a new program utilizing a differentiated learning strategy called competency-based education (CBE). CBE is “a term used for programs that focus more on what students have learned, rather than on where or how long the learning takes place” (CAEL 2015). It’s a particularly effective model for personalized and differentiated learning at the college level because students, particularly non-traditional older students, can come to college courses with a huge range of background skills and career paths, some of which are reflected directly by courses they may take, but some of which are much less obviously transferable to specific degree requirements. This links straight in to Drs. Cope and Kalantzis’ points about equal not meaning same; it’s another strategy for moving away from the assumption of homogeneity that can be so damaging to the outlier students in particular. Educause has a pretty useful overview of personalized learning at the college level: “7 Things You Should Know about Personalized Learning.” It goes over some of the different scenarios that can benefit from personalized learning, including remedial courses in core areas like math where students don’t want to have to spend the money on courses that won’t count toward their degrees.

In my university, the program, APU Momentum, is being implemented as a way for our students to have prior knowledge and skills recognized in such a way that the students can avoid spending significant amounts of time on coursework in competencies they already possess. It also lets students spend the time they need on new skills—if they need to move at a faster pace, they can, but they can also move more slowly if necessary.

This is a significant shift from our more traditional classes; while those offerings are accelerated courses (16 week semester courses taking place over 8 weeks), they do still force students to move at a measured pace—specific assignments are due each week, and students cannot work ahead, nor can they fall too far behind for fear of failing the course, because the learning experience requires interaction that is asynchronous on the short term, but synchronous in weekly terms.

The Momentum program, by contrast, allows students to work through versions of those “regular” courses that are split into multiple smaller units, and guided by faculty mentors and subject matter experts on an individual basis. Costs are subscription-based (rather like our costs here on Coursera), and students can complete as many competencies as possible during the 16-week term (and they must complete at least 12 competencies in that time).

The program makes use of differentiated learning principles in that it allows students to move quickly through competencies in which they’re already skilled, and take more time in those where they’ve less experience/knowledge. Students who come in with significant work experience in particular areas can more or less get that experience academically certified, with their faculty mentors and subject matter experts confirming that their work meets standards, or coaching them when it doesn’t. It is, in effect, a formalized, technology-mediated independent study.

And this, I’ll admit, is where the potential concerns come in. Our second video for this unit points out that isolation is a danger with differentiated learning. It is useful for students to interact with one another in classes, to see the sorts of work others are producing, to apply their understanding of the requirements in peer review situations, and so forth. In the regular sections of this course, we have significant amounts of structured interaction built into the course. With these Momentum sections, however, there is simply no space for peer interaction; students interact with their faculty mentor and with the subject matter experts for the specific competencies, but they do not interact with other students, and that worries me—research methods and writing skills are an area where allowing students to get a sense of the range of mastery actually helps them develop confidence (students see that some students are stronger writers/researchers, some are weaker, but all have good feedback for one another). I’ve yet to teach my first section of a Momentum research methods course (I’m scheduled with October starts), but I am curious to see how differently it turns out from my “regular” online sections of the same course.

References

APUS (2017). Momentum: Competency-Based Education, a faster, more personalized way to complete your bachelor’s degree. American Public University. Retrieved from http://www.apu.apus.edu/academic/degrees-and-programs/momentum.html

CAEL (October 2015). PLA and CBE on the Competency Continuum. Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. Retrieved from http://www.cael.org/pla/publication/pla-and-cbe-on-the-competency-continuum

Educause (September 2015). 7 Things You Should Know about Personalized Learning. Educause. Retrieved from https://library.educause.edu/~/media/files/library/2015/9/eli7124-pdf.pdf