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2 left: Special Ed and Professional Expectations!!
The Q.E.D. Foundation, which chartered the MC2 School, has four guiding principles that are demonstrated in the MC2 model:
We are all learners
We are all learners
Learning changes lives
Learning changes lives
Learning needs to happen in different ways
Learning needs to happen in different ways
Learning empowers us.
Learning empowers us.
To do this, the MC2 charter notes, "progress at MC2 – and ultimately graduation from MC2 – is “competency based”. This means students must provide evidence of application of proficiency of competencies in order to receive credit. Performance based assessments include application, documentation, and defense of student learning and proficiency."
We do this in a few ways
We do this in a few ways
progress is not time-based, we have phase and essential knowledge competencies, organized in checklists, to keep track of student accomplishments
cross-discipline habits break down 17 life long learning skills to help students develop the skills and dispositions to demonstrate mastery
competency statements describe learning objectives that are enduring, relevant, rigorous, and assess-able,
diverse assessment of mastery allows students to demonstrate their understanding in many ways
J Curve.pdfCompetencies
Competencies
Competency Based Learning requires students to demonstrate mastery of knowledge, skills and dispositions for advancement. This means Competency-based assessment begs the question, "how do we know?" a student is ready? In a competency-based system, student performance is measured against the competencies themselves. These performance statements clearly delineate the tasks expected, and combine the skills, knowledge, and dispositions required to do it well. When competencies become the benchmark, students are more free to find diverse and relevant assessment tasks, be they at an internship site, on a trek, or in a studio.
Designing for Competency Based Learning
Designing for Competency Based Learning
MC2 students and staff design projects to demonstrate competency. These projects can be predetermined, or evolve out of a community need. Projects are an opportunity for deep and authentic learning, and give students a chance to learn, revise, apply, and even fail. Some of the best learning comes from failure!
All projects, regardless of their learning opportunity context (studio, internship, trek, or personal) have a common design process which has 5 main stages:
ID Goals > Plan > Learn & Apply > Defend > Reflect
ID Goals > Plan > Learn & Apply > Defend > Reflect
These five stages, when done well, move the student through a natural learning process and account for the balance of flexibility and structure that define competency-based learning.
Identify Goals: This is where the needed competencies are identified. Sometimes a studio will emerge from identifying a group of students who need Biology. An individual student may need to complete an Eagle Scout Project, and pair that with checklist gaps. Regardless of how it's initiated, a good project has clear goals with both competencies and habits.
Plan: This is often the stage most students have least experience with. MC2 ultimately wants students to become fluent in planning their projects, so we use a clear template, including Learning Windows, planning tools, and Project Foundry to help with the process. Students learn how to break down tasks, estimate benchmarks, and anticipate challenges. Student planning often goes through multiple rounds of feedback with staff. Sometimes the plan changes. That's OK.
Learn & Apply: These steps are put together because they are iterative. A little bit of learning, applied, often reveals a new layer of questions to be answered. Great projects do not have a predetermined answer or a guarantee of success. Ideally, outside experts help with this part as resources, sounding boards, for feedback...
Defend: ...and even as evaluators! Ultimately the project needs to be evaluated, and this often comes in the form of the defense of the learning. The certified staff is the final arbiter of whether students have met the competency. This round includes rounds of feedback (which can be shortened by having a clear plan). Students often defend their learning in presentations, videos, essays, and/or conversations.
Reflect: This step often requires the most practice, but is crucial. Reflection on learning (metacognition) is one of the most powerful methods for ensuring deep and lasting understandings, and is a compelling documentation of learning. Additionally, because students are often doing personalized projects, reflections are important artifacts when compiling EK portfolios to document completion of a subject discipline.
Coaching students
Coaching students
Eventually, we want all MC2 students to be fluent in all five stages of designing their own learning, and most Phase Three and Phase Four students are. The idea is that if students can find the learning in any situation, they will be life long learners in the world. Most students, however, do not come to MC2 with these skills, or even the desire, to do this. People recognize that MC2 creates self-directed learners, but we don't expect anyone to come to us already self-directed! The process to get there is a gradual, negotiated release to student-led learning. Students often complete projects designed by staff, but eventually advocate for some flexibility along the way. As students become more adventurous, they may design their own project collaboratively with their advisor or teachers. Eventually, the students will be confident and competent in the process and use the teachers as a secondary resource in the process.
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
COMP BASED Quality-Principles-Book.pdfwhat-is-competency-based-education-an-updated-definition.pdf
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