What is CBE?

Competency-Based Education

Competency-Based Education, or CBE, is an outcomes-based approach to earning a college degree or other credential that asks learners to demonstrate their mastery of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors.

CBE fosters a strong foundation in knowledge, the discernment to apply that knowledge, and the skill to put it into daily practice.

Learners entering a competency-based course of study will already have varying degrees of proficiency in the required competencies. It is essential, then, that newly admitted learners engage with their program mentor to review their professional and academic experiences. These experiences will provide the contextual information necessary to best place and support the learner in their course of study. It is equally important that learners continue to work closely with their course faculty and mentor throughout their individualized course of study.

Competency-Based Theology Education (CBTE)

Competency-Based Theology Education, or CBTE, approaches the teaching of theological principles through a competency-based model. At MLC we leverage CBE to nurture a heart for service rooted in love for God and his Word, demonstrated in their educational ministry, and fed by a commitment to lifelong learning. 

The courses offered in the CBTE course of study provide opportunities to identify what they already know from their formal and informal studies, deepen their faith through the close study of God's Word, and connect with our shared understanding of doctrine as a confessional church. 

CBTE Minor

The Theology Minor is a year-long program of study that reflects the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors essential to our shared understanding as public servants of the WELS ministry. Learners engage in that course of study as a cohort of learners with monthly, synchronous Bible studies. Completion of the Theology Minor is one element required by the WELS to extend a call to serve in the public ministry and is a required component of the APPLE Elementary Education program.

CBTE Transfer Credits

Only courses previously completed at religious institutions recognized by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod may be considered equivalent to the courses in the CBTE Minor. Those institutions include DMLC/MLC, Northwestern College (Watertown, WI), Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, MN), and Wisconsin Lutheran College (Wauwatosa, WI). Courses from these institutions must be at least two-thirds similar in content and have been completed with a C or better for a final grade.  

Competency-Based General Education 

MLC has designed its General Education course of study to provide a strong foundation in the knowledge needed to serve as an elementary school teacher. Though the courses are limited in their selection, they are broad in their coverage of the communication, humanities, social sciences, and sciences necessary to share the many gifts God has bestowed on us with the next generation. 

The competency-based general education courses are flexibly paced. Faculty hold optional weekly review sessions to discuss the content of the course with learners. If a learner does not pass an assessment on their first try, they must meet with the course instructor individually -- either by phone or Google Meet -- to discuss the relevant course materials before an additional attempt is opened. Learners are provided pacing schedules to help guide their progress through the course and encouraged to engage with their faculty mentor for general guidance on study skills, reading strategies, and time management to finish the course within the registered term. 

General Education and Licensure

 Many of these courses also meet a content requirement to prepare for elementary education licensure eligibility. While the courses do not directly include pedagogy and methodology, they help us develop content-specific knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors of an elementary school teacher. The major assessments included in these courses often provide opportunities to apply the course concepts to a classroom setting or provide resources that a teacher might use in their own classroom to support student learning. 

General Education Transfer Credits

General Education courses that do not have licensure standards are transferred if they are at least two-thirds similar in content based on course descriptions and have been completed with a C or better for a final grade. 

General Education courses that do have a licensure standard associated with them must undergo additional review. In addition to meeting the two-thirds similar in description and the C or better for a final grade, the MLC Licensure Office must agree that they meet the requirements of the licensure standard. A syllabus review is often needed to ensure licensure requirements are met. 

Competency-Based APPLE Courses

MLC is an approved teacher preparation program in the state of Minnesota. The Elementary Education course of study is designed to meet the Standards of Effective Practice (SEP) and Elementary Education Subject Matter Standards. Each course is designed to provide the strong foundation necessary to be a capable, caring, creative, and collaborative Christian Educator. 

The competency-based APPLEn courses are flexibly paced. Faculty hold optional weekly review sessions to discuss the content of the course with learners. If a learner does not pass an assessment on their first try, they must meet with the course instructor individually -- either by phone or Google Meet -- to discuss the relevant course materials before an additional attempt is opened. Course assessments often reflect the expected deliverables of a teacher. For example, a course assessment may ask learners to produce a lesson plan, curriculum map, or a recorded microteaching presentation (with or without students) or ask learners to respond to a case study or scenario. Learners are provided pacing schedules to help guide their progress through the course and encouraged to engage with their faculty mentor for general guidance on study skills, reading strategies, and time management to finish the course within the registered term. 

APPLE Courses and Licensure

All of the required APPLE courses also meet either a Standard of Effective Practice or Elementary Education Subject Matter Standard required to prepare for elementary education licensure eligibility. The major assessments included in these courses often meet specific standards and can be used as part of the portfolio presented at the end of the student teaching term. Learners can track the standards associated with each course by the three-column chart included in each course's syllabus and the report of progress through the competencies generated at the end of each term. 

APPLE Course and Transfer Credits

As all required APPLE courses have one or more licensure standards associated with them, they must undergo additional review. In addition to meeting the two-thirds similar in description and the C or better for a final grade, the MLC Licensure Office must agree that they meet the requirements of the licensure standard. A syllabus review is often needed to ensure licensure requirements are met.