Competency-Based Education: A Student Perspective with Genny McDole

In this episode, Rob and Jared chat with Genny McDole who has an MEd in Instructional Design from Western Governors University. She gives a student perspective on competency-based education and shares how CBE has influenced her teaching practice.

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Genny was drawn to CBE courses because of the flexibility it provided. During that season of her life, she needed a flexible option that fit their family, could be done quickly, and would fit within their budget. CBE allowed her to take as many courses as she wanted, access all the resources she needed, and show mastery of assignments at her own pace – unlike her experience in traditional education in undergrad.

Even though she was able to move at her own pace through the course, Genny noticed that she received feedback very quickly – sometimes within a few hours of turning in an assignment. Her coursework contained a lot of papers and research, and the feedback was detailed, filled with suggestions on how to improve and look at the content differently. In addition to the quick feedback, she noticed specifically the quality of the rubrics because they were clear, easy to understand, and provided her with exactly what she needed to help her demonstrate mastery.

Having experienced both traditional educational models and CBE, Genny suggests that the approach to education needs to be student-oriented and able to meet students where they are. It may involve a shift away from traditional models to something more supportive of student needs, like CBE.