Implications of Transactional Distance Theory for Online Competency-Based Education Competency-based education (CBE) has a long history, having been used for at least 30 years in vocational training (Garfolo & L’Huillier, 2016). With the increase in adult students using online education to earn credentials and enter or advance in career paths, some online programs are turning to CBE (Weise, 2014). Institutions using CBE in online programs must consider how the interaction made possible online will facilitate students’ mastery of competencies, as well as how competencies, learning paths, and mastery will be determined. Transactional distance theory provides one way to think about these issues.
Overview of Competency-Based Education
CBE is designed …show more content…
A common reason for taking a CBE approach is to ensure that students have the skills required by employers in their chosen field (Garfolo & L’Huillier, 2016). This makes it important that the needs of employers are taken into account in identifying competencies. Generally, this is done as part of program or course design, making the array of competencies a structured part of a program/course. While individualization of competencies based on student goals is imaginable, that approach could reduce the value of the program as perceived by employers, who would not be able to count on all students from a given program having attained particular …show more content…
CBE, by nature, is supported by a certain level of structure to ensure students have attained a set collection of competencies according to a given standard. However, to the extent allowed by institutional resources, the path to attaining competencies can be individualized. Implementing CBE online allows for various types of dialogue, but CBE’s focus on assessing students’ individual attainment of competencies might serve as a disincentive for students to engage in learner-learner dialogue. Instructional designers must consider how students will be motivated to engage in dialogue with other learners when necessary and how learner-instructor and learner-content dialogue can be
Overview of Competency-Based Education
CBE is designed …show more content…
A common reason for taking a CBE approach is to ensure that students have the skills required by employers in their chosen field (Garfolo & L’Huillier, 2016). This makes it important that the needs of employers are taken into account in identifying competencies. Generally, this is done as part of program or course design, making the array of competencies a structured part of a program/course. While individualization of competencies based on student goals is imaginable, that approach could reduce the value of the program as perceived by employers, who would not be able to count on all students from a given program having attained particular …show more content…
CBE, by nature, is supported by a certain level of structure to ensure students have attained a set collection of competencies according to a given standard. However, to the extent allowed by institutional resources, the path to attaining competencies can be individualized. Implementing CBE online allows for various types of dialogue, but CBE’s focus on assessing students’ individual attainment of competencies might serve as a disincentive for students to engage in learner-learner dialogue. Instructional designers must consider how students will be motivated to engage in dialogue with other learners when necessary and how learner-instructor and learner-content dialogue can be