Dissertation
How do we know what we claim is true?: A scoping review of the empirical evidence on postsecondary competency-based education from 2012-2022
University of Iowa
Doctor of Education, University of Iowa
Spring 2024
DOI: 10.25820/etd.007663
Abstract
Competency-based education (CBE) is a type of teaching and learning approach in which all learners must master pre-defined outcomes (competencies), but the time and exact pathway a learner takes to achieve mastery is set by the learner. Learners receive personalized, tailored instruction from faculty and complete authentic assessments when ready. They may build upon existing experience to potentially move more quickly through the material. While not a new educational approach, it had not achieved scale or wide adoption in American colleges until the 2010s, where it re-emerged as a popular and prolific approach to redesigning postsecondary programs.
Given the nascency of the modern approach to CBE, there is limited research on what is known about the efficacy of this educational reform. I conducted a scoping review of published academic research on CBE programs with the objective of answering the question, “what is empirically known about postsecondary CBE?” Scoping reviews are a type of research that systematically locates, collates, and synthesizes existing primary research studies. This review of 24 articles is a starting point to help understand research conducted to-date on the topic. Few generalizations about the state of CBE efficacy in program design, delivery, or outcomes were possible given this sample, however, the limited evidence that does exist shows neutral to positive findings about postsecondary CBE. This is a key first step in a broader research agenda for future scholars to build on, and for practitioners to turn to for guidance as to what the research currently says about good program design synthesized in a single document.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- How do we know what we claim is true?: A scoping review of the empirical evidence on postsecondary competency-based education from 2012-2022
- Creators
- Ryan Specht-Boardman - University of Iowa
- Contributors
- Cassie Barnhardt (Chair) - University of IowaAndrew Beckett (Committee Member) - University of IowaNicholas Bowman (Committee Member) - University of IowaJodi Linley (Committee Member) - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Project Type
- Dissertation in Practice
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education, University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Educational Policy and Leadership Studies (Higher Education)
- Date degree season
- Spring 2024
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.007663
- Number of pages
- 161 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright © Ryan Specht-Boardman
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Educational Policy and Leadership Studies; Education Doctorate Dissertation in Practice
- Record Identifier
- 9984635142102771