Abstract:

Competency-based education is a method of academic instruction that organizes the delivery of course content according to competencies and evaluates students based on proficiency instead of actual class time. In other words, students can work at their own pace and demonstrate what they know without waiting for the rest of the class to catch up. A movement towards competency-based learning was beginning to take shape in the late 1990’s as we moved into the digital age. A report by Jones and Voorhees (2002) explores competency-based models in postsecondary institutions providing a guide for educators interested in embarking on this path. Ten years later, a report by Klein-Collins (2012) reviews competency-based degree programs in the United States, providing valuable insight into how these models have been successfully implemented. More recently, the rapid development of online teaching has made competency-based education more convenient creating benefits for multiple types of learners. Currently much of the literature on competency-based learning seems to focus on the bigger picture issues of how this model can be successfully implemented. In this paper, I will narrow the focus of competency-based learning approaches to the online environment for specific introductory economics courses. I will examine how competency-based courses in economics are designed and implemented and how students in these courses are evaluated.

Keywords:

Online learning, competency-based education, economics.