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Aligning Competencies with Your Portrait of a Learner

Article
January 10, 2023

Portrait of a Learner

How many competencies should be included in the system?

According to the latest research in brain science, the brain cannot intentionally focus on a system with too many parts, especially for learners at earlier stages of development. Having a focused set of broad competencies at the top level of the system allows for coherent organization while also clearly articulating what a learning community values most. Current research and practice suggest no more than six competencies at the highest level of the system, though ¿ì²¥ÊÓÆµ supports learning communities in determining the appropriate number for their local contexts. A fully developed competency system will have more than six components, but these components will all be aligned to the highest level of the system.

A more focused set of competencies supports the implementation of personalized, competency-based learning in several ways. It makes it easier to unpack and contextualize a Portrait of a Learner across local communities, subjects and grade bands, enabling local ownership and increasing momentum for implementation. A more focused set of competencies also ensures that curriculum may continually return (or spiral) back to teach competency over time with increasingly more complex content.

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