Personalized, competency-based learning (PCBL) is a belief, mindset, and approach to learning and instruction that prioritizes tailoring the learning experience to empower students to take ownership of their learning and work towards mastery of world class skills, knowledge, and characteristics. As an alternative to the “one-size-fits-all” approach to education, personalized, competency-based learning is student-centered learning at its best and embeds equity within the culture, structure, and pedagogy of schools. Leveraging use of the PSCG Competencies and practices that encourage student ownership, flexible learning environments, learner profiles, and learning pathways allows the needs of every learner to be met every day.
Traditional education typically uses a one-size-fits-all approach where educators teach to the middle and decisions are mostly teacher-centered. In a differentiated approach, the educator has recognized that learning needs to be tailored to meet the needs of different students; however, the teacher is still the one making all of the decisions in the learning process. Personalized, competency-based learning is a student-centered approach where students are true partners in the learning process.
Take a look at this comparison chart from Personalization vs. Differentiation vs. Individualization chart from Bray and McClaskey (notice who is in control of all the decisions). You can also look at EDulastic’s Personalized Learning and Differentiation: A Breakdown.
Whether you are exploring, implementing, or scaling and spreading student-centered practices, we have a variety of professional learning opportunities to meet your unique needs. Explore the resources on this site and select the best support to meet you where you are on your learning journey.
With the Profile of the SC Graduate as the anchor of the Framework of Personalized, Competency-Based Learning, personalizing student learning takes into account World Class Knowledge, World-Class Skills, and the Life and Career Characteristics needed to make that profile actionable in SC classrooms. The SC Academic Standards serve as the way to build the World-Class Knowledge detailed in the Profile of the SC Graduate. Teachers use the SC Academic Standards as a guide to plan personalized learning experiences with students.
Here are a few ways to get started on your journey towards personalizing learning for students:
The PSCG Competencies are a prototype that consists of twelve developmental continuums that are intended to make the Profile of the SC Graduate actionable. These competencies were created to be used as a tool for feedback, goal-setting, self-assessment, analyzing student work, and more.
The intention of the Profile of the SC Graduate is that it provides a “30,000 foot view” of our state’s desired learning outcomes. In order to bring this high-level view down to earth, it is also important that we have more specific tools to support teachers and students in the journey to grow World Class Knowledge, World Class Skills, and Life and Career Characteristics.
Fortunately we have those tools:
So if you're wondering “why competencies?,” you might say that competencies are the tools for defining and measuring growth toward World Class Skills and Life and Career Characteristics. Some put it this way: Competencies help make the Profile "actionable."
Take a look at the chart below. What are some things you notice?
| Standards | Competencies |
|---|---|
| Teacher-facing | Student-facing (e.g., I can…) |
| Describe learning outcomes in terms of discipline-specific skills and knowledge | Describe learning outcomes in terms of transferable skills and practices; may include both academic (e.g., Lead Inquiry) and efficacy outcomes (e.g., Navigating Conflict) |
| Constructed as grade-based performance levels, designed backwards from college/career expectations | Constructed as developmental performance levels detached from grade levels, designed to articulate a vertically aligned pre-K to professional skill trajectory |
| Learning evaluated using categorical rating system (proficiency scales by grade level) | Progress assessed using a continuous rating system (single, stable learning progression enabling longitudinal growth measures) |
| Used by teachers to: plan curriculum, define objectives, design assessments, and evaluate student learning | Used by teachers to: plan curriculum, define learning targets, design assessments, provide student feedback, rate student work, measure short and long-term growth |
| Typically not used by students as a tool to support learning independently (self-assessing, goal-setting, etc.) | Used by students to: self-assess, set goals, monitor, measure and reflect on progress, make decisions about learning needs |
For a deeper look at the difference between standards and competencies, read the article, What is the difference between competencies and standards?.
If the Profile of the SC Graduate is the ultimate goal for all SC learners, then we want to ensure that every learner has a chance to achieve the Profile. Of course, not every learner possesses the same level of knowledge, skills, and characteristics; therefore, we need to make sure that all learners have learning pathways that will help them achieve the Profile.
The standards’ “job” is to provide direction (the WHAT) and guidance on what the performance expectations are for each grade level. The competencies’ “job” is to reveal the developmental continuums (regardless of grade level) of the invisible learning processes (the transferable ones) necessary for students to be successful at demonstrating their learning of the standards.
Competencies are to the standards like fertilizer is to plants. The competencies are the nutrients that nourish the standards. Competencies are a tool that helps provide feedback and opportunities for self-assessment, and/or goal setting, on the invisible learning processes as students work to meet the standards. Together, the standards AND the competencies can be used to create pathways so that each student gets what they need, when they need it, and how they need it in order to achieve the Profile of the SC Graduate.
For a closer look at how competencies and standards can work together, read How Do Competencies and Standards Work Together? An Analogy for the Road.
The PSCG Competencies consist of 12 competencies that are intended to help make the Profile of the SC Graduate actionable. The PSCG Competencies are designed to support students in developing both academic and non-academic skills. Some of the competencies that align to and help build transferrable skills are: Learn Independently, Navigate Conflict, Sustain Wellness, Lead Teams, Build Networks, and Engage as a Citizen. Each competency is formatted as a continuum so that students and educators can see what success looks like at various stages of the learning. The PSCG Competencies are a tool that also provide a means for measuring and supporting learner growth through self-assessment, goal-setting, feedback, conferencing, and more. Our hope is that the PSCG Competencies help educators as they prepare students for life and work.
The PSCG Competencies can be used in many ways since they are tools for defining and measuring growth toward the World Class Knowledge, Skills and Life and Career Characteristics of the Profile of the SC Graduate through transferable skills, strategies, and processes. Students and teachers can use the competencies as a tool for self-assessment, goal-setting, reflection, conferencing, creating learning targets, designing learning pathways and assessments. For support on how to use the competencies for the first time, check out our First Steps Guide to Competency Implementation resource. To view some examples from SC educators, view the Using Competencies as a Tool slide deck. Learn more about how SC educators have implemented the PSCG Competencies in their classrooms, listen to episodes 17-21 of the Makin’ It Personal Podcast. To learn more about how competencies can be used with SLO’s, check out the FAQ below!
Can the PSCG Competencies be used when creating an SLO? If so, how?
They sure can! In section II. Priority Standard and Learning Objective of the SLO template, it states that you can choose 1-2 high priority content standards or Profile of the South Carolina Graduate (PSCG) Competencies that will provide the basis for the learning objective. Explore the Toolbox for Using the Profile of the SC Graduate Competencies with SLO’s to find answers to the following questions:
There currently is no crosswalk between the SC Standards and the PSCG Competencies and no plans to create one for the following reasons:
The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) supports innovations that provide for increased student achievement. Occasionally, State Board of Education (SBE) Regulations or SCDE policies may seem to impede the implementation of educational innovations. When this occurs, the SCDE may be able to waive compliance from regulations.
The South Carolina Education Flexibility Guide is an all-encompassing resource designed to provide schools, districts, and communities with policy guidance and direction for meeting the unique needs of students. The guide aims to make existing state level education flexibilities more transparent and readily accessible.
South Carolina state leaders have strived to provide an array of exemptions, options, and waiver opportunities to encourage innovative approaches to learning. The South Carolina Education Flexibility Guide provides a step-by-step overview of current flexibilities that exist in state law and regulation, encourages school districts to explore options, and provides the next steps they should take to personalize learning and to ensure all students achieve the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
The 23-page guide provides a pathway for district and school leaders to create their own approach to personalized learning, leveraging strong foundations state leaders have put in place. Working within basic parameters established at the state level, districts and schools are free to establish their own goals, set expectations for student success, and design instructional programs.
