Stacking the "Gifted Deck" with Competency-Based Education

Location: Sandstone 3

Description:

As we work to support innovative and effective educational practices, we must be thoughtful about how they may impact gifted students. Competency-based education (CBE) has been on both the “front and back burner” in education for several years and is gaining some attention once again. How might CBE potentially help address the needs of gifted students here in Wisconsin?

This session will begin with foundation building on what CBE is (and is not). We will evaluate how a (potentially) innovative practice like CBE can be misunderstood and misused if educators are not provided adequate training and opportunities to reflect and modify their practices. Next will be an in-depth review of the ways in which the needs of gifted and talented students could be nested within this educational framework. Finally, we will thoughtfully consider how to use CBE with individual gifted students and entire classrooms.

Participant Outcomes: 

1. Outline the what, why, and pros/cons of Competency-based Education (CBE)
   
2. Analyze the touchpoints between CBE and the education of gifted children (e.g., personalized pathways, responsive pacing, and building student agency)
   
3. Evaluate the ways in which CBE can be used to either a) support gifted children, or b) potentially create additional barriers to their learning.