Competency-BasedTeacherEducation:

A PersonalPerspective
M. S tephe nLi l ly

C o m p e te n cy- b a s edp e rso n n e l tr ai ni ng i s a not i on w hi ch i s rel at i vel ynew t o t he 105

fi e ld o f e d u ca ti o n ,b u t th is d o es not i m pl y t hat i t i s a new i d ea al t oget he r.A s l ong
as t he re h a v e b e e n a p p re n ti ceshi psi n var i ous ar eas of car eer pr eparat i on,pr i nci -
pl e s o f c o m p et e n cy- b a s e dtra i ni ng have been us ed. C ompet ency- base dt rai ni ng
st re ss e ssys te m a tica p p l ica tio nof l ear nedski l l s i n w or k set t i n gsw hi ch appr oxi m at e
an d , i n s o m e ca s e s ,m a tch e xa ctl yt he post -t r ai ni ngoccupa ti o nalsi t uat i on.
The purpose of this article is not to provide a review of competency-based
te a c h e r e d u c a tio n ; th e a r tic le by S em mel and S em mel el sew her e i n thi s i ssue
admirabfy fulfills that purpose. Rather, this article presents a personal analysis of
competency-basedteacher education in terms of perceived positive and negative
aspects of the CBTE approach. Competency-basedtraining is, in this author's
an a lysis ,a n e xtr e me lyp o sit iv ei nf l uenceon pr epar at i onof pr of essi onalper son nel ;
it i s n o t, h o we v e r ,a p a n a ce a.W hi l e C B TE hel ps t he f i el d of te acher educat i oni n
so m e ra th e r sig n if ica n twa ys , it does not meet t he rat her hercul eanexpec t at i ons
wi th w h ich it i s h e ra ld e d in som e t eac her educat i on i ns t i t ut i ons.I n t hi s ar t i cl e,
po sit ivea sp e ctso f CB T E will be present ed,and i m possi bl edr eams w i l l be exam-
i n e d i n th e wa k e f ul sta te o f r e al i ty .To begi n,the m ost basi c of cont r ast smust be
ma d e b e twe e nco m p e te nc y- b a sed and " t r adi ti onal "t ea chereducat i on.

A TRADITIONALAPPROACH
Wh y th e cu r r e n t str e ss o n co m petency -basedt r ai ni ng i n t eacher educat i on? I n
a d d re ss in gth is q u e s tio n ,l e t u s begi n t o evol ve a def i ni t i on of t he concept i t sel f .
Th e t ra d i ti o n a l a ssu mp ti o nu sed i n devel opi ngt eacher educati on progr ams has
be e n t h a t tr a i n e e sco m e t o th e tr ai ni ng i nst i t ut i onw i t h l i tt l e or no pri or know l edge,
an d th e p r i m a ry fo cu s o f t h e p r og rams houl d be t o devel opa body of know l edgei n
th e st u d e n t.M o st o fte n ,th e first one t o t w o year s of a tr ai ni ngprogr amar e devot ed
to va ri o u s a ca d em ic e n d e a v o r sai me d at i ncreasi ngt he st udent 's know l edge i n
va r io u s s p e ci fi eda r e a s. M o s t of ten, t hes e ar eas ar e def i ne d by t i t l es of cour sest o
b e ta ke n, a n d a cq u i sti o no f k n o w l edgeas measuredby per f or manc eon w ri t t en or
o ra l e xa mi n a tio n s O . n c e t h e " b ody of know l edge " has been est abl i shed,t he st u-
d e n t is g iv e n a n o p po rt u n ityt o a ppl y,or pr act i ceappl i cat i onof , t he know l edgei n a
s tu d e n tte a c h i n g o r p r a cticu ms et ti n g.The f oc us i n t hi s pr acti c ums et ti n g,t hough,
is on practice of skills, not dernonsfration of attained skills. Thus, the student often
leav e st h e tr a i4 in g pr o g r a mw ith out anyone know i ngw het he rt he pr act i cew i l l l e ad
t o in d e p e n d e n ta p p lica ti o no f the ski l l s i n a sy st emat i cm anner w hen th e person
t ak e s a jo b t h e n e xt y e a r. In ot her w or ds, w ha t i s assessedi s not act ual ski l l l evel ,
bu t d i li g e n ce a n d p o ise i n th e p racti c e si t uat i on .Thi s i s rel l ect ed i n the f ac t that
m o st p r a ct ic aa r e e va lu a te dp r ima ri l yt hr ough t he use of a super vi sorrat i ng s cal e,
a s o p p o se dto a d o c u m e n ta ti o no f s ki l l s appl i cat i oni n th e w or k s ett i ng.
 A DISCLAIMERAND WARNING
The concept of competency-basedtraining has been brought to bear on several
fa ce ts o f th e s itu a ti o nd e scr i bedabove.B ef ore st art i ngto del i neat esome poi nt s of
co n ce rn ,h o w e ve r ,i t is n e cess ar yt o poi nt out t ha t l i ke most new , f as hi onabl et erm s
in e d u ca t io n ,t h e te rm " co mpet ency-based t r ai ni ng" has been def i ned and used i n
dozens of different ways, many contradictory to each other. Some trainers have
tr a n sl a teda ll " kn o wle d g e " t aught i n a t r adi t i onal pr ogram i nt o " compet enci es ,"
re su lti n gi n lo n g l is ts o f o bj ec ti v esrel at i ngto mi ni m um l eve l s of per f or manc eon
w ri tte n a n d o r a l t e s ts.Oth er s have l i st ed numerous" sk i l l s" t o be taught i n t he pr o-
g r a m , s ta te d in g e n e ra l,n on- obs ervabl e and non-m easur abl ter e ms .I n ot her w or ds,
co m p e te n cy- b a se dtr a i n i ng has been used i n some cases t o of f er a tr adi t i onal
tr a i n i n gp ro g r a m i n a tra d it i onalw ay, w i t h a new set of l abel satt ac hedt o i t .
P e r h a p sth e mo st e xci ti ng appl i cat i onsof compet enc y- based t rai ni ng,how ever ,
have gone further than this, using the concept to initiate a near-totalreanalysisof
th e t ra in in g si tu a tio n .lt i s one such appr oachw hi c h w i l l be out l i n ed i n t hi s paper ,
a n d a s s u ch , it r e p r e s ent s a pers onal anal ysi s of com pet ency- basedtr ai ni ng
106 as a process.This paper should not be perceived as a review of the field of compe-
t en cy - b a se dtr a i n in g ; a s p oi nt ed out earl i er,t hi s i s not t he purpos e.R at her ,i t r ep-
re se n tsa n i n d e p e n d e n a t p pl i cat i onof t hat c oncep t by t he aut hor ,and as such, onl y
a su b se to f co n ce p t u a ld e vel opm enti n the f i el d. Wi t h t hat di scl ai m eri n mi nd, l et us
proceed to an individual analysisof competency-basedtraining, as it relates to the
t ra d i tio n a ltr a i n in gs ce n a riosket chedabove.

SOME BASIC IDEAS

In th e tr a d i tio n a l tr a i n in g pr ogram del i neat edabove, a ver y heavy em phas i s i s
p la ce d o n d e ve lo p m e nto f cour ses and pat t er nsof cour ses,w i t h subsequenti d en-
t ifica ti o no f p e rs on sto te a ch t he coursesw ho have exper t i sei n t he t opi cs covered .
Thus, when a student graduates and is looking for employment,and is asked to
d e s cri b et h e tr a in in g p r o g ram ,the descr i pt i ongi ve n m ost of t en consi s t sof a ser i e s
o f co u r se sli ste d o n a tra n sc ri ptor progr am br ochure.Fu rt her,i n i dent i f yi ngneeds
a n d g a p s w it h i n t he t r a in ing pr ogram ,f acul t y v er y of t en w i l l st at e t hat "a course i s
n e ed ed in
In co m p e te n cy -b a s etr d a i ni ng, - t he pr ogrami s descri bednot i n t erm s of cours es
t a k en ,b u t in te rm s o f s ki lls l ea rnedand appl i esas a par t of t he t rai ni ng.The ai m i s
to tell potential employers what graduates can do, as opposed to what they know
about. For example, a program competencyfor a teacher education program in the
s o u th w e s tUn it e d S ta te s mi ght be t hat progr am gr aduat esspeak f l uent S pani shas
j u d g e d b y t wo o r th re e in de pendentrat er s w ho speak S pani sh as a pr i mar y l an-
g u a g e .T h i s is im m e n se lymor e hel pf ulto a pot ent i alem pl oyert han know i ngt hat a
person has had 12 credits of course work in conversationalSpanish.In short, CBTE
a tte m p tsto a ssu r et h a t no t onl y w as t he per son tr ai ned, but som e evi d enceexi s t s
th a t th e tr a i n in gwa s s u c ce ssf ul .
L ike w is e,in id e n tif yin gtr ai ni ng program needs , a C B TE approach f ocuses on
specifying needed skills development not covered in the program and concep-
t u a li ze sn e e d s i n te rm s o f s ki l l s of t ra i nees,not cour ses .Thi s i s oft en a much m or e
t a x in g a p p ro a c ht o p r o g r a m devel opmentsi , nc e i t i s hardert o deter m i neover l api n
s ki ll a r e a s with in a tr a in in g pr ogr am t ha n over l ap i n cont ent ,but i t yi el ds a much
more comprehensive,unitary approach to training across the entire program fac-
u l ty.
A n oth e r e le me n t o f th e "tr adi t i onal " t rai ning approach out l i ned above w hi c h i s
c h a n g e d i n th e C B TE a p p roach rel at es t o pr act i ce of sk i l l s and appl i cat i on of
l e a r n i ng .U n lik e th e tr a d itionalappr oach,w hi ch ass ur esth at know l edgeprecedes
a p p l ic a tio n ,CB T E d e ma n ds appl i cat i o nof k now l edge i n bot h super vi sedand i n-

' Fr om t hi s p oi nt i n t h e pa per , w h en th e re a d er c o me s ac ro s s th e te rm c o mp e te nc y-b as ed te ac he r ed uc a t i on (or

C B T E) , t he p hr as e "as d el i ned b y t h is au th or" i s i mp li ed . Thi s p h ra s e w i l l n o t b e i n c l u d e d in ma n y i n s ta n c e s s o as
n ot t o di s tu r b t he f l ow o f t he na r r at i v e .
dep e n d e n ts et tin g s,a n d a ssu mesthat t he best w ay t o m easur eknow l edgeacqui si -
, t hr oughappl i cat i o n.Thus, pr ac t i cumi s spr ead
ti on i s n o t th ro u g h r e g u r g ita tio nbut
throughout the program and ranges systematicallyfrom closely supervisedto fully
i n de p e nd e n two rk . P e rh a p sth e best descr i pt i on i s i n t he f orm ol a cl i c hd: "The
pr oo f o f t h e p u d d in g is in th e e a ti ng. " In C B TE ,t he pr oof of l ear ni ng( and t eac hi ng)
i s in th e d o in g .
The preceding paragraphs outline some ol the most basic differences between
CB T E a n d " t ra d i ti on a l" te a c h e r educ at i on.I n the f ol l ow i ngsect i on,som e s peci f i c
poi n ts w il l b e p re se n te dwh ic h m ust be consi der edi n devel opi ngC B TE progr ams ,
poin ts w h ich t e n d to b o th d e fine and del i m i t th e concept of compet ency- based
te a ch e re d u ca ti o n .

E L EV E N" S UG GE ST IO N S OF '' C O MP E TE N C Y -B A S ETR D AINING

In p re p a r in g th is a r ticl e , th e f ir st t i t l e consi der edfor t hi s sec ti on w as " The Ten
C om m a n d m e n tso f C o m p e te n cy -basedTrai ni ng. " H ow ever ,tw o probl ems ar ose:
( 1) th e r e a r e e le ve nst a t em e n tsto be m ade; and (2) t here i s not so much " t r ut h" i n
any o f t h e se sta te me n tsth a t t he y deserv et o be cal l ed comm andm ent s.Th e l at t er 107
po i n t i s a ki n to t he a rg u m e ntth a t " l f G od had i nt endedt o be perm i ssi v e,he w oul d
ha ve g i ve n u s t he T e n S u g g es ti onsi nst ead of th e Te n C om mandm ent s. "S i nce
th ese st a t em e n tsa r e m e a n t t o be suggest i ve ,as opposed t o dogmat i c , i t w as
decid e dt o d u b th e m " su g g e s tio ns , "t hus al l ow i ngfor t he pr obabi l i t yth at t hey have
been stated elsewhereeven better than they are stated here.

Suggestion#1:, DO NOT CONFUSEKNOWLEDGEWITH COMPETENCE

As po i n t edo u t a b o ve ,i t is te m p t i ngt o l i mi t for mal ass essmenti n t rai ni ngpr ogram s
t o t h e kn o w le d g ele v el , m e a s u ri ngt he ext ent to w hi ch t r ai nees have l ear ned sup-
po se d ly " fa ctu a l" in fo rm a t io n .Thi s i s f ar m ore si mpl e th an m easuri ngski l l s,si n ce
it in vo lve sn o d ire c t o b se rv a tio nof per f or mance,onl y eval u at i onof w r i t t en or or al
r es p o n se s Ass
. e ssm e n to f co m p et enc ei nvol vesmore t i me, i n bot h ar rangi ngand
obse rvi n gp r a cti cu msi tu a tio n s,b ut i t al so assur est hat m or e cl ear- cutst at em ent s
c a n b e m a d e co n ce rn in gt ra in ees'pe rf orm ancel ev el w i t h cl i ent s , w het her t hese
cl ie n ts a r e ch ild r e n , te a ch e r s,o r ot her s i n t he sc hool s ett i ng.C om pet ency-bas ed
te a c he r e d u c a t io nd e m a n d sth a t eval uat i onbe based on syst emat i cappl i cat i onof
k n o wle d g e w , h ich ca n n o t b e a s sess edt hrough paper and penc i l t es t s.

S u g g e stio n # 2 t D O N O T C O N FU S E B E I N G A B LE TO D O
S O M E TH I N GWITH D O IN G IT
lf w e o n c e o b se rve a p e rs o n a c compl i shi nga t ask , w e are abl e t o say t hat t he
per s onca n d o i t. Wh a t w e a r e n ot abl e t o say at th at t i me i s w het hert he pers oncan
or d o e s a c co mp li shth a t t as k successf ul l yi n a consi st entm anner .For exampl e,a
te a c h e r m a y ta c tfu l lyh a n d l e a p ar en t'sconcer n i n a st af f i n gconf er enceonce, but
to qu o te th e p o p u l a r l it e r a tu r e,"once i s not enough. " l n st at i ng t rai ni ng com pe-
tencies, we are attemptingto establish patternsof behavior which will form a "pro-
fessional life style." Thus, we must be concerned with observing consistency of
behavior to the extent that we are assured that the behavior is performed with
eno u g h e a s e th a t it w il l m a in ta ini t sel f w i thout our di r ect suppor t .A s an exampl e,
th e a u th o r t r a in s te a ch e rst o ch art chi l d behav i ori n t he cl assro om.l f onl y a si ngl e
ins ta n c e o f th is b e h a vi o r o n th e part of t eachers w as requi red,t hey w oul d st op
doin g i t b e fo ret h e y fe lt co m fo rt ab l ew i t h i t . B y requi ri ngup t o 10 speci f i ci nst ances
of th is t e a ch e r b e h a vi o r ,h o we v er ,enough practi ce i s assur edthat by t he end of t he
tr ain i n g p e ri o d ,ch a rt in g i s e a sy as w el l as hel pf ul ,and t hus w i l l be m ai nt ai nedi n-
dep e n d e n tl y.

S u g g e s tio n# 3 : O B SE RV EC O M P E TE N C E
l N D I R E C TWO R K S ITU A TI O N S
Ob se rva ti ona n d d o c u m e n ta ti o no f t r ai nee compet enc ei n act ual w or k si t uati onsi s
es se n tia li f a tr a i n in g p r o g r a m i s t o be accoun tab l e.Mi cr o{ eachi ng and si m ul at i on
 are excellent training devices, but performance in simulated settings cannot serve
a s th e e n d p r o d u ct o f tra i ni n g.The "r ea l w orl d" c annot be encount er edonl y af t er
tr a i n in g i s o v e r; it m u st be an i nt egral par t of t he t r ai ni n g i t sel f .Thus, pr act i cum
m u s t b e tra n sfo r m e df ro m "p rac ti ce tea chi ng " t o "syste mat i cski l l appl i cat i on, "a
su b tl e b u t cr u ci a l d is tin ct i o n.

Suggestion#4: WHEN DEVELOPINGCOMPETENCIES, STARTWITH A

DESCRIPTIONOF THE ROLESAND FUNCTIONSINVOLVEDIN THE JOB, AND
PROCEEDDIRECTLYFROM ROLESTO COMPETENCYSTATEMENTS.
Th e m o d e l fo r tr a i n in g progr am devel opm entused by t hi s w ri t er st art s w i t h a t hor -
o u g h d e sc ri p tio no f th e rol es i n t he school s f or w hi c h peop l e are bei ng t rai ned.
These role descriptionsare developed on the basis of what is presently happening
a s we ll a s e xp e rt a n a lys i sof t rends i n the f i el d, si nce any rol e descr i pt i onw hi ch i s
to serve as the basis for a training program must project at least five years into
th e fu tu re .On c e th is r o le descr i pt i oni s pr epa red,revi ew ed,and fi nal i zed,i t ser ves
a s th e "li gh th o us e " fo r c om petencydevel opment.A l l compet encyst at eme nt sar e
1 08 r e v ie w e di n te rm s of th ei r pr oxi mi t yt o t hi s r ol e descr i pt i on,and i f com pet enci es
d e vi a t e fa r e n o u g h f ro m t he "l i ght hous e" t hat i t 's har d t o s ee t he l i g ht, t hey ar e
e li min a te d. T h e fi n a l l is t of com pet enc y st at ements i s revi ew ed t o det er mi ne
whether each competency is necessary, and the list as a whole is sufficient, to
q u a li fya p e r so nto fi ll th e rol e as descr i bed.

Suggestion#5: STATECOMPETENCIESAS INSTRUCTIONALOBJECTTVES,

AND DO NOT CONFUSETHEM WITH TRAININGPROCEDURES
Co mp e te n c ie sre p r e se n tt erm i nal behav i or sof t he t rai ni ng pr ogram ,and as such,
b e a r g r ea t re se m b la n cet o i n st ructi onalobj e ct i ves.E ac h com pet enc ysta tement
in cl u d e s a tr a i n e e b e h a v i or ,the condi t i onsunder w hi ch t he behavi ori s obser ved,
a n d th e cr i te ri o nfo r su cc essf ulper f orm anc ei n st at i ngt rai nee behav i or.l t i s i m por -
tant to recall that this is behavior on the lob, meaning that direct performancein a
r e al is ticjo b s e ttin g i s a n ecessar ypar t of t he t r ai ni n g pr ogram .Thi s w ri t er pr ef er s
co m p e te n cyst at e m e n tswhi ch def i ne f ai rl y l ar ge uni ts of behavi or and i nvo l vesev-
e r a l sp e ci fics ki lls,si n ce th i s resul t si n a m ore l i m i t ed numbe rof c om pet encys ta te-
m e nt s fo r a si n g l e t r a in ing pr ogr am. A c om pet encybase f or a t rai ni ng pr ogr am
which contains 150 competencystatementsis impressiveand elaborate,but it may
a ls o d e fy su c ce ssfu l impl ement at i on.Tw o exampl es of com pet enc y st at ement s
w h ich fit th e a u th o r' sfo r m at ar e:

l. Giventhreechildren,eachexhibitingan instructional problemrecognizable to the child's

classroomteacher,eachtraineewill design,write and carryout an instructional plan for
dealingwith each problem.Each completedinstructional plan will involvestatingthe
problembehaviorally, translatingthe probleminto one or more instructional objectives,
statingmeasurement procedures, collectingbaselinedata, designingand implementing
teaching-learning procedures, and evaluating outcomes. Theseprojectswill be donewith
the activesupportof the instructorand otherclassmembers, andthe finalproductswill be
mutuallyacceptable to the traineeand instructor. lf possible,one of theseprojectswill be
donein the areaof reading,onein an areaofsocialbehavior.
S ki ll si n v o lve d :
(1) Statingproblemsbehaviorally
(2) Writinginstructional objectives
(3) Collectingbaselinedata
(4) Statingteachingprocedures, materials, andreinforcement procedures
(5) lmplementing statedteachingplans
(6) Collecting progress data
(7) Makinginstructional decisions on the basisof availabledata
(8) Chartingstudentperformance
ll. Eachtrainee,eitherindividually or in a groupof peers,will planand conducta minimum
of threehoursof inservicetrainingaimedat improvingskillsof eitherteachersor parents.
t hetr ai neew i l lsubm iat pl anni n g
P r io rto co n d u c tintgh istrai ni ng, reporw
t hi chi ncl udes:
 (a) Objectives for the training session
(b) Participant resourcesto be utilized
(c) Agenda for the training session
(d) Description of participant activities designed to accomplish the stated objectives
(e) Evaluationplans for the workshop
Subsequentto the training,a report will be submittedcontaining:
(a) A descriptionof actual workshop implementation
(b) Resultsof workshop in terms of evaluationoutcomes
(c) A summaryof how the workshop would be modified in the future based on (a) and (b)
aDove.
Both the planning and outcome reports will be mutually acceptableto the trainee and in-
structor.
S k il ls in v o l v ed :
(1) Writing objectivesfor teachertraining
(2 ) Pl an ni ngad m in is t r at i ved et a i lsfor workshopimplementation
(3) Planningparticipantinvolvementin workshopactivities
(4 ) C on du ct i ngt r ain i ngs e s sionu t ilizingparticipantinvolvement
(5) Evaluatingoutcomesof teachertraining 109
(6) Reportingteachertraining activitiesin written format
I n read in g t he p r ec ed ing c o m pe t ency statements, an obvious concern which arises
is the e x t en t t o wh ic h c r it er i a f o r s uccessful performance are elaborated. The com-
petency statements as presented depend to some extent on instructor judgment in
de te rm in i ng wh et he r t he tr a i ne e p erformance is acceptable. A common notion con-
cerning CBTE is that by stating performance criteria, the judgment factor in eval-
u ati ng st u de nt pe r fo r m anc e is eli minated or at least drastically reduced. lt is this
author's view that professional judgment will always be a part of teacher education,
and should be. CBTE does not reduce our reliance on professional judgment of
trainee performance; it merely assures that the criteria used in such professional
ju dgme n t wi ll b e p u b li c a n d su b ject t o scrut i ny by bot h tr ai neesand prof essi onal
pe er s . In th is wri te r' s o p i n io n ,th e si ngl e most i m por t antout com e of C B TE i s t hat
communicationbetween teacher education programs and potentialtrainees,poten-
t ia l e m p lo y e r s o f p r o g ra m g r a d u at es,and ot her t eacher educat i on pr ogra ms i s
en han ce d .Wh ile C BT E d o e s n o t ins ure t ha t t eacher prepar at i onpr ogram st and-
ar ds w i ll b e b e t te r th a n is th e ca s e w i th t radi ti onal pr ogr ams,i t does guar ant ee
t hat su ch sta n d a rd swill b e pu b li c, w hi c h i s i n and of i t sel f a st ep t ow ar d i mpr ove-
m enL
Al s o , i n g e n e ra ti n gco m p e te n cyst at ements ,i t i s i m por t antt o avoi d t he pi t f al l of
c o nf us in gth e m w it h t r a in in g p r o cedures.The compet encyst at eme nt sdef i ne out -
c om e s i n t e r m s o l tr a in e e b e h a v i or .S peci f i cat i onof t rai ni ng t asks i s a separat e
s te p in th e p ro ce s s.

Suggestion#6: DEVELOPTRAININGPROGRAMFORMATAFTER
A PERFORMANCEBASE IS ESTABLISHED
T h is s u g g e stio nfo llo ws d ire c tly fr om t he l ast poi nt i n t he pr evi ous l i ne. C ompe-
t e nc y b a se dtr a i n in g d o e s n o t d e ma nd a speci f i ct r ai ni ngf orma t.l t nei t herre qui r es
no r r u le s o u t co u rse sa s a ve h ic lefor del i ver i ngt rai ni ng.P ro gr amf or m at deci si ons
must be made on the basis of competencystatements,and only on that basis. This
writer finds it to be a common assumptionthat CBTE denies the use of traditional
course format, an assumptionwhich often leads to needlessproblems. lt has been
demonstratedin numerous cases that courses and CBTE can peacefully and pro-
ductively co-exist,and we should not "throw out the courses" until it is clear that it
is necessaryto do so.
A ra th e r co m m o n pr o c e d u re i n d evel opi ngC B TE pr ogram s i s t o do a " cour se
a nal ys is ," t o tr a n sl a te e a ch co u rse i n an exi st i ng progr am i nt o a f or mat w hi ch
inc l ud e s a s e t o f in str u cti o n a lo b j ect i ve s.The com pet enc ybase f or t he pr ogram
t h en c o n s is ts o f a c om p i la ti o no f c ourse obj ec t i ves.Thi s i s, i n f act , a backw ards
p r oc ed u res in ce i t i s th e co u rse sw hi ch shoul d be devel opedf r om th e c om pet ency
 statements, not vice versa. Courses are vehicles for delivering training, and it
m a ke s n o s e n s e to ta l k a bou t mode of t ransport at i onunt i l w e know w her e w e ar e
g o i n g . T h e te mp ta ti o ni s s t r ong t o j um p di r ect l y f rom a needsst at em entt o a l i st i ng
o f co u rse s,b u t if th i s is done, l at er c om pet encydevel opm entw i l l be aw kw ar dand
ineffectual.

Su g g e sti o n# 7 : IN C LU D EA LI S TI N GO F C O MP O N E N TS K I LLSWITH
EACH COMPETENCYSTATEMENT
As pointed out and demonstratedin suggestion #5 above, each competencystate-
m e n t wi ll i mp li citlyco n t a i n a set of ski l l s, w hi ch, w h en t aken as a w hol e, re sul t i n
d e m on st r a ti o no f th e sta t ed compet enc e.S ki l l s ar e mor e speci fi c th an com pe-
t en ci e s,a n d o f te n b r e a k c om pet encyst at eme nt si nt o component sw hi ch are m ore
e a s il y u n d e rs ta n d a bl eto personsreadi ngt he st at eme nt s.S i nce compet enci esar e
stated as instructionalobjectives,they sometimes end up as rather long and awk-
w a rd . Th u s , it is so m e ti me si mpor t ant t hat w e l i st t he com ponentski l l s of each
110 co m p e te n cysta te me n t,to make i t mor e r eadi l y under st andab l et o t he user of t he
in fo rm a t io n .Exa m p le so f s ki l l l i st i ngs are i ncl uded i n t he com pet enc ys ta tem ent s
cite d a b o ve .

S u g g e stio n# 8 : M EAS U R EC O M P E TE N C EU N D E RTR A I N IN GC ON D I TI ON S

A S W E L LA S I N D E P E N D E N A
T P P LI C A TI O NC O N D I TIO N S
Tw o le ve l s o f sk il l a p p li cat i onshoul d be meas ure di n a C B TE pr ogr am.Th e f i rs t
level deafs wilh initial acquisition of skills by trainees in situations in which sub-
s ta nt ia l i n s tr u c tio n a lsu p port i s avai l abl e(i . e. ,w i t hi n a l orma l t eachi n g st ruc ture).
T h i s m o n ito r i n g l ev e l p rovi des i nf or m at i on on th e need f or ear l y " re medi a l "
t ra in in g fo r s tu d e n tsw h o have t r oubl e l ea rni ng t he ski l l . The second l eve l of as-
sessmentdeals with independentapplication of learned skills without support from
o th e r s, a n d m e a su r e sth e ext ent t o w hi c h t he t rai nee can " go i t al one. " B ot h of
th e s e fe v e l so f p e rfo r m a n ceshoul d be assessedas a par t of the t r ai ni ng progr am,
si n c e in d e p e n d e n ta p p l ic at i onof l ea rneds ki l l s i s a r easonabl epr er equi s i tefo r cer -
tif i ca ti o nfo r e m p lo ym e n t.

Suggestion#9: PROVIDEVARIEDPRACTICUMSETTINGSTO PROVIDE

F O R B O T HL E V E LSO F A S S E S S ME N TD E S C R IB E DI N #8
Ob vi o u sl y,a CB T E p r o gram w hi c h assessescom petence at bot h l ev el s as de-
scribed above must have a systematic, integrated approach to practicum which
p r o vi d e s d iff e r in g l e v e ls of suppor t and di r ect t eachi ng of st udent s at var i ous
p o in ts i n th e pr o g r a m . P r act i cum ar r angem ent smust be w e l l pl a nned and w el l
co o rd in a te d ,a n d th e fo cus i s no l ong er pr i mari l yon obser vi ngand l ear ni ngf ro m a
" m a st er te a ch e r," b u t ra t her on di re ct demonst rat i onof sk i l l s. P r act i cum i n the
sa m e se tti ng fo r th e d u r at i on of th e t r ai ni ng progr am mi ght make mor e s ense t han
a ssu ri n ga " b r o a d va r ie t y" of experi ences,si nc e some progr amcom pet enc i esw i l l
d e m a n d l a m il ia ri tywith a w or k set ti ng.I n short , pr ac t i cum i s no l onger an experi -
e n c e ; it i s a sy ste m a ti ct r ai ni ngdevi ce.

Suggestion#10: DO NOT ASSUMETHAT THERElS A SINGLESET OF

.' COR RE C T 'CO
' M P E TE N C I E S
FO R A S IN G LER O LED E S C R I P TI O N
T h e st a te o f co m p e te n cydevel opmen ti n al l of educat i oni s such th at t here ar e no
"model" sets of competencystatements ready for general adoption. Nor are there
apt to be in the foreseeablefuture. The best test of the adequacy of a set of compe-
t en cy st a t em e n tsis still l ogi cal anal ysi s,and no one i s i n a posi ti o n t o j udge a
s in g le s ta te m e n ta s " r ig h t " or " w r ong. "
 The purpose of making this point is to stress that if developmentof competency
s ta te me n tswe re to a w a i t m o r e d e f i ni t i veresearchf i ndi n gs (e. 9. ,on te acher behav-
io r o r CB TE i tse l f) ,a g r e a t d e a l of t i me mi ght be w ast ed. S am pl e l i st s of c ompe-
t enci e sfr o m o th e r so u rce ssh o u l d be c ompi l ed i n devel opi nga C B TE pr ogra m,but
t he p e rfe ct l ist w il l n o t b e fo u n d because i t does not exi s t . P er hapst he best ar-
gum e nt f o r p u tti n g p r o gr a m co mpet enci esi n w r i t t en fo rm i s t ha t i t makes t hem
public and debatable. Perhaps we can reach the point of examining not only how
well we reached our objectives,but the quality of the objectives themselves.The
la c k o f st a n d a r d sfo r su ch d is cu ss i onmakesi t al l t he mo re exci t i ngt o consi der .

S u g g es tio n# 1 1 : ONCEA S E T O F P R O G R A MC O MP E TE N C IE lSS

ES T A B LI SHEDS, H AR ETH E M WI THA N Y O N EWH O WI LL H A V ETH E M
Pr o fe ss io n a l sin th e fi e l d o f e d uc at i ontend t o be posses si v ew i t h pr oduc ts,pro-
t ec tin g t h e m fro m " p il le ri n g " b y ot her s i n t he f i el d. Whi l e suc h possessi veness is
u nd e rst an d a b lefr o m o n e p o i n t of vi ew , i t i s al so det r i ment alf rom anot her. Many
professionaleducators are involved in developmentof competency-basedtraining 1' 11
programs, and too many are starting from scratch when they would not need to if
in f o rm a t io no n a lr e a d yco m p le te dw ork w e re r eadi l yavai l abl e.Thi s w r i t er suggest s
ma k in g th e co m p e te n cyb a se for a tr ai ni ng program easi l y avai l abl et o at l east
t hr ee g r o u ps o f p e o pl e : (a ) p e r sonsenr ol l ed or about t o enr ol l i n the t r ai ni ng pr o-
g ra m ; (b ) p e rs on sw h o a r e h iri n g pr ogr am gr aduat es;and ( c) per sonsi nvol vedi n
s im ila r t ra in in g a d v en tu re s.lf w e coul d em ul at eA bbey H of fm an'sspi ri t di spl ay ed
in his book entitled Sfea/ Thls Book, we could save ourselves many headachesin
the early stages of program development.

CONCLUSION
Comp e te n c y-b a se dtra i n i n g i s e xci t i ng and r ew ar di n g and, t heref or e,hard w or k.
Dev e lo p m e n o t f co m p e t e n ci e ss o met i mess eem s l i k e a fr ust rat i ng,i m po ssi bl et ask ,
but a f te r th e i n itia l g e sta ti o np e ri od, t he f rui t s of t he l a bor ar e sat i sf y i ngi ndeed.
O nce we ha ve co m p e te n cysta te mentsas a m ode of descr i bi nga t rai ni ng pr ogram ,
we h a v e a n e n ti re lyn e w b a sisfo r communi cat i ngw i t h si gni f i cantot her s i n our pr o-
f es sio n ala r e n a . l t m i g h t b e n o ticed t hat at no poi nt i n t hi s ar t i cl e has t he t er m
" b e h a vi o r al d i so rd e r s" be e n u s ed i n rel at i on t o dev el opi ng com pet enc y- based
t each e r e d u c a tio np ro g r a m s .lt i s t hi s aut hor'sopi ni on th at t he movementt o C B TE
wi l l se r ve to r e i n fo r cem o re g e n e ri c,l ess cat egor i calt eacher prepar at i oni n s peci a l
e du ca ti on ,si n ce wh e n we e m p h asi zenec ess ar yt eachi ng sk l / /s, w e f i nd t hat t he
s peci a l e d u ca tio nc at e g o rie sa r e a gr eat deal mor e al i ke than cat egor i calt r ai ni n g
paradigmsallowed them to be. The very process of developingCBTE programs has
contributed to the present exciting period of reassessmentand renewal in special
e du ca ti on . l f CBT E c on ti n ue s to hel p make goal s of t ea cher educ at i on m or e
e xpl ici t a n d o p e n f o r p u b l ic co n si derat i onand deba te, i t w i l l hel p t o assur e th at
s peci a le d u ca ti o nr e ma i n so n e o f t he most vi brant,exci t i ngareasof soci a ls ervi c es.

M. StephenLilly, AssociafeProfessorand Chairman,Departmentof SpecialEduca-

tion, Universityof lllinois at Urbana-Champaign
Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction
prohibited without permission.