Competencies Based Language Teaching [CBLT] course designing Michal Giladi | R&D Centre | ORT Israel

This is ORT Israel Science & technology oriented school network 100,885 Students 7,668 Employees 206 Institutions 52 Local Municipalities 500,000 Alumni I work at ORT Israel, a school network with over 200 institutions. We operate public schools. 1 out of every 10 students in secondary school in Israel, attends one of our schools. We serve all denominations and ethnicities. We focus on Science and Technology.

Competency-Based Language Teaching (CBLT) “Rather than being organized around specific language topics, CBLT courses are developed around competencies and the skills necessary for mastery.” (Griffith & Lim, 2010; Richards & Rogers, 2001; Wong, 2008). The concept of Competency Based Language Teaching, or CBLT, is to mold the course around competencies rather than subject knowledge. This is not a new concept, yet its application in Moodle is relatively new.

Competencies for Module C Description G general understand the general meaning, main ideas, supporting details, and the sequence of events in a text, and use this knowledge as needed G1 General meaning G2 Main idea G3 Sequence of events G4 Supporting details G5 identify different text types and use this knowledge as needed G6 Fact v. Opinion G7 Identify Feelings G8 Identify opinion G9 locate relevant information for a specific purpose D dictionary use information tools, such as a dictionary D1 Find words D2 Distinguish multiple meanings D3 Distinguish parts of speech D4 Find expressions D5 Understanding from context competencies Description W1 writing express feelings, likes and dislikes W2 describing people, places, things and events W3 express and elaborate on personal wishes and opinions W4 present information on limited content W5 Grammar V vocab Vocabulary V1 New words V2 Compound words V3 In-line definitions V4 Connectors V5 Capital letters (titles, names, etc) V6 Synonyms H Higher Order Thinking Skills H1 Predicting H2 Cause and Effect H3 Sequencing H4 Inferring This is a list of competencies required by the Israeli Ministry of Education for the Module C part of the matriculation examination in English as a Second Language.

Competencies for Module C Description G general understand the general meaning, main ideas, supporting details, and the sequence of events in a text, and use this knowledge as needed G1 General meaning G2 Main idea G3 Sequence of events G4 Supporting details G5 identify different text types and use this knowledge as needed G6 Fact v. Opinion G7 Identify Feelings G8 Identify opinion G9 locate relevant information for a specific purpose D dictionary use information tools, such as a dictionary D1 Find words D2 Distinguish multiple meanings D3 Distinguish parts of speech D4 Find expressions D5 Understanding from context competencies Description W1 writing express feelings, likes and dislikes W2 describing people, places, things and events W3 express and elaborate on personal wishes and opinions W4 present information on limited content W5 Grammar V vocab Vocabulary V1 New words V2 Compound words V3 In-line definitions V4 Connectors V5 Capital letters (titles, names, etc) V6 Synonyms H Higher Order Thinking Skills H1 Predicting H2 Cause and Effect H3 Sequencing H4 Inferring These competencies are grouped into 5 main categories: General, Dictionary, Writing, Vocabulary and Higher Order Thinking skills.

Competencies for Module C Description G general understand the general meaning, main ideas, supporting details, and the sequence of events in a text, and use this knowledge as needed G1 General meaning G2 Main idea G3 Sequence of events G4 Supporting details G5 identify different text types and use this knowledge as needed G6 Fact v. Opinion G7 Identify Feelings G8 Identify opinion G9 locate relevant information for a specific purpose D dictionary use information tools, such as a dictionary D1 Find words D2 Distinguish multiple meanings D3 Distinguish parts of speech D4 Find expressions D5 Understanding from context competencies Description W1 writing express feelings, likes and dislikes W2 describing people, places, things and events W3 express and elaborate on personal wishes and opinions W4 present information on limited content W5 Grammar V vocab Vocabulary V1 New words V2 Compound words V3 In-line definitions V4 Connectors V5 Capital letters (titles, names, etc) V6 Synonyms H Higher Order Thinking Skills H1 Predicting H2 Cause and Effect H3 Sequencing H4 Inferring I chose one of these 5 competencies, vocabulary, with which to present the process of setting up competencies in a Moodle course.

Module C - The Framework Where? Classroom learning guided by the teacher How? Pedagogically - Personalized learning plan in the form of reading materials according to the teacher’s assigned competency Didactically - Active learning, i.e. interactive video, questions with immediate feedback, gamification Module C is part of the matriculation exam in English as a Second Language for medium level 10th grade students. This course was designed to be taught in class, individually, with a teacher’s assistance. Pedagogically it focuses on providing personalized learning plans. Didactically it utilizes active learning in the form interactive video, immediate feedback, and gamification in the form of badges, reflecting progress.

The course is built using the Grid course format and has 10 sections The course is built using the Grid course format and has 10 sections. As mentioned before, I will focus on the Vocabulary competencies, and I will use the first section, “The Story of the Bagel”, to show how it’s done.

1A - Mapping the competencies The framework tagged each section with a list of competencies. The result was this competency map, which enables the teacher to assign the sections as needed. The competencies matrix enables the course designer and the teacher to add additional learning assignments in order to add or enhance competencies that are lacking.

The first section, The Story of the Bagel, is structured like the rest of the 10 sections. Each section begins with an excerpt from the text, accompanied with an interactive video built on H5P. Following are quiz and quizlet activities, which are only part of the various active learning components available in every section.

1 – Breakdown of course competencies You can see here the quizzes broken down into the course competencies.

Teacher’s Reports 2 – Teacher’s report Based on the competencies tagging, the teacher can get a competency report of each student

3 – Learning plans Designing a learning plan The teacher can identify weaknesses or lack of competencies among students, and add assignments accordingly As each activity has a unique competency list, the teacher can set either an individual learning plan or a whole class learning plan, according to learning needs.

3 – Learning plans Here is an example of a student’s learning plan in format that enables editing, so I can add or remove competencies in his learning plan.

Student’s report This is a Student’s report. Notice the progress bar on top, reflecting the relative progress of one student. Below is a detailed report of the student’s progress by competencies.

Conclusion We can design courses and assign learning plans based on competencies required for individuals or a cohort of learners. Tagging competencies expands Moodle's capabilities of personalized learning. Once created, a Moodle competencies matrix report will enable the course designer to cover all required competencies. CBLT enables an analysis of the competencies in a given learning plan, vs. designing courses based on a subject knowledge. Conclusion 1. באמצעות רכיב המיומנויות ותוכניות הלמידה במודל ניתן לבנות קורס השם דגש על רכישת מיומנויות ויצירת תוכניות למידה מותאמות לתלמיד או קבוצת תלמידים. 2. באמצעות תיוג המיומנויות במודל הרחבנו את יכולות השימוש במערכת והתאמתה ללמידה מותאמת אישית. 3. מיפוי המיומנויות מאפשר ליוצר הקורס לזהות היכן נדרש להשלים פעילויות למיומנויות 4. קורס CBLT (Competency Based Language Teaching ) מאפשר ניתוח המיומנויות שנרכשו בעת הלמידה בהשוואה לקורס המבוסס על הקניית מידע/ידע.