Assessing Student Learning in a CBE Program

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Competency-based education models reinforce the idea that teaching is not necessarily about what the teacher does in class. Instead, it is about understanding what learners gain through engaging in a course. Developing a competency-based course or program requires that we frame outcomes from the learner’s perspective. The activities and assessments in competency-based education ask learners to demonstrate what they know, how they apply what they know, the principles that guide their knowledge and application, and how those three come together to develop a professional identity.

In essence, then, assessments of learning in a competency-based model fall into four broad buckets: Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes, and Behaviors. Most courses have a variety of outcomes and assessments that could be linked to each of these learning assessment categories. Over the next four weeks, the blog entries will focus on each category in turn, providing a clear definition, example outcomes, and example learner assessment strategies.

Key Assessments – What does this mean?

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While Key Assessments is not an acronym, it is an important concept to understand the academic programming at MLC.

The elementary education program includes 19 credits of field experiences and 37 credits of professional education. Together, these courses provide a solid foundation in the pedagogy, content, and applied practice of teaching in an elementary classroom.

A key assessment is an assignment or activity that all learners in the program need to complete. The Minnesota Professional Education Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) has established that a program must include three key assessments. These key assessments are “used to both monitor candidates’ attainment of standards and to evaluate and inform continuous improvement” (Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, 2022, p. 17). MLC has elected to place the key assessments across several courses that are typically completed in the final year of study.

It is important that our APPLE learners complete the same key assessments as their on-campus peers. While the modalities of instruction may differ, the expectations do not. A learner who completes their studies through APPLE graduates from MLC with the same degree in elementary education as the traditional on-campus student. By using the same key assessments for both our on-campus and our online programming, MLC can ensure that all of our teacher candidates are equally prepared to serve in our elementary schools. We can also use the results from the key assessments to reflect on how best to refine our course offerings to address any gaps in our curriculum.

Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board. (2022). Obtaining and maintaining program approval (Chapter 4). In Teacher preparation manual. https://mn.gov/pelsb/providers/teacherpreparationmanual/index.jsp

MLC’s Annual Open Learning Conference

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Last week, MLC hosted its annual, free Open Learning webinar series. The first day shared three hours of workshops that support our wellness, both in practicing our faith and caring for our bodies. The second day shared three hours of workshops that focused on structured literacy. If you missed this professional development opportunity, the recordings for these webinars are now available.

Individuals who need clock-hour credits to meet a school or license requirement for professional development can complete the associated clock-hour quiz for each session. The deadline for completing clock-hour quizzes for this summer’s Open Learning webinar series is September 5, 2025.

 

 

Curated Resources for Christian Education

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MLC prepares men and women to public ministry needs of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and to proclaim the Word of God faithfully and in accord with the Lutheran Confessions in the Book of Concord. To support our prospective students, current learners, and alumni, the MLC Library has worked closely with our faculty to curate openly available resources to support Christian educators. These resources are especially relevant to our APPLE program, as many of the individuals interested in or enrolled in our program or coursework are currently serving their home congregation and elementary school.

  • The Inventory of Christ Light Materials is organized by grade and topic to help teachers plan their own lessons and collaborate with faculty across the school.
  • OER Theology Resources — This curated list includes over 100 resources organized by topic. While each of these topics can guide our faith, several may be specifically relevant for those who serve in our schools. Bible Study, Devotions, Lessons & Activities for Children, Sunday School and VBS, and Worship and the Church Year may support your planning and preparation for the elementary classroom.
  • Issues in Lutheran Education — This blog is operated by the MLC Office of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education. Content addresses a variety of concerns that impact the instruction, learning, and culture within all levels of Lutheran education.

There’s Still Time to Apply for APPLE 202526 Term A

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Green apple on bookEven though summer just started, the fall term will be here soon. APPLE 202526 Term A begins on September 1, and we are excited to welcome a new cohort of learners to the program and support those continuing their studies with us.

If you would like to join the APPLE cohort this fall, please complete all elements of the admissions application by the end of June 2025. You will also need to request the required recommendation from your pastor or principal and official transcripts from all institutions of higher education you previously attended.

If you have questions about the APPLE program or the application process, please contact the Nontraditional Education Program Department.

Accelerated, Flexibly-Paced Pathway to Teaching

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In all of our communications, we emphasize that APPLE is an accelerated pathway to teaching that is online, competency-based, and flexibly-paced. Most of the conversations we have about the program ask about two of those concepts — accelerated and flexibly-paced. We thought it might be helpful if we explained both of those terms in greater detail, especially as they work together to meet the needs of the returning adult learner this program serves.

Accelerated

APPLE is designed for the returning adult learner who wants to serve in a WELS elementary school. We realized that returning adult learners have different scheduling needs, especially those who are already serving in their congregations. Returning adult learners need to be able to make steady progress all year long. By designing the course offerings across three, fifteen-week terms, learners are able to attend courses full-time each term, completing a minimum of 12 credits a term.

APPLE also allows learners to switch between part-time and full-time status. When a learner meets with their faculty mentor to plan classes for the upcoming term, they have an earnest conversation about expected work, life, and school demands so that the learner can make an educated decision about whether to study part-time or full-time in the next term. We have designed registration as a flat tuition for each type of learner — meaning a part-time learner pays a flat tuition for 6 – 11 credits. So, a learner who needs to be part-time for a given term can still make considerable progress towards their graduation goals by completing more than the minimum required 6 credits in the term.

Flexibly-Paced

The majority of the coursework for the APPLE program is flexibly paced.

The eighteen credits for the Competency-Based Theological Education (CBTE) Minor are not flexibly paced. These courses span the fifteen-week term and include weekly, synchronous virtual class meetings and interactive discussion boards. The design is intentional. Our faculty developed these courses not only as a space to share our faith and doctrine, but also as a space for you to grow in your faith. Faith development takes time.

The remaining courses in the program are flexibly paced. When a learner begins a course, they are given an overview of the course and its content and provided with a pacing guide to complete the course in five weeks, seven weeks, or fifteen weeks. The content overview helps the learner make a reasonable decision. For example, someone with a strong math background may review the course overview for Math for Educators and realize that much of the content is very familiar to them. They may then decide that this course is achievable in five weeks and follow the accelerated pacing guide to complete the course in that time frame. That same learner may review the course overview for Human Growth and Development and decide that some of the content is familiar and some is new, and select the seven-week pacing guide. Finally, when that learner engages with Teaching Religion, they may want to engage with that class over fifteen weeks to prepare for the devotions, catechism, and Bible history lessons they will lead in their classroom. The flexible pacing also makes it possible for learners to complete the coursework around their family, work, and community obligations, so that a busy week at home does not mean a learner misses a major assignment.

In order to allow for such individualized pacing, the courses do not rely on required group work or discussion boards. There are, though, weekly virtual class meetings with the faculty member teaching the class to address the learners’ questions, review concepts from the course, and discuss expectations for assignments and assessments.

Call Day – The End Goal of the APPLE Program

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This past weekend, the MLC campus celebrated our May graduation. While that celebration is certainly important, it pales in some ways to the Call Service that follows the graduation ceremony. Families, friends, classmates, and recently graduated education and staff ministry students return to the same room where they just celebrated their graduation to attend the Call Service. Together, the graduates listen to hear their name assigned to their first call to serve in the public ministry of the WELS. Within the span of a few hours, one chapter in our students’ lives closes and another begins.

While some learners in the APPLE program already hold provisional or part-time calls that require the pursuit of a baccalaureate degree in elementary education and licensure, some do not. The end result, though, is the same. For learners who are already serving a congregation, they will most likely be called to serve at that school. For those who are not currently serving a congregation, they will complete the same paperwork for review and consideration of an assignment in the public ministry.

APPLE Program Catalog

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Experiential Learning Credit for APPLE

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MLC recognizes that its student body, especially returning adult learners, often has professional experiences and credentials that could be considered in their academic studies.

Experiential Learning Credit

An “experiential learning” experience is a previous learning experience in a classroom, on the job, in previous training, or through personal study that a student wishes to apply towards credit for a college course. The student must provide supporting documentation in the form of a portfolio. Three faculty members evaluate the portfolio for fulfillment of course objectives.

APPLE Field Experiences

Learners in the APPLE program complete three field experience courses: Early Field Experience I, Early Field Experience II, and Literacy Clinical. As many of our learners in APPLE currently serve in our schools as paraeducators, substitutes, and sometimes the teacher of record, they may be able to apply those experiences to earn credit for one or more of these classes.

APPLE learners are enrolled in the experiential learning credit course based on their prior classroom experiences. During the first week of that class, learners upload a detailed resume that follows a specific format so the faculty members responsible for the course can determine which, if any, of the field experience courses could be met by collecting and sharing a portfolio of evidence. Learners are given the rest of the term to create a portfolio for each course they have been invited to demonstrate they have met through their professional experiences. Once their portfolio is complete, three faculty members review the submission(s) and determine if experiential learning credit should be awarded.