Implications of Education Designed around Objectives Rather than Courses

Designing education around objectives (like ‘explain the process of photosynthesis’ ‘describe the basic structure of an atom’ and ‘summarize the allegory of the cave from Plato’s Republic’) rather than around courses (like ‘Biology 101’, ‘Chemistry 101’, and ‘Introduction to Philosophy’) is not only a more appropriate basis for education, it has enormous positive implications for students and teachers, including:

STUDENTS CAN EASILY TRACK THEIR PROGRESS

in terms of what they have mastered and need to master. — the Teachur platform is the logical end of competency-based education, where mastery, not time in class, is what matters.

EDUCATIONAL RECORDS CAN BE DETAILED TO THE OBJECTIVE LEVEL.

This provides a much more meaningful documentation of student mastery than listing a course and grade. In fact, it immediately puts into question the relative value of course-only records.

EXPERTS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO A DEGREE PATHWAY

in as small or big a way as they see fit: to make one assessment for an objective; to make or curate one instructional video for an objective, or to upload an entire course or degree. When we’re structured around objectives rather than courses, the barrier to entry is smaller, so we can contribute in much smaller increments.

IT PROVIDES A SIMPLE FRAMEWORK

to leverage the abundant instructional resources of the web. For example, you could insert a good 5 minute video that explicitly addresses a particular objective instead of an entire lecture, and since it’s clear what students need to master, they read/watch more attentively.

CONTRIBUTORS CAN BE COMPENSATED

according to their value in leading to mastery, and quality contributions can benefit from network effects as they are used across courses or disciplines. This is actually a big breakthrough and warrants its own post: noted.

WE CAN FACILITATE CURRICULAR EVOLUTION

and improvement at a much faster rate, and at a more granular scale than is typical because we are built to evolve at the objective level rather than the course level. This is also actually a big breakthrough and warrants its own post: noted.

What do you think? Do these implications make sense? Do I have it all wrong? Please let me know in the comments. Or connect with me on Twitter, My site, LinkedIn, or reach me at: ben@teachur.co.