Dr. Aric Krause, UMUC
Dr. Matthew Prineas, UMUC

Traditional Programs, with courses
based on stand-alone subjects, may
not take advantage of all a service
member/veteran (SM/V) learned to
DO in their service.

It’s not that the SM/V didn’t learn,
its that what was learned may not
translate easily to the constructs of
the traditional academic program.
◦ The problem is program design, not the
SM/V.

Is there an alternative way to design
programs that naturally invoke SM/V
prior learning and experience more
purposefully?
Definition: programs in which
students progress toward a degree as
they demonstrate mastery of new
academic content (Kelchen, 2015, Landscape of
Competency-based Education: Enrollments, Demographics, and
Affordability, American Enterprise Institute)

Definition REVISED: programs in
which students learn to demonstrate
mastery of a program’s domain/field
and related abilities.


FIXED: What a student must know
and be able to do in order to
graduate.
VARIABLE: time on task, path,
overall time.


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Unit of analysis is the program, not
the course.
Focuses on behaviors/abilities as well
as the content/knowledge.
Requires a total refocus on the end,
away from the particular means.
1.
Articulate what it is a student must
know and be able to do when they
graduate
The articulation is not a list of “must
understands”, but instead is about what the
student can do with their knowledge.
Validate with employers, accrediting
organizations, professional standards.

How are traditional programs built?
Domain changes
over time
Abilities
Abilities apply
continually
Domain
A graduate should be able to DO
all of the Abilities, deftly, within
the context of their
field/profession (Domain).

Traditionally-designed programs tend to
focus primarily on domain.
◦ The Reality: no matter how much time we
spend on domain today, it will change –
sometimes very quickly.

If we instead focus equally on
abilities, such as how to learn and
analyze, wherever the student or
domain goes, the student has the
capacity to keep up and move forward.
Domain
Abilities
Detect an Intrusion
Learn, Analyze, Evaluate
Classify a Threat
Research, Analyze, Evaluate,
Prioritize
Respond to a Threat
Plan, Implement, Lead
Offensive/Defensive Strategy
Plan, Implement, Communicate,
Evaluate, innovate
Find a threat
Evaluate contexts, Analyze
Develop Policy
Facilitate, communicate, analyze,
create
Abilities


Learn, Analyze, Evaluate, Research,
Plan, Implement, Communicate,
Contextualize, Create, Innovate,
Facilitate, Prioritize
A student only achieves mastery of
these things through carefully
planned iterative repetition, over
multiple domain contexts.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Ability
Design
carefully
planned
iterative
repetition
that moves
student
toward
mastery of
the domain
and the
abilities
What a
student
must be able
to DO to
graduate;
fixed
Where are
student starts is
a variable
Learning
Ability
Courses become
about the student
practicing their
abilities within the
domain, over and over
in a very intentional
manner
Learning
Course 1
Detect an Intrusion
Course 2
Classify a Threat
Course 3
Respond to a Threat
Course 4
Offensive/Defensive Strategy
Course 5
Find a threat
Course 6
Develop Policy
Courses are no
longer subjectspecific; they
are about
doing what is
contextually
relevant within
the profession
or domain.

Each experience in each course:
◦ Carefully mapped to program
competencies;
◦ Builds precisely on what was done prior;
◦ Requires higher-order thinking, analysis,
creation or innovation;
◦ Contributes to the journey from where the
student started to where they need to be;
and
◦ Contributes to their portfolio of careerrelevant experiences.


CB programs naturally lend themselves
to career-relevant contexts – real-world
scenarios and exercises – allowing the
student to build experience in the
field.
Faculty Scholar/practitioners help
students build their mastery at wielding
the domain in these career-relevant
contexts.

Bringing these important abilities to
the forefront of the academic
program may more purposefully
invoke what the SM/V does in their
service.
Abilities
Learn, Analyze, Evaluate, Research,
Plan, Implement, Communicate,
Contextualize, Create, Innovate,
Facilitate, Prioritize

They may or may not be getting
“credits” up front, but they can move
faster and more purposefully by
using the capacities they’ve built in
their service.

The SM/V transitioning to a civilian
career gets domain and ability
mastery AND relevant experience
in the field.


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Refocuses the purpose and path of a
degree to be laser focused on the end:
the mastery required in a program.
How a student gets there (where/how
they learn) is tertiary.
SM/V Can use the abilities they’ve
mastered in their service to accelerate
in ways not necessarily present in
traditionally designed programs.

Transitioning all of its programs
(undergrad and grad) to the CB
approach
◦ Working to validate what a student must
know and be able to do with employers,
accrediting and professional
organizations.
◦ Designing career-relevant learning
demonstrations, in which students learn
and demonstrate mastery.
Traditional
Approach
UMUC’s Approach
Subject specific courses
Learning in real-world cross-functional
applications.
Get a passing grade
Achieve mastery through application
Faculty as teachers –
“sage on the stage”
Faculty Practitioners as mentors, helping “guide on
the side”
Tests, quizzes, papers
Real-world learning activities that mirror the
profession.
General understanding/
knowledge recall
Contextual iterative application – creation,
synthesis
Theory & concepts
Abilities & Domain built through application
Traditional program
design
Program goals continuously updated and aligned
with employers, standards bodies, professional
organizations,
Thank You!