My Top Ten Ways to Allow Students to Demonstrate Competency

As more time passes, educators develop better and more efficient ways to help students get the most out of learning. Instead of talking at students, a great method to allow students to learn and display that they actually are learning is to have them demonstrate their competency levels. Here are my ten favorite methods to allow students to demonstrate competency:

1) Using short answer questions- I find that using questions that students have to answer in three to four sentences is an excellent way for the students to demonstrate their competency. If a student can write full sentences to answer a question, it shows that they have studied and understand the materials.

2) Writing an essay or research paper- I love using papers to allow students to show that they are knowledgeable about the material. A student can memorize a multiple-choice answer, but it is much harder to replicate that feat when having to write a multiple page paper. I love that because it forces a student to use their research skills and creativity to craft a multiple-layered answer.

3) PowerPoints- In the same vein as crafting a paper or answering a short answer question, PowerPoints make a student think creatively and have to research to answer display competency. PowerPoints require even more creativity than a paper or research paper because of the picture aspects.

4) Using a rubric- Using a rubric gives students a baseline of the minimum requirements a teacher may have and what a teacher looks for to consider something as exceptional or excellent.

5) Teaching other students- I like the gap learning method where students are placed in groups and each student in the group learns a piece of information to teach to the group and all the pieces of information come together.

6) Group Projects- I like using group projects because it displays that students can work together to accomplish tasks.

7) Solo Presentation- I like having students present in front of classes to display that they are effective communicators, and it teaches them how to speak in front of crowds which is a valuable skill.

8) Setting Goals- I think that allowing students to set goals for themselves is great because it shows what standards they hold for themselves and if they are underperforming you can remind them of what goals they set for themselves.

9) Having Students Create Podcasts- I think having students make podcasts is a great way to demonstrate competency because it shows that they are proficient in using technology as a form of communication in a professional sense.

10) Asking Students to Provide Solutions to Real World Problems- Having students develop their own solutions to real world problems is great because it challenges their problem-solving skills, along with forcing them to be creative and having to do extensive research to solve the problem.