Learning management systems (LMSs) as infrastructure for competency-based, personalized learning¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 theoretical), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

LMSs are software applications schools and districts use to automate learning digitally. They let teachers create learning modules for specific competencies, upload activities offering students options for learning content and demonstrating learning, and provide "instant access to student performance data and analysis, often at the individual item level", enabling real-time tailoring of content. The publication illustrates their use with Lindsay Unified's Empower, which animates a performance-based system with no grade levels, and Irving ISD's Canvas, used for more than 33,000 learners with adaptive, AI-driven quiz branching.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Interoperable platforms and educator capacity to identify individual learning needs and gaps

Constraints¶

• The publication notes edtech products referenced do not constitute a Digital Promise endorsement

Target Learners¶

• K-12 learners, including rural Latino learners in Lindsay and largely Latino and Black learners in Irving ISD

Target Learning Goals¶

• Demonstration of competencies at flexible but ambitious paces; differentiated instruction

Claims¶

• State policy activity toward competency-based and personalized learning is broad but shallow: seventeen states reached advanced adoption while most efforts remain limited to pilots [+W]

Related Elements¶

• Learning and employment records (LERs) as three-dimensional, learner-controlled replacements for traditional transcripts
• The Modern Classroom Project's instructional-video model for self-paced, competency-based classrooms
• Application programming interfaces as shared infrastructure for automated assessment tools
• Digital Tools
• Data infrastructure tools supporting rapid-cycle testing: Edtech Pilot Framework, TeamSpace, and Dynamic Learning Project

Examples¶

• Layered professional learning and support for teachers implementing individualized software

Key Sources¶

• Brizard, J.-C. (2023). Breaking with the past: Embracing digital transformation in education. Digital Promise. https://doi.org/10.51388/20.500.12265/176