Advance micro-credentials through a piloting coalition, a rigorous research agenda, and dissemination of best practices¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The report proposes three mutually reinforcing efforts for state and local policy leaders. First, "Invest in a coalition of educators, states, and districts to pilot this work," involving practicing teachers, district and union partnerships, providers, education agencies, researchers, and philanthropies. Second, "Assemble and pursue a powerful research agenda," because "the credibility of micro-credentials will depend on the evidence of impact of competency-based professional learning." Third, "Develop and disseminate best practices" through toolkits and publications, since professional learning is mostly embedded in state rules rather than law and state departments are understaffed.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Rigorous research requires support from institutions of higher education, research organizations, and philanthropies, with long timelines and substantial resources

Constraints¶

• Human capital data are often the subject of political controversy and should be handled neither punitively nor dismissively

Target Learners¶

• state and district policy leaders
• practicing teachers
• professional development providers

Target Learning Goals¶

• building competency-based professional learning systems
• evidence of impact on teaching practice

Related Strategies¶

• Advance micro-credentialing policy across five domains: controlling for quality, counting what matters, finding time, leveraging expertise, and designing for effectiveness
• Four ecosystem recommendations: experiment with currency forms, protect time for inquiry, include everyone in team learning, and invest in adaptive platforms
• Plan long-term quantitative data collection and interoperable systems to evaluate micro-credentials' social mobility impact
• Expand micro-credential systems into seven future content areas
• Next-phase agenda: pilot and refine STEM pathways, align STEM education with local economic demands, and plan a sustaining backbone organization
• Future improvements: real-world user studies, advanced student modeling, and spaced repetition

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Barnett Berry and Karen Cator. (2016). Micro-credentials: Driving teacher learning & leadership. Center for Teaching Quality and Digital Promise. http://teachingquality.org/micro-credentials