On November 25, 2020, the KIX EAP hub and UNESCO Bangkok, hosted a webinar on “Curriculum Implementation: Competency-based learning and the alignment of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment”. The webinar was attended by 356 people from 46 countries and it highlighted experiences and challenges faced by many countries in meeting ‘21st century’ skills and in implementing competency-based learning approaches. The webinar was conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation in Russian and Arabic.
The webinar was organized into three sessions. First, Mark Manns, Associate Programme Specialist, UNESCO Bangkok/the Network on Education Quality Monitoring in the Asia-Pacific (NEQMAP), moderated a discussion on ‘strengthening the alignment of competency-based learning’. Lastly, Duong Thi Thu Huong, Researcher at the Viet Nam National Institute of Educational Sciences, shed light on key efforts in Viet Nam’s education reform and the challenges faced by teachers there.
Frank Van Cappelle, Education Specialist at UNICEF Regional Office South Asia (ROSA), moderated the webinar’s second session that focused on learning frameworks in South Asia. Iqbal Hossain, Education specialist at UNICEF Bangladesh, presented the process of integrating skills into the National Curriculum Framework. Arjun Kumar Gurung, Educational Assessment Specialist at Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment, presented Bhutan’s National Education Assessment through the lens of Gross National Happiness. Finally, Professor Esther Care, from the University of Melbourne, provided a synopsis on the coherence and structural responses to shifts in learning goals and pedagogy, assessment and curriculum.
Highly engaged participants interacted with the webinar speakers on (i) the implications to teachers, including the demands on professional development, (ii) the redesign of teaching and learning materials, (iii) the pressures over the national assessment systems, (iv) the process for implementing a competency-based curriculum, and (v) the role of parents.
To access the recordings and presentation slides, please click here.
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