News
Tue, 05/13/2025
There’s no “I” in ‘Team’ but there is one in ‘Collaboration’: The WHAT, WHY and HOW of Effectively Working Together
What makes collaboration truly transformative? In this new blog post, Dessalines Floyd explores the deeper human competencies behind effective collaboration—like self-awareness, courage, and positionality. Part of the upcoming Transformative Education (TE) Jayhawk Flex program, this piece unpacks how authentic collaboration can drive real change in education and communities alike.
Tue, 05/13/2025
Unlocking Learning: How Maps Boost Teaching and Situational Awareness
In their latest post, Jaclyn Dudek and Julianna Stockton explore how learning maps enhance situational awareness in teaching—helping educators break down, connect, and simplify content. A cybersecurity course case study shows how these maps support more responsive and effective learning.
Mon, 05/05/2025
Making Learning Visible: KU’s Bold Leap into Competency-Based Education
Through a powerful video series, Diane DeBacker shares how the University of Kansas is transforming higher education with programs built around real skills, real careers, and real access. From cybersecurity to engineering, KU’s Center for Certification and Competency-Based Education is partnering with industry, empowering learners, and helping other institutions reimagine what learning can be.
Fri, 04/25/2025
Reimagining Learning: Diane DeBacker and the Rise of C3Be at KU
Diane DeBacker shares what brought her to KU and how the Center for Certification and Competency-Based Education (C3Be) grew from early pilots into a bold rethinking of how we measure learning.
Mon, 03/10/2025
The Paradox of Process Competencies: How to define and measure outcomes about processes
This document explores process competencies in competency-based education (CBE), focusing on skills like design thinking and problem-solving. It presents three approaches to define them: step-by-step (clear sequences), descriptive (key characteristics), and product-centered (outcome-based). Each approach has benefits and limitations in assessment. A combined approach is recommended to capture both the process and results effectively.
Wed, 02/05/2025
Cognitive Labs
Validity is everything in assessment. It means that assessment does what it says— measures what it is intended to measure, providing accurate and meaningful results. During assessment development, C3Be uses a rigorous process that promotes validity. Cognitive labs are powerful tools for finding and removing threats to an assessment’s validity.
Wed, 01/29/2025
Defining Attributes for Well-Suited Individuals for Cybersecurity – Involving Users & Stakeholders in Construct Development for More Inclusive Assessments
In a recent project, C3Be worked with EnterpriseKC to define attributes needed for success in entry-level cybersecurity occupations and develop assessments measuring these attributes. Current published definitions of employability skills have been abstracted to generic concepts, broadly applicable across many fields. They may not represent the specific contexts and needs of the cybersecurity field, nor the perspectives of the diverse range of stakeholders.
Fri, 01/17/2025
Center for Certification & Competency-Based Education Publishes New Research Journal
Center for Certification & Competency-Based Education (C3Be) has launched the Competency-Based Education Research Journal (CBERJ), which serves to advance knowledge of competency-based education through empirical investigations, theory development articles and integrative conceptual reviews.
Wed, 12/11/2024
Building Inclusive and Flexible Learning: An Interview with Katja Hakel
In this C3Be Blog interview, Marie Kohart, a senior instructional designer with Jayhawk Flex at the University of Kansas (KU), and Katja Hakel, a Full Professor in Academic Development at the University of Agder (UiA) in Norway, discuss the vital intersection of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), accessibility, and Competency-Based Education (CBE).
Mon, 12/02/2024
Why Not Both: Teaching as an Art and a Science
In her latest blog post, Connie Chow, C3Be Associate Researcher Senior, explores the multifaceted nature of teaching, comparing it to leading a jazz ensemble. She highlights how integrating five core competencies—like thinking like a designer and teaching for justice—can equip educators to turn classrooms into spaces of creativity, equity, and transformative learning.
Thu, 11/07/2024
Project-Based Learning: A Game Changer for Teacher Professional Development
Our recent study by a team of researchers from the University of Kansas Center for Competency-Based Education (C3Be) explored how Project-Based Learning can reshape teacher professional development by fostering collaboration, inquiry, and supportive instructional practices.
Tue, 10/15/2024
Using Design Thinking to Create Human-Centered Assessments
Many students find traditional assessments stressful and unreflective of their abilities. C3Be at KU is rethinking assessment development using design thinking, a human-centered approach that emphasizes the test-taker’s experience. By utilizing the Innovator’s Compass, a tool that guides designers to focus on the people involved, C3Be aims to create assessments that are more equitable, engaging, and effective.
Fri, 06/07/2024
Relational Readiness: What is it? Why does it matter? How do you measure it?
“Ready” means someone is prepared and willing. Relational readiness means that someone is ready for relationships. This term describes a set of personal characteristics that enable the development of healthy, supportive relationships. Put another way, a person who is “relationally ready” is prepared and willing to develop relationships with other...
Wed, 03/13/2024
C3Be Director Diane DeBacker Reflects on the CBExchange Asia-Pacific Conference
Diane DeBacker, the director of AAI’s Center for Certification & Competency-Based Education (C3Be), participated in the CBExchange Asia-Pacific conference in Singapore, an annual event hosted by the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN). The conference served as a platform for C3Be to showcase their projects that help make learning visible. Furthermore, it...
Wed, 02/28/2024
Participant Reflections from C3Be's Designing for Equity, Justice, and Innovation in Education Pilot Program
C3Be's Designing for Equity, Justice, And Innovation in Education Pilot Program was a 14-week virtual professional development opportunity for educators serving middle and high school students. Three participants shared their reflections and thoughts on the pilot program and how it helped them deepen their practices as educators.
Tue, 02/07/2023
How Competency-Based Education Can Address the Experience Conundrum
Founded in 2021, C3Be’s main goal is to improve learning by better communicating the learning outcomes mastered by learners and the competencies needed by employers. Simply put, C3Be makes learning visible. Diane DeBacker, director of C3Be, describes competency-based education as “moving from nouns to verbs.”
Thu, 01/14/2021
New KU research center to map clearer pathways from learning outcomes to employment success
C3Be will develop a framework to gather information about the knowledge, skills and dispositions that employers desire from workers in particular fields; to assess the competencies that learners gain through university coursework and other experiences; and to validate that learners have mastered certain competencies so businesses can be confident that employees will be successful in their jobs.