National Art Education Association

A Position Statement on Performance Based EducationAuthor(s): Bruce BurkeSource: Art Education, Vol. 26, No. 8 (Nov., 1973), pp. 4-5Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3191860 .

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A Position Statement on Performance Based Education Bruce Burke

I must express my pleasure being able to address the National Art Education Association as a substitute for Karl Massinari of the AACTE. I am sure you would have learned more from Karl about Competency Based or Performance Based Education, but I am pleased to tell you my own version of the story of this movement in American education.

I do not begin by a recital of the ills of the public schools or the de- ficiencies in teacher education. I would like to begin with you by making some assumptions about the present scene.

First, I would like to say that our concerns for the schools should be with the total educational system in this country and not with the parts and pieces.

Second, I'd no sooner say that, than I would assert that the educa- tional system in this country is fundamentally sound. That's not to say there aren't many ills that we can describe to the schools, but I would remind you how far we have come from the beginning of the century on various measures; whether we are talking about literacy or creativity, the schools of this country in the 1970's are superior cultural achievements by comparison to the schools of the turn of the century.

That is a point maybe some of you would want to debate with me later or at another time.

Third, that our purpose in concern for this educational system should be to strengthen it as we admit the progress we have made in our educational system. I would not be found among those who would lay out an uncritical defense of the public schools. As a matter of fact, the attention over the current abuse the public schools

have received at the hands of its critics may very well draw away our attention from the more serious criticisms of our system that need attending. Fourth, if we admit that our purposes are to strengthen some of the features of the educational system of this country, then to me such strengthening automatically means some change will be necessary. And fifth, if we are going to focus on change which strengthens a fundamentally sound education system, then we must come to terms with the fact that the most beneficial changes that can be made are changes that are incremental and,

Sixth, I would assume that institutional change does mean human change. I state these assumptions because I find it necessary to place the present debate over the fate and goals of our public schools in per- spective. There is no question in my mind but that the schools have problems, and there is no question in my mind that a difference exists between the teacher education institutions and the public schools.

One of my most compelling personal experiences of the last few years was to leave the college campus for a period of time to teach in a high school in downtown Lansing. The day-by-day demands of teaching in a crowded public high school did emphasize the differ- ence in the level of involvement between the public school teacher and the college level teacher educator. It is rather like the story about the breakfast dish of eggs and bacon if you analyse the difference between the contributions made by the chicken and the pig. Eggs and Bacon: the chicken makes on occasional contribution while with the pig, it is a matter of total commitment. This is comparable to the occasional contribution to the public schools made by the annual certification of new teachers and the total commitment required of the practicing teacher in the real world of the public school class- room.

Since Conant's book on teacher education and Turner's attack on how we prepare teachers, the teacher education programs of our country have been under a severe scrutiny. Much has been happening, however, that is positive, and one of the most promising and influential movements is the Competency Based Teacher Educa- tion movement. In view of the agenda that is before the educational reform movement, nothing is more important than redesigning of our teacher education curricula, and Competency Based Teacher Educa- tion precisely is focused on that redesign. It is my conviction that the

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design of curricula which prepares teachers can make a difference in the kind of education children in schools receive. As Don Davies has observed: if we want a society that is open, productive, and compas- sionate, then we must have schools which are open, productive, and compassionate. Schools will be open, productive, and compassionate when its teachers are. Teachers, in my judgment, can be open, pro- ductive, and compassionate when their educational experiences are designed precisely to promote such characteristics. For educational curricula can be designed for teachers to achieve such characteristics when the criteria for achievement are specified in competencies expressed in explicit terms.

I would like to mention some roots of the CBE Movement. First the Call for Accountability

Those who say: "Schools have failed-and by God we'll hold some- body accountable." Or School Boards who look at the rising costs and diminishing tax base and say. "We need an accounting of the monies available." But there are justifications for accountability as a concept other than trying to "nail the culprit" or trace down the villian. It's not whom do we blame; it is how do we define the areas of responsibility within an institutional system.

Second, the Management Organization Movement Widespread introduction of systems management into business and industry. Increased emphasis on cost-benefit analysis and PPBES. Increased numbers of educational personnel training in the manage- ment skills. Increased use of the computer and its benefits for rapid storage and retrieval systems.

Third, Research in Learning Increased knowledge about the learning process, the conditions, styles, and measurement of learning. Instruction Design. Increased capacity to deliver knowledge and information in new media formats, besides the printed words. Increased data bank on the task analysis of teaching.

Assessment Procedures Goal Setting Strategy Implementation Evaluation Procedure Fourth, the Cultural Diversity

Heightened awareness of subcultures and the positive value of diversity Heightened commitment to increase in educational opportunity for

all. Increased awareness and concern for the physical and social ecology-with special emphasis on the dehumanizing tendencies of a technological society.

Next, let's consider what CBE means: First, competence - "ability to do"; this implies a criterion reference, a level of skill that is not so implied in "performance". A performance analysis is a key to com- petency assessment. Three levels:

Knowledge Competency Performance Competency Product Competency

Second, explicit goals and objectives usually stated in behavioral terms.

a. Public display of objectives - no hidden curricula b. Room for negotiating goals c. Wide range of goals

Third, choice of strategies-alternative activities to achieve goals. Fourth, assessment and evaluation-pre and post measure of skills. Where a student begins, and the exit skill. Student achievement is constant and time the variable. Fifth, personalization. Self-pacing, alternate routes, negotiation of program, etc. Variability of learning style. Sixth, field oriented: e.g. Protocols--simulations--real world per- formance. As Professor William Arrowsmith says: "If you want to train druids, you must plant a forest." So, we can't train teachers without schools and children to fill them. Seventh, technology-Computer storage and retrieval of data. Power of systems management, power of multiple media approaches, power to handle complexities: Eighth, modular packaging of learning experiences

a. specification of learner objectives b. entrance criteria c. criterion level of evaluation d. provisions for alternative modes of learning e. materials needed (cost benefit?)

Ninth, recycling of instruction--Program evaluation-modification of instruction on research base-capacity for longitudinal studies of product competence Tenth, concern for values--making the philosophical perspective clear.

Bruce Burke is director, Humanities Teaching Institute Michigan. State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

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