In education, we often overload the learner hoping something will stick. I've found the opposite is usually true. Less is more.
Every assignment earns its place.
I don't add content because a course has always had it. I ask what a student is supposed to walk away knowing or being able to do. If an assignment can't answer that, it goes.
Competency has to drive the design.
Some students arrive already able to do the thing. They should get to prove it and move on. Others need explanation, practice, and time. Good CBE is built for both.
In practice
When the state fair goes sideways
For a public safety course, I put students in the middle of a state fair crisis: a spreading illness, rumors online, a "fair takeover." They act as the public information officer. They create a social media response in the voice of the fair. They conduct a mock press conference. Then they reflect: what worked, what didn't, what they'd change next time.
They didn't explain the thing. They did the thing.
In practice
What if the whole course fit on a phone?
My first reaction was no. An English course needed Microsoft Word. Formatting. One-inch margins. That's what academic writing was.
Then I had to ask what we were actually trying to teach. We built a course students could complete on their phone. They photographed real-world writing artifacts, annotated their purposes, and examined how language and communication actually function in their lives.
Some of my favorite ideas start by making me a little uncomfortable.
Feedback is teaching.
Students should have room to get something wrong, understand why, and try again. That feedback loop is one of the most important human touchpoints in competency-based education. Good course design handles the structure and support, so faculty have more room for what they do best: expertise, feedback, challenge, encouragement, connection.
