Micro-Credentials: Personalized Professional Development
Author: Samantha Goldman
In an earlier CIDDL Research and Practice Brief, we interviewed Dr. Richard Carter, an assistant professor at the University of Wyoming (UW), who researches the education of students with disabilities in modern learning environments, self-regulated learning, and design of personalized learning for all learners.
In this brief, Dr. Carter discusses how micro-credentials can impact professional development for educators and implications for teacher preparation programs. Micro-credentialing allows for personalized learning, which makes it very different from traditional professional development programs. They provide teachers with the opportunity for professional learning that directly relates to their needs. Micro-credentials do not rely on specialists to come to a site. They allow teachers to engage in self-paced professional learning.
In addition, Dr. Carter shares his opinions on challenges related to micro-credentials, which include ensuring they are of the expected quality, determining who will be assessing them, and supporting students in demonstrating their mastery. He emphasizes that although micro-credentials provide student-centered learning experiences, there is still a need for structure and guidance. Dr. Carter recommends several resources for readers who are interested in digging deeper into micro-credentials. They include BADGR, which acts as the “backpack” for micro-credentials and badges, Learning Designed, which offers micro-credentials in Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Digital Promise, which offers a wide variety of micro-credentials surrounding many current topics of education.
Check out this page to review this Brief or click here to download a PDF copy of the Brief. More CIDDL Research and Practice Briefs can be found on this CIDDL webpage. Please visit our website for more resources and sign up for updates from CIDDL.