CBTE Cohort Agenda & Session Descriptions
| Monday, November 11 | |
| 9:00 am – 3:00 pm | Pre-Conference Sessions – Join C-BEN |
| 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm | CBTE Cohort Gathering |
| 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm | Opening Reception & Registration |
| Tuesday, November 12 | |
| 8:00 am – 9:00 am | CBTE Cohort Breakfast Roundtable: Join your CBTE colleagues at the CBTE Team tables to deepen connections and share ideas and plans for the day. |
| 9:00 am – 9:20 am | Welcome, Opening |
| 9:20 am – 10:30 am | General Session – Join C-BEN |
| 10:30 am – 10:50 am | Break |
| 10:50 am – 12:20 pm | General Session – Join C-BEN |
| 12:20 am – 2:00 pm | Lunch & Networking |
| 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Breakout: CBE and CBTE: Why the “T”?, Julie Lytle Spurred by the growth of competency-based education, theological educators began exploring CBE with the help of the Association for Theological Schools (ATS) in the early 2000s and many schools are now integrating this philosophy. These educators have added a “T” and adopted the language of competency-based theological education to emphasize the personal and ministerial formation that are essential elements of most of their programs. Drawing on her experience leading Bexley Seabury Seminary’s January 2023 launch of a competency-based, mentor-assessed option to their Master of Divinity program, Julie Lytle will facilitate a conversation introducing CBTE, particularly its philosophy and terminology, as well as the similarities and differences between CBTE, CBE and traditional course-based models. |
| 2:40 pm – 3:25 pm | Breakout: Principles and Practices of a Competency-Based Approach to Theological Education, Kent Anderson and Greg Henson During this session, Kent and Greg will share highlights from their new book, “Theological Education: Principles and Practices of a Competency-Based Approach.” They will talk about the problems they are trying to solve through CBTE and the values and best practices that have emerged to help address those problems. |
| 3:25 pm – 3:45 pm | Afternoon Break |
| 3:45 pm – 4:15 pm | Breakout: Extending a Trades Model to Develop and Assess Competencies of Character, Ruth McGillivray Five years after launching its competency-based, apprenticeship-style, direct assessment model for training pastors, Northwest Seminary was seeing mixed results. Employers loved that programs were delivered in-context under the guidance of interdisciplinary mentors, and placed equal emphasis on developing knowledge, skill and character. However, when it came to assessing competencies related to character, both students and faculty complained of unclear and inconsistent standards. The trades certification system in British Columbia, Canada has a well-refined curriculum model designed for use by dispersed assessors to ensure consistent outcomes of knowledge and skills. This session will show how Northwest Seminary extended that model to strengthen the validity and reliability of its pastoral training curriculum and assessment, particularly for competencies of character. The presenter will show how competency standards, assessment criteria, and curriculum were re-written and implemented to reduce subjectivity, and provide examples of how these changes improved program outcomes, particularly for competencies essential to spiritual care. |
| 4:25 pm – 5:25 pm | Power Hour Session – Join C-BEN |
| 5:25 pm | Evening on your own |
| Wednesday, November 13 | |
| 7:00 am – 8:00 am | CBTE Cohort Breakfast Roundtable |
| 8:00 am – 9:00 am | Power Hour Session – Join C-BEN |
| 9:10 am – 9:40 am | Breakout: Ordained, then Trained: How Competency-based ordination is Changing the Role of the Seminary, Nathan Hitchcock In response to the rise of second-career or homegrown pastors who are not seminary trained, some denominations have moved to competency-based ordination. Competency-based standards make ordination much more accessible, flexible, and equitable. Increasingly, candidates can be credentialed without the completion of any seminary work. Does this mean that competency-based ordination is an existential threat to seminaries? This presentation gives reasons to think that the very opposite is true. Competency-based ordination is opening up new opportunities for ministry leaders to be introduced to seminaries. With the right practices in place, it is even possible that more persons will be moved toward seminary-level training. The paradigmatic shift, however, requires seminaries to get used to the idea that ordination can precede ministry training. This presentation also explains the mechanisms by which competency-based ordination can actually pave the way to seminary training. Clear, measurable, relevant competencies from denominations point pastors to programs that meet such competencies. Furthermore, practices such as mapping, reciprocity agreements, prior learning assessment, and lifelong learning covenants are able to drive pastors toward seminaries. This fresh and interactive presentation provides real examples from three rather different denominations with competency-based ordination standards and the seminaries that are coordinating with them. Whether or not you’re in theological education, you’ll pick up new insights about how to leverage employer-school partnerships. |
| 9:50 am – 10:35 am | Breakout: Noticing and Engaging the Ways Learners Learn, Susan Reese As educators, we all love the “aha” moment when a learner understands what we hoped they would learn!?! This workshop will explore competency-based education through the lens of CliftonStrengths themes and how thoughts, feelings and behaviors naturally integrate into learning environments. We will explore how conventional perspectives of education might hinder learners’ growth and development. Through discussions, reflections and activities, we will become aware of techniques to empower learners. It is recommended, but not required, that you bring your CliftonStrengths themes to enrich the experience of this workshop! |
| 10:35 am – 10:50 am | Break |
| 10:50 am – 11:20 am | Breakout: Enhancing Proficiency in Public Speaking through Competency-Based Training, Wilbert Baker In today’s evolving educational landscape, there is a need to move beyond traditional teaching methods to develop proficient public speakers. This session will explore the transformative potential of Competency-Based Theological Education (CBTE) as a powerful approach to cultivating excellence in public speaking. CBTE emphasizes mastery of essential skills through learner-centric, outcome-focused methodologies that prioritize practical application over theoretical knowledge. |
| 11:30 am – 12:00 pm | Breakout: Enhancing CBTE with AI, Tom Sweeney The recent explosion of AI tools and techniques for use in higher education has left many CBTE stakeholders unsure how to proceed. This session will explore AI policy and practices to equip both students and faculty to use AI responsibly, leveraging its powerful strengths and mitigating its significant weaknesses. |
| 12:00 pm | Lunch and Partner Showcase |
| 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm | CBTE Model Showcase |
| 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm | General Session – Join C-BEN |
| 3:20 pm – 5:15 pm | General Session – Join C-BEN |
| 5:15 pm – 7:30 pm | Closing Reception & Dinner |
| Thursday, November 14 | |
| 7:00 am – 8:00 am | CBTE Cohort Breakfast Roundtable |
| 8:00 am – 9:00 am | Power Hour Session – Join C-BEN |
| 9:10 am – 9:40 am | Breakout – Join C-BEN |
| 9:50 am – 10:20 am | Breakout – Join C-BEN |
| 10:30 am – 10:45 am | Break |
| 10:45 am – 11:30 am | Closing Session – Join C-BEN |