Book Review of Teaching for CompetenceFor my book review I chose Teaching for Competence by Norman Higgins and Howard Sullivan. The authors believe that teachers and students will teach and learn more effectively using CBI or competency-based teaching. When using the CBI approach the teachers will clearly state the defined objectives to the students, provide effective types of teaching and finally the teachers will evaluate the students. When preparing your goals, these must be stated to students in written form so that students can identify with these goals throughout their course of study. Class activities can be included in a summary but should not be confused with the written objective. The authors also suggest that objectives should be useful and clearly stated to students. When writing goals there are some verbs that can be used to help convey meaning. For example, when used in test instructions, the verb “select” directs students to perform a specific observable and measurable action as opposed to a verb that might describe an internal state such as “analyze.” The teacher can determine what content to apply to the objective. The goal must be a skill that the student could use in life and be able to use in content. Competency-based instruction should lead to effective teaching by the teacher. Therefore, if the teacher provides adequate instructions to the students, they in turn will acquire certain competence. When summarizing this section of the book, effective instructions should be presented clearly and concisely. The teacher should provide practice and provide answers in order to achieve the stated goal.