What Are Micro-credentials?
Micro-credentials are digital credentials that verify an individual’s competence in a specific skill or set of skills.
As lifelong learners, educators seek to gain new skills and pursue opportunities to be recognized for their growth.
The Delaware Department of Education recognizes the strengths of all learners and understands the importance of building in learner variability as part of professional learning opportunities. Micro-credentials enable educators throughout the state to select professional learning opportunities that work best for the way they learn.
Micro-credentials provide a pathway to personalizing and recognizing professional learning. They allow employers to verify the skills their employees demonstrate, regardless of where and how they learned them. Micro-credentials are a natural extension of the formal and informal learning activities individuals engage in every day. They empower individuals to drive their professional learning and give employers the tools they need to personalize learning for their employees and meet their broader goals.
Micro-credentials articulate a discrete skill to support professional practice and the specific evidence an individual must submit to demonstrate their competence in that skill.
Micro-credentials are:
- Research-backed: Each micro-credential is grounded in sound research that illustrates how that competency supports positive professional impact.
- Personalized: Educators select the micro-credentials that focus on competencies that best align to their professional needs and personal goals. Educators guide their own learning rather than following a prescribed learning model.
- On-demand: Educators can start and continue their micro-credential journeys on their own time and in their own ways.
- Shareable: Micro-credentials can be added to an educator’s resume and online profile to be shared with current and potential employers.
Delaware has used a research-backed framework to guide the development of each micro-credential. This framework ensures that each micro-credential:
- focuses on a single competency
- has a key method that is backed by research
- provides research and suggested resources
- requires the submission of evidenceSave
- includes a rubric or scoring guide
Why Earn a Micro-credential?
Re-licensure
Educators can earn 10 re-licensure hours and badges for the successful completion of each Delaware Department of Education micro-credential.
Note: For micro-credentials not issued by the Delaware Department of Education, the educator must obtain permission from their district or charter school. Re-licensure hours may vary.
Educators
Micro-credentials put educators in the driver’s seat of their professional learning. By selecting micro-credentials that are aligned to their professional learning needs and personal goals, educators can personalize their professional learning, earning recog- nition for the skills they develop throughout their career. And, best of all, educators can do it at their own pace.
Through micro-credentials, educators can identify and use specific methods and approaches that lead to real classroom change. Because micro-credentials are competency-based, educators have the opportunity to apply the skills they learn in their practice – moving their learning from theoretical to immediately applicable.
Educators receive valuable feedback from expert assessors on the evidence they submit to earn micro-credentials, providing clear avenues for growth.
Districts and Charter Schools
Micro-credentials provide an avenue for empowering educators by letting them take control of their professional learning. All micro-credentials are grounded in sound research that illustrates how that competency supports student learning.
