Competency-based Curriculum: An EffectiveApproach to Digital Curation Education

The University of North Texas conducted a project involving rigorous curriculum development and instructional design to address the goal of building capacity in the Library and Information Sciences curriculum. To prepare information professionals with the competencies needed for digital curation and data management practice, the project developed curriculum using a competency-based approach. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the design and implementation of the digital curation curriculum at the University of North Texas. The paper advances theoretical perspectives of competencybased curriculum as steps taken toward innovative curriculum development efforts. Additionally, it contributes to the practice of digital curation education. The set of competencies defined in the paper can serve as a common language among stakeholders to prepare future digital curation professionals. This paper concludes that a competencybased approach is effective, sustainable, and can be customized to address the skill gaps in the rapidly evolving information professions.

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