Badges or Bust!
The idea of ‘badges’ (or micro-credentialing) in the educational context is touted as a way to acknowledge achievements, skill development and knowledge retention at a more regular interval than traditional reporting structures and their associated timelines (Educause, 2018). When micro-credentialing was first mentioned in around 2010, it was initially considered somewhat trivial however over recent years, badges have been re-imagined as an effective tool in encouraging students to expand and verify their interests, information sharing, competencies and achievements (Obvious Choice, 2018). The proposal being considered here is whether the idea of ‘badges’ can be effectively implemented to improve student engagement and learning outcomes in a secondary school setting. Before we get too deep into the world of micro-credentialing, let us first take a close look at the setting I am working with. A secondary state school with approximately 800 student enrollments. Low socioeconomic, ...