Case Study: Tennessee Department of Education advances personalized professional learning with BloomBoard

A Phased Approach to Implementing Competency-based Learning

Tennessee’s Department of Education wanted to offer teachers more personalized, flexible professional learning that better matched their needs and supported the state’s goal of strengthening educator development. Working with BloomBoard, the department explored competency-based learning through micro-credentials as a way to improve professional growth, increase teacher ownership, and expand licensure pathways.

BloomBoard helped Tennessee design a three-phase micro-credential implementation focused on key TEAM competencies and teacher collaboration beyond time and location constraints. In the first year, 58 educators participated in person and 17 participated virtually, and 46.5% of phase-one participants earned their micro-credentials. The program also generated feedback that informed policy changes for license renewal and advancement, while educators reported strong benefits from the flexibility, personalization, and job-embedded nature of the learning.

Tennessee’s Department of Education

Machel Mills

Director of Professional Learning Systems