Implementing Competency-Based Education with Learning Plans and Adaptive Learning in Moodle: Practical Workflows and Visual Authoring Solutions

This paper proposes a design-based framework for implementing competency-based education (CBE) in the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) by integrating competency frameworks, learning plans (LPs), adaptive learning (AL) workflows, and visual learning path authoring. While existing research addresses these components separately, there is a lack of operational approaches that translate them into coherent and reproducible LMS-based implementations. The study adopts a design-based synthesis methodology, mapping pedagogical requirements of CBE and adaptive learning to concrete Moodle constructs and plugin-supported functionalities. Based on this mapping, a set of reusable implementation patterns is defined, including course-centric competency alignment, microlearning with branching logic, and adaptive assessment using computer-adaptive testing (CAT). The framework is further extended through visual authoring tools, including the Adele plugin ecosystem. The approach is informed by implementation experience within the TransLeader project (2023-2-PL01-KA220-HED-000179445), which integrates AI and IoT competencies with leadership training in higher education. This paper does not present empirical evaluation results; instead, it provides a structured implementation framework intended to support future empirical validation and institutional adoption.