Teaching for Mastery Learning means
that teachers only move on to the next subject
once everyone has mastered a current unit.
In other words, there’s no “good enough” - only “perfect”!
Traditionally we set a fixed amount of time
to study a unit and allow for flexible outcomes.
For example,
1 year of basic algebra returns students with grades from A to F.
Teaching for Mastery turns this around.
All students attain an A even if it requires more than a year.
For example,
a math teacher ensures that everybody knows
how to compute addition (7+3)
before going on to more difficult units,
such as multiplication (3*7) or division (7/3).
This prevents growing knowledge gaps
and increases unity among classmates with no one left behind.
Teaching for mastery demands perfection.
If you ask “at what temperature does water start boiling?”
don’t accept “One Hundred”.
Dig deeper until the student replies that
“The boiling point of water depends on the atmospheric pressure,
which changes according to elevation.
At sea level it is 100°C
but it boils at a lower temperature in higher altitudes”.
Teaching for mastery requires clear learning goals,
detailed tracking of students’ progress
and diverse opportunities to catch up for those who fall behind.
Some schools even re-organize classes by the students’ level of understanding instead of age.
If you are interested to learn more about this method
please checkout the links in the description
and let us know in the comments how you can see it applied in class.
The KahnAcademy.org features great examples
on how to set clear learning goals
with it’s knowledge map and study videos for students who need to catch up.
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