Mastery-based learning is an approach that can help to address the limitations of teacher-centered approaches. It is a strategy of instruction utilizing systems of assessments, grading, and academic reporting that are based on the performance of students and the demonstration of their knowledge and skills. It can be used in public and online schools.
Elements
There are several elements that make up mastery-based learning.
Pre-Assessment
Before beginning instruction, pre-assessments are conducted. Theoretically, these assessments help instructors learn what the student’s prior knowledge is, their current skill levels, and any misconceptions they may have. After having done this, teachers understand what their students know and are capable of and can begin developing a curriculum around it. This pre-assessments help identify their student’s interests and preferred ways of learning, as well as monitor the progress of their students and help them communicate their expectations to them.
Group-Based Initial Instruction
Initially, instruction is not personalized, though the mastery-based learning approach does focus on personalized learning. In the beginning, students are instructed to use discussions and group-based activities.
Formative Assignments
Formative assignments should be conducted regularly, as they clue instructors into what students have learned and what they need more instruction on.
Corrective Instruction
Providing quizzes and assignments is not the only way instructors give feedback or correct their students. When assessments have identified learning problems, teachers must engage in corrective instructions to mend these problems and correct any misconceptions.
Parallel Formative Assignments
Once corrective learning instruction has been conducted, instructors need to conduct a second assessment, referred to as a parallel formative assessment, to see how effective the corrective instruction was with students.
Enrichment Activities
Not every student will need corrective instruction, and those who are not in need of it should not have to sit through it. Instead, while their peers are taught corrective instruction, students who have a mastery of the material will instead engage in enrichment activities that can help explore topics that they’re interested in and can take the form of exercises, peer discussions, and games.
Benefits
Mastery-based learning has many benefits in education, besides instilling a level of autonomy within students.
Student
For students, mastery-based learning helps them become more aware of the abilities they have, which in turn helps them to become self-directed and strong learners. Using this form of learning, students are given specific feedback about their progress toward certain learning goals so they know what they need to do in order to demonstrate that they have that knowledge. It provides students with both support and the opportunity to learn.
Family
Families that have clear learning goals for their children can understand what their child needs to do and engage with them in their learning. With this knowledge, families can help foster learning at home and engage with their children in these skills. By doing this, they can connect home activities to school-based learning and work together with their children to improve their academics.
Teacher
Mastery-based learning gives teachers more autonomy in the classroom. They prioritize learning goals for their grade level and determine what equals mastery. With this definition and these learning goals in mind, teachers can then design different learning activities that students of different learning styles can engage in and learn the knowledge and skills for each goal. And with autonomy, activities can be tailored to support each student.
Community
For the community, master-based education provides clear learning expectations. Individuals who have a mastery-based high school diploma show that they have graduated with a specific body of knowledge and skills. The information that students walk away with after a mastery-based education helps them integrate what they have learned across different settings.
Challenges
There are many benefits associated with mastery-based learning. It is an effective method that has been used for a long time, but of course, there are some downfalls to it.
- Mastery-based learning can be exhausting. Teachers play a huge role in the process, and while it can be very effective, they have to put more time and effort into their lesson planning.
- Lack of motivation from the students can make the method of teaching ineffective. While teachers may do their best to make a topic interesting and challenging, some students may not be interested in that particular topic. It can be challenging to find subjects that fit everyone’s interests.
- Many teachers are used to a more traditional grading style, which includes providing students with a single letter or numerical grade. The grading and assessments of mastery-based learning are modeled to give the student a better opportunity to succeed by adjusting the pacing to suit the student, instead of moving on to new lessons without fully grasping the previous topic or skill, ending with a student’s demonstration of a skill. This switch in grading can be difficult for instructors to grasp.
Despite the few challenges of mastery-based learning, it is still a learning method that schools are beginning to implement to encourage students to develop a more fine-tuned understanding of their own abilities and to help students identify when they need to engage in further learning or seek additional support.
