Mastery-Based Learning
Modern Classroom educators strategically leverage technology and facilitate self-paced learning environments for one reason: so students can truly learn.
Every day, we see the benefits of holding students to mastery in our classrooms, but we wanted to learn more. We asked The Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University “What does academic research say about grading for mastery?”
What is Mastery-Based Learning?
Mastery-based learning refers to an instructional approach where students have to exhibit a certain threshold of competence with a task before moving on to the next. In contrast with more traditional forms of instruction where all students are provided the same amount of time to achieve competence with a given skill before the teacher moves to the next topic, in mastery-based approaches, each student continues to spend time on a skill until they achieve proficiency (Dick & Reiser, 1989). This approach first gained prominence in the 1960s and in the years since has become one of the most thoroughly researched instructional techniques in the field of education (Anderson, 1994; Saphier, Haley-Speca, & Gower, 2008).
How do teachers plan for a mastery-based learning course?
Broadly, the goal of this approach is to develop students’ automaticity with basic subskills that make up larger, more complicated tasks (Brandt, 1998; Marzano, Pickering, & Pollack, 2001). When automaticity is developed with a skill or concept, students can utilize it with little or no conscious thought, and without it taxing their working memory (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollack, 2001). In other words, by mastering the foundational “subskills” that make up more complicated tasks, students are better able to learn more complex skills because they are able to focus their attention exclusively on the more advanced portions of the task while not extending their attention to the foundational pieces.
The benefits sound obvious! What does the research say to confirm these benefits?
A host of research has demonstrated the positive impacts that the use of mastery-learning techniques can have for students (Anderson, 1994; Kulik, Kulik, & Bangert-Drowns, 1990). Research has found that mastery-learning students are often more satisfied with the instruction they receive and have more positive attitudes towards the content they are taught compared to students attending more conventional classes (Anderson, 1994; Kulik, Kulik, & Bangert-Drowns, 1990). The approach has been found to improve students’ academic self-concept (Anderson, 1994; Guskey & Pigot, 1988) and proclivity to stay “on-task” (Anderson, 1994; Duby, 1981), and has also been found to engrain students with certain aspects of growth mindset (Anderson, 1994; Duby, 1981; Dweck, 2006). When utilized in a whole-class setting, this approach has been found to help decrease the amount of variability in aptitude between students (Anderson, 1994; Kulik, Kulik, & Bangert-Drowns, 1990). Given these benefits, it is perhaps not surprising that mastery-based approaches to instruction have been found to substantially enhance students’ ability to retain their learning long-term (Kulik, Kulik, & Bangert-Drowns, 1990).
Since students learn at different speeds, Modern Classrooms educators create instructional videos for their students to access after they have proven mastery on prerequisite skills or material within the unit. By valuing mastery over speed and creating differentiated instruction, our teachers enhance students’ confidence and learning outcomes. The Modern Classrooms Project equips and empowers educators to create self-paced classrooms in which all students truly learn.
References
Anderson, S.A. (1994). Synthesis of research on mastery learning. Information Analyses (ERIC Reproduction ED 382 567).
Brandt, R. (1998). Powerful learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Dick, W., & Reiser, R.A. (1989). Planning effective instruction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Duby, P. (1981). Attributions and attributional change: Effects of a Mastery Learning instructional approach. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Los Angeles, CA (ERIC Reproduction ED 200 640).
Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Ballantine Books.
Guskey, T., & Pigott, T. (1988). Research on group-based mastery learning programs: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Research, 81(4), 197-216.
Kulik, C., Kulik, J., & Bangert-Drowns, R. (1990). Effectiveness of mastery learning programs: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 60(2), 265-299.
Marzano, R.J., Pickering, D.J., & Pollack, J.E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD and McREL.
Saphier, J., Haley-Speca, M.A., & Gower, R. (2008). The skillful teacher: Building your teaching skills. Acton, MA: Research for Better Teaching, Inc.