Mastery Learning in Math

Strategies: Mastery Learning

Mastery Learning Overview

Mastery Learning is an instructional philosophy based on the idea of giving students more than one chance to demonstrate mastery of content and skills. In a Mastery Learning classroom, as in a traditional classroom, students receive instruction on a topic and then take a test to determine their level of understanding. But that's where the similarity ends. In a Mastery Learning classroom, the teacher scores that assessment and determines who has mastered the content and who needs more help. Students who have mastered the material are given "enrichment" opportunities, while those who have not mastered it receive additional instruction on the topic. The new instruction is presented in a different way, perhaps using manipulatives or other hands-on approaches. After a day or two, a retest is administered to the group who did not demonstrate mastery. In my experience, most of the students who didn't master it the first time are able to achieve mastery on the second test. There are many benefits of using his model, but the most important one is that all students can learn and grow, and no one is left behind. Every time you begin a new unit of instruction, you can feel confident that your students have mastered the concepts needed to embark on new learning.

Mastery Learning and Mathematics Instruction

Mastery Learning can be used in almost every subject, but I find it to be a perfect fit for math instruction. Math content builds upon itself, and teachers often experience frustration when they try to introduce a new unit to students who never mastered based concepts and skills. To see where Mastery Learning might fit into your math instruction, consider the chart below. Mastery Learning will help your students develop a solid foundation of mathematical understanding - a foundation that is critical in order to solve problems involving higher-level thinking and reasoning.

Area of Instruction	Description	Suggested Instructional Methods
Number Sense	Basic understandings about whole numbers, decimals and fractions, ways numbers can be represented concretely and visually, one-to-one correspondence, part to whole relationships, etc.	Hands-on experiences with concrete objects & Mastery Learning
Content	Knowledge level - number facts, math terms, formulas, algorithms for computation, etc.	Mastery Learning
Skills	Application level - rounding numbers, comparing fractions, creating graphs, interpreting function tables, doubling a recipe, etc.	Mastery Learning
Problem Solving	Evaluation and synthesis - solving problems in which solutions are not readily apparent, solving brainteasers, drawing on a variety of strategies to tackle a complex problem, etc.	Daily Problem Solving

Mastery Learning Resources

The book shown at right is Implementing Mastery Learning by Dr. Thomas Guskey. It was written in 1996 and is the definitive book on this topic. This comprehensive resource contains very detailed and specific information including the research basis for Mastery Learning.

Dr. Guskey has also written numerous articles on Mastery Learning, and the most current one I could find available on the Internet was a paper he presented in April 2005. For a great overview of this method, read "Formative Classroom Assessment and Benjamin S. Bloom: Theory, Research, and Implications."

Dynamic Duo Workshop

Dynamic Duo Workshop - If you are a "hands-on" learner yourself, consider attending one of my Dynamic Duo math workshops. The term "Dynamic Duo" refers to Mastery Learning and Cooperative Problem Solving, and this workshop is a crash course in how to effectively use both methods. You'll experience loads of hands-on math strategies, and you'll also find out how to use math centers and stations to support the optimal mathematics learning environment.

Additional Resources

I've used the Mastery Learning model myself with great success for over 15 years. Over the years I have created some resources of my own, and it's my goal to write a practical guide for elementary teachers who are exploring these techniques. For the time being, I'll make these resources available here on my site.

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