Is it mastery or is it simply testing?
Dani is learning her letters. When she is working with the teacher she can say each letter sound slowly. But, when she is on her own looking at the letters, she finds it difficult to remember what letter sounds go to which letter?
NOT MASTERY!!
How can we make sure that students are on track to reach mastery?
Check for understanding!
Jorge is learning how to multiply. When given a timed test, he completes it within the mastered time frame. When the test came, he was prepared and was confident in all of the different concepts.
MASTERED!
How many concepts should the student have mastered to reach mastery, according to Ben Johnson (article author)
5
Nichole was reading. She understood the characters and the beginning of the story. When her teacher asked her about the main conflict, Nichole froze, not knowing what the conflict was.
NOT MASTERY!
Why is it important for students to also track their progress towards mastery learning?
It motivates the students when they are able to visually see the progress that they have made. Often times it is easy to feel like you are not going anywhere. Students seeing their progress eliminates this problem!