Imagine this: the football coach has the third practice of the spring football season. He has given some instruction to the offense about how to execute a pass play. He has his quarterback throw a pass 30 yards downfield to the wide receiver, and the pass is overthrown and falls to the ground. So the coach marks an "F" on his clipboard beside the names of the QB and the WR. They're off the team, and their only hope is to try out for the team again next year.
Is that how it works in athletics? Do players get cut from the squad the first time they mess up? Of course not. Instead, the coach works with them, gives them added instruction (keep your non-throwing elbow tight in to your body, etc.), has them try it again, then more training, more attempts, more instruction, and so on. Finally, the quarterback and the wide receiver have practiced enough so they are perfectly in sync with each other and the pass is completed.
Now think about how things are done all too often in school. There's some instruction given in some new concept, then the students take a test. If they perform well on the test, they get a good grade. But if they don't answer things right, they fail. That failing grade then stays in the gradebook, and eventually the student could get to the point where it is mathematically impossible to pass the course, no matter how well he does at the end. But what if it takes one student a bit longer to master the material? Too bad for him! He doesn't get a do-over, he isn't allowed to show that he learned the concept later. He just has to suffer with that initial failure.
As I say, this is the way things are traditionally done, and I don't want to seem like I'm throwing everything out. But there's a different approach to learning and grading called mastery learning. The concept here is similar to the coach and his football team. When the teacher presents material or skills to students for the first time, some students might pick it up, but many won't be able to. The football coach gives his players more training and has them try the skill again and again until they master it. So does the teacher in the mastery learning classroom.
Here's an example: Mrs. Jones is teaching her fourth grade class about long division. She shows them the steps, she gives them practice problems, she goes over their errors, she gives them more problems. Finally the day of the test comes. Most of the students do well on the test, but several students either fail or get a very low passing grade, showing they didn't master the concept. So what does Mrs. Jones do? Does she just go on to the unit on fractions, knowing that a few students don't know how to do long division? What will happen to those students in the next grade, when they are expected to use long division? Or does she stop the progress of the whole class and reteach the unit on long division for the sake of those few students? What about the students who have already learned it and are ready to move on?
Here's where technology can be very useful. Mrs. Jones can move ahead with the instruction on fractions. But she also has her struggling students go to a website which has short videos explaining long division. Then she gives them some extra practice problems in long division, cutting down on the assignment they have due for fractions. Finally she gives those few students another test on long division. Assuming they all do well, this new grade replaces their previous failing grade - the grade indicates the fact that they now know the concept, not the fact that it took them longer to master it. The goal is that all her students can do long division effectively.
In the mastery learning classroom, the material is broken down into small segments. Each student must demonstrate mastery of a segment before being allowed to move to the next one. This means students don't "fail" a class - some just take longer to master it than others. But the result is that all students have learned the material, not just those who are able to get it the first time.
There are a lot of logistical questions around mastery learning, and I don't have time here to get into them. But the point is that teachers should start thinking about ways they can structure their class so that all students achieve some level of mastery of the material, no matter how long it takes them. I believe that, in this way, students will be able to achieve at much higher levels than in traditional classrooms.
Is that how it works in athletics? Do players get cut from the squad the first time they mess up? Of course not. Instead, the coach works with them, gives them added instruction (keep your non-throwing elbow tight in to your body, etc.), has them try it again, then more training, more attempts, more instruction, and so on. Finally, the quarterback and the wide receiver have practiced enough so they are perfectly in sync with each other and the pass is completed.
Now think about how things are done all too often in school. There's some instruction given in some new concept, then the students take a test. If they perform well on the test, they get a good grade. But if they don't answer things right, they fail. That failing grade then stays in the gradebook, and eventually the student could get to the point where it is mathematically impossible to pass the course, no matter how well he does at the end. But what if it takes one student a bit longer to master the material? Too bad for him! He doesn't get a do-over, he isn't allowed to show that he learned the concept later. He just has to suffer with that initial failure.
As I say, this is the way things are traditionally done, and I don't want to seem like I'm throwing everything out. But there's a different approach to learning and grading called mastery learning. The concept here is similar to the coach and his football team. When the teacher presents material or skills to students for the first time, some students might pick it up, but many won't be able to. The football coach gives his players more training and has them try the skill again and again until they master it. So does the teacher in the mastery learning classroom.
Here's an example: Mrs. Jones is teaching her fourth grade class about long division. She shows them the steps, she gives them practice problems, she goes over their errors, she gives them more problems. Finally the day of the test comes. Most of the students do well on the test, but several students either fail or get a very low passing grade, showing they didn't master the concept. So what does Mrs. Jones do? Does she just go on to the unit on fractions, knowing that a few students don't know how to do long division? What will happen to those students in the next grade, when they are expected to use long division? Or does she stop the progress of the whole class and reteach the unit on long division for the sake of those few students? What about the students who have already learned it and are ready to move on?
Here's where technology can be very useful. Mrs. Jones can move ahead with the instruction on fractions. But she also has her struggling students go to a website which has short videos explaining long division. Then she gives them some extra practice problems in long division, cutting down on the assignment they have due for fractions. Finally she gives those few students another test on long division. Assuming they all do well, this new grade replaces their previous failing grade - the grade indicates the fact that they now know the concept, not the fact that it took them longer to master it. The goal is that all her students can do long division effectively.
In the mastery learning classroom, the material is broken down into small segments. Each student must demonstrate mastery of a segment before being allowed to move to the next one. This means students don't "fail" a class - some just take longer to master it than others. But the result is that all students have learned the material, not just those who are able to get it the first time.
There are a lot of logistical questions around mastery learning, and I don't have time here to get into them. But the point is that teachers should start thinking about ways they can structure their class so that all students achieve some level of mastery of the material, no matter how long it takes them. I believe that, in this way, students will be able to achieve at much higher levels than in traditional classrooms.