Debbie JowannaColleen Dean

Mastery LearningIs an instructional strategy in which students learn one

topic before moving on to the next subsequent topicStudents must demonstrate competence in one area

before proceeding to the nextMastery learning is based on 3 assumptions: 1. Almost every student can learn a topic to mastery 2. Some students need more time than others 3. Some students need more help than othersTherefore most students can learn if given sufficient time

andinstruction to do so

Mastery Learning 4 Components 1. SMALL DISCRETE UNITS-The subject matter

is broken up into a bunch of little lessons that covers a small amount of material

2. A LOGICAL SEQUENCE-The basic concepts and procedures are learned before the more complex ones

3. DEMOSTRATION OF MASTERY AT END OF EACH LESSON- Students can’t move to the next lesson until they show that they mastered the proceeding lesson.

Mastery Learning 4 Components4. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS NEEDING EXTRA HELP OR PRACTICE TO ATTAIN MASTERY- Support and resources are tailored to individual needs. Examples could include a different instructional approach,

different material, study groups, or individual tutoring.

Mastery Learning Applied to Educational Theories

BEHAVIORIST-Complex behaviors are more easily learned via “shaping” whereby a simple response is reinforced until it occurs frequently (mastered) , than a slightly more difficult response is reinforced, and so on.

COGNITIVE-Skills and information that needs to be retrieved rapidly or used in complex problem-solving needs to be practiced and learned thoroughly so that “automaticity” is obtained

SOCIAL-The ability to perform a task successfully and easily enhances the students’ self-efficacy for performing similar tasks

Appropriate Teaching Situations to Apply Mastery Learning

Most appropriate when the subject matter is hierarchical in nature-that is, when certain concepts and skills provide a foundation for future learning. Examples: basic key scientific concepts, basic math, and basic nursing skills.

Mastery learning is NOT appropriate for long-term goals such as critical thinking, scientific reason, and creative writing

Appropriate Settings for Mastery Learning

Mastery Learning can be applied in almost any setting

In a lab where new nurses can learn basic skills like vital signs, injections, Foley insertion etc.

In the clinical setting, teaching new nursesIn patients’ hospital room, teaching patients In the classroom learning multiplication factsOn the sports field, practicing a sport

Pros to Mastery LearningHelps students id what they have learned and what

they need to learn betterCorrectives are individualizedPrevents minor learning difficulties from accumulating

and becoming major learning problemsGives teachers a practical means to vary and

differentiate instruction in order to better meet student’s needs

Students master the important learning goals and gain necessary prerequisites for success in subsequent units

Help students overcome their individual learning difficulties

Offers students a second chance at successSpecial enrichment activities to broaden learning

experiences

Pros to mastery learning cont.More appropriate quality of instructionReduces the variation in students’ achievement levelsHelps teachers close achievement gaps in learning goalsYields a distribution of achievement Students are given extended time to master the learning

objectivesThis type of learning enables the student to relate his/her

learning to many problems in day to day activitiesLearn more and quicker in later unitsStudents have prerequisite skills to move to the next unitRequires teachers to do task analysis, becoming better

prepared to teach each unitRequires teachers to state objectives before designating

activitiesCan break cycle of failure (especially for minority and

disadvantaged students)

Cons to Mastery LearningOne to two weeks of class instructional time on mastery learning

modelTime consuming No single method of instruction works for all Teachers must increase variation in their teaching to decrease

variation in results Must provide students who need it with an alternative approach  Students may need additional time to learn  Implementation of mastery learning will require more time at

first 

Cons to Mastery Learning cont. Activities must be planned to give students opportunities to

practice and actively engage in skills  Each learning goal must be mastered before moving onto the next

goal  Must be flexible  If only objective tests are uses, can lead to memorizing and

learning specifics rather that higher levels of learning

Must have several tests for each unit  Must have variety of materials for remediation  Not all students progress at same pace 

Mastery Learning Process and Adaptation

Unit OneFormative Assessment A

Correctives Enrichment Activities

Formative Assessment BUnit two

This teaching strategy is all about adaptation. The teacher must be able to be flexible in their teaching methods to assure each student achieves mastery of

each lesson. This may require creativity on the teachers part in the correctives and formative

assessment B sections. Each student may need individualized correctives and formative assessment B. Also the teacher must be creative in keeping the

other students stimulated in their enrichment activities. This requires patients and extra work on

the teachers part.

Conclusion Mastery LearningIn Mastery Learning, learning can be transformed

from a virtually adventitious features of programmed instruction to a major desirable characteristic of instruction. There can become strong reasons why instruction should abandon a standard like of 70% passing. The aim of mastery learning is to achieve all objectives learned/mastered. Mastery learning is not only used at school but during the students entire life. The aim of education should be accepted by the individual, and the student should not attend school only for the purpose of obtaining a diploma. The student should accept knowledge and skills related to the chosen profession voluntarily and be more motivated to strive for it.

References Applying mastery learning techniques. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20,

2010, from www.centerii.org/handbook/.../8_F_Applying_mastery_technique

s.pdf Bastable, S. B. (2008). Nurse as educator principles of teaching

and learning for nursing practice (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA : Jones and Bartlett.

Guskey, T. R. (2005, April). Formative classroom assessment and Benjamin S. Bloom: theory, research, and implications. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada.

Kazu, I. Y., Kazu, H., & Ozdemir, O. (2005). The effects of mastery learning model on the success of the students who attended usage of basic information technologies course. Educational Technology & Society, 8(4), 233-243.

Ormrod, J. E. (2008). Educational psychology developing learners (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.