Mastery-based learning: Positive or Negative Outcomes?
As the new academic year is now in full swing, we take a look at the resurgence of mastery-based learning.
In August, Kyle Spencer of the New York Times wrote an article about schools in New York City that are currently utilising mastery-based learning in their classrooms. His article is titled A New Kind of Classroom: No Grades, No Failing, No Hurry — because that is precisely what mastery-based learning is aiming to achieve in the field of education.
Mastery-based learning is a method of instruction whereby each student works at their own pace, and progresses to the next topic or skill only once they have demonstrated understanding at the current level. Rather than comparing their achievements to others in the class, students focus on improving their own academic growth and development. Each individual is expected to master the skills for each subject, without the pressure of a deadline. “There is no failing,” Spencer writes. “The only goal is to learn the material, sooner or later.”
Spencer traces mastery-based learning to the theories of University of Chicago professor Benjamin Bloom in the 1960s, while The Knewton Blog gives credit to the Winnetka Plan of the early 1920s. However, because of technological and/or resource limitations, schools were hesitant to try to implement this type of learning. Today, computers, smartphones, and tablets remove that obstacle and and assist both teachers and pupils in keeping track of their individual progress.
Assignments can take any form, as long as their outcome demonstrates understanding of and proficiency in the topics covered. This gives students of all levels the ability to be creative and to play to their strengths. Spencer notes that the methodology can benefit all types of schools, no matter whether pupils have learning difficulties, or whether they are considered to be ‘gifted’ or ‘at risk’. Even new immigrants coming face-to-face with the American educational system for the first time can move at a suitable pace when adopting mastery-based learning.
Of course, there are those who are unsure about the change — for example, some parents whose educational experiences were quite different. Others worry that this does not reflect actual ‘real-world practices’. The Knewton Blog goes to some effort to debunk so-called ‘Myths about mastery-based learning’, namely, that it is difficult and expensive to implement, that it makes grading more difficult for teachers, and that students are either challenged too much or too little.
Nevertheless, Spencer writes that more than 40 schools in New York City have adopted mastery-based learning. Rather than waiting for instruction by the Department of Education, many schools are taking the initiative to implement it. As a result, they are reporting positive changes in the attitudes and grades of their students. That, indeed, seems like a very positive outcome.
Read more about this methodology at Mastery Collaborative, New York City: www.masterycollaborative.org.
