Survey on Mastery Learning

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Circle your answer.

1.  Differences in learning are due to a lack of variation in instruction.

Completely agree --- somewhat agree --- somewhat disagree --- completely disagree

2.  Variation in teaching strategies and methods leads to similar levels of achievement for all learners.

Completely agree --- somewhat agree --- somewhat disagree --- completely disagree

3.  Classroom assessments often do little more than identify for whom the teacher’s instructional method is appropriate. 

Completely agree --- somewhat agree --- somewhat disagree --- completely disagree

4.  End of unit assessments should prescribe remediation procedures, not just measure achievement.

Completely agree --- somewhat agree --- somewhat disagree --- completely disagree

5.  For feedback to be effective, it must be paired with correctives, activities that offer guidance and direction on how to remedy learning problems. 

Completely agree --- somewhat agree --- somewhat disagree --- completely disagree

If you agree with these statements, you agree with the basic principles behind mastery learning. To learn more about Benjamin Bloom's model of instruction, see this link.

Dr. Rod Ellis on Corrective Feedback on Student Writing

The take-home message? Current thinking on corrective feedback can be summarized as follows: it is likely to be effective when it is explicit, sustained, and focused. The VirtualWritingTutor provides explicit and sustained feedback. It is not, however, focused.  The system detects every error it can.

Bill Gates on Teacher Training

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supports a teacher training program. In this video, Gates talks about a self-coaching method for in-service teachers. The take home message: Effective teachers ask students challenging questions, explain concepts in multiple ways, and train students to self-correct; video recording lessons helps teachers reflect on how to integrate and refine these practices in each lesson.

Passion and Perseverance

Angela Lee Buckworth

The best predictor or academic success: grit (passion + perseverance) How to build grit? Growth mindset, a belief that the ability to learn is not fixed and can change with effort.