Take the Guesswork Out of Differentiated Instruction

Mastery Learning

Whether you differentiate already or are looking into it, you are in the right place. Look no further! Have you ever heard of a little thing called, Mastery Learning? 

Truth is, there’s so many terms in the education field. Personalized learning, Mastery learning, self-paced instructions and differentiating all go hand-in-hand! Mastery learning is meeting students where they are at academically and master standards at a time. Personalized learning is differentiating instruction to the individual student based on interests and learning styles. Self-paced instruction is somewhat self-explanatory. (Students learn at their own pace) We can thank technology to help us with this! 

Suggestion? And this WILL take away that dreadful day to day or week to week planning.

Plan for MASTERY LEARNING. 

I’ve learned a lot from the Teach Better Team. There’s a private FB group for educators you can join as well as a website with free training and podcasts.

This involves knowing the standards below and above your grade level. Start small. I find Math easier to plan for with Mastery Learning. So, you want to start by looking at the standards in the unit and planning different activities that students can do to practice that standard. Once, students master the content, they will move on to the next standard in the unit. Or, if students gained mastery extremely quickly, you can plan activities for the next grade levels’ related standard. Students should check in with an assessment before moving on to the next standard for mastery. You can do a formal assessment, check interactive notebooks or just accept mastery through observation.

Mastery learning is a great way to allow for differentiation as the activities you provide can be differentiated by learning style and is in itself self-paced as students move on as they grow mastery. Students decide when they are ready to display mastery. 

Believe it or not, this instruction gives you more time for small groups and one-on-one instruction.

Be sure to keep an eye out for more information on Mastery Learning.