Mastery learning is an educational approach that breaks content into units with specific learning objectives. Students must demonstrate mastery of content at an 80% level on assessments before advancing to new material. Those who do not meet the standard receive additional support through tutoring, peer work, or homework until they reach mastery. The approach was pioneered by Benjamin Bloom in the 1960s and aims to adapt individualized instruction methods for classroom settings. Research shows mastery learning can lead to five months of additional learning per year compared to traditional instruction, though effects vary. It is most effective when students work collaboratively in groups and at their own pace, rather than as a whole class.

1. Daniela Viñán
Mastery Learning

2. What is it?
 It breaks the learning content into units with
specified objectives which are pursued until
they are achieved.
 Learners work through each block of content
in a series of sequential steps.

3. 80%
 Students must demonstrate a high
level of success on tests, about the
80% level, before progressing to new
content.
 Mastery learning is about how
students navigate through exercises
and assignments.

4.  Those who do not reach the required
level are provided with additional tuition,
peer support, group discussions, or
homework to reach the expected level.
 Mastery learning has a long history
going back to Bloom’s work in the
1960s.

5.  Most current
applications stem
from Benjamin S.
Bloom, who
considered how
teachers might adapt
aspects of tutoring
and individualized
instruction to improve
student learning in
classrooms.

6.  Although students
vary in their learning
rates and modalities,
if teachers could
provide the
necessary time and
appropriate learning
conditions, nearly all
students could reach
a high level of
achievement.

7.  He observed that teachers' traditional practice
was to organize content into units and then
check on students' progress at the end of
each unit.
 These checks, would be more valuable if they
were used as part of the teaching and
learning process to provide feedback on
students' difficulties and then prescribe
remediation activities.

8.  In traditional
classrooms, students
progress through the
class regardless of
their level of
achievement.
 In mastery
learning classrooms,
students must
demonstrate mastery
of the material before
moving on to the next
topic.

9.  It can be contrasted with other approaches
which require students to move through the
curriculum at a pre-determined pace.
 Teachers avoid unnecessary repetition by
regularly assessing knowledge and skills.

10. How effective is it?
 A number of meta-analyses indicate that mastery
learning approaches are effective, leading to an
additional five months’ progress over the course
of a school year compared to traditional
approaches.

11.  Sometimes the effects
of mastery learning
cluster with studies
showing either little
impact or an impact of
up to six months’ gain.
This variation implies
that making mastery
learning work
effectively is
challenging.

12.  It appears to be effective when they work in
groups or teams and take responsibility for
supporting each other’s progress.
 When students work at their own pace, as
opposed to working as a part of group or whole
class, it appears to be much less effective.

13.  More effective when used as an occasional or
additional teaching strategy.
 Schools may wish to consider using it for
particularly challenging topics or concepts.

14.  Lower attaining students may gain more from this
strategy than high attaining students, so mastery
learning appears to be a promising strategy for
narrowed gaps.
 It should be noted that teachers need to plan
carefully for how to manage the time of students
who make progress more quickly.

15. Bibliography
 http://blog.coursera.org/post/50352075945/5-tips-
learn-more-effectively-in-class-with-mastery
 http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tool
kit/mastery-learning/
 http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership/oct10/vol68/num02/Lessons-of-
Mastery-Learning.aspx