Introducing mastery learning to students

Fundamentally, mastery learning encourages all students to learn at their own pace as they master skills and make progress towards learning goals. To some students this idea may feel different - very different - from previous learning experiences. One of the key messages to share with students is mastery learning helps them focus on what they each need to be successful and deeply understand concepts, rather than just moving through concepts whether they really understand them or not. The goal is to help them be the best students they can be and it’s ok if the process looks different for each student.

Some teachers recommend providing students with common examples of mastery learning that occur in their daily lives such as learning to walk, tying their shoes or learning to drive. (Choose a skill that is relevant to your students - you know them best!) The common trend among these concepts is that these are real-life activities that most people do not succeed at on their first attempt but rather master these skills after multiple attempts (failures in many cases), feedback and hard work to eventually reach success. There is opportunity in failing first, learning from failure and earning the success of walking, tying your shoes, or driving.

Many teachers encourage integrating growth mindset activities to help students better embrace the idea that they are capable of learning. Growth mindset reminds students that their abilities can be improved with continued effort. This video, How to grow my brain, can be particularly powerful, especially for those students who may think that they’re not “naturally smart”.

Khan Academy has a selection of growth mindset resources designed to jump-start learning by helping students understand how their brains work and how they can better set themselves up for success. This includes two full growth mindset curricula - one designed for elementary/middle school students and one designed for high school students - with experts from PERTS, a Stanford-based research group. These resources also include a series of teacher-focused videos to support the implementation of growth mindset activities with students.

Khan Academy has a selection of growth mindset resources designed to jump-start learning by helping students understand how their brains work and how they can better set themselves up for success. This includes two full growth mindset curricula - one designed for elementary/middle school students and one designed for high school students - with experts from PERTS, a Stanford-based research group. These resources also include a series of teacher-focused videos to support the implementation of growth mindset activities with students.