mastery.learning

OK,  so I’m dipping my big toe into the waters of blogging.  Please excuse any and all newbie errors as I try this format out.

I currently teach 7th grade Pre-Algebra and Life Science.  In our math classes, my teaching buddy and I instituted a mastery learning system for the first time this year.  We began in the second quarter, and are still fine-tuning.   It has changed the way we teach.  Below are the highlights.

1.  Students are given assignments for the chapter up front.  They know in advance what is required. They also know in advance how far they must progress in the quarter to earn an A, B, or C grade.  (We don’t have D’s in our district).

2.  We do whole class instruction in the form of notes for each section, plus spiraling review or activities.  Students keep a composition book with these notes, that serve as their “directions”.

3.  Students complete the assignments at their own pace.  Solutions and answers are available.  Students self-correct.

4.  Presenting notes and finished work is their “ticket” to the quiz.  We have a quiz after every 1-2 sections, depending on content.

5.  A student must pass a quiz at 80% or better to be considered “proficient”.  They cannot move on to the next section until they have passed the current one at 80%.  If they do not pass the quiz, we take the time to see what things the student needs to work on, and give them additional practice based on that need.   They may retest when they have completed the extra practice and are ready.   Some will repeat this process a third or fourth time. Especially until they learn that “guessing” on a test doesn’t work.

6.  Assignments don’t count in the gradebook until they have passed the quiz.  Once passed, all assignments and quizzes are entered into ABI (online gradebook system).

Some things we have found:

*Students took a while to figure out that if they do it right the first time, it saves them a lot of work.   They also discovered that just copying answers from the solutions guides, or back of the book was futile, because they need to show their work before it’s accepted.  Also, they learned that doing “bogus” work and then just putting the right answer, doesn’t mean they will pass the test.

*We need to have two to three versions of the quizzes (this wasn’t too hard to do).  They are short, 8-10 questions.  I have the students correct their errors as part of their practice when they don’t pass a quiz.

*It requires some maturity and responsibility for students in 7th grade to take it seriously.  In the beginning, many of them thought, “Cool, no homework!” Well, no assigned homework, anyway.  Students have to work at home to stay on pace with the course as it it set up.  Some do, some don’t. The ones that don’t are those that usually don’t do much homework anyway.

* We found that if we tied progress to grades, ie. “By report cards, you have to be at section 3-7 for a “C”, 3-9 for a “B”, and 4-2 for an “A”.   and posted that in advance, they knew exactly how much they had to accomplish.  That was a really good incentive.  It did make for a lot of last-minute work at report card time, but they learned it…isn’t that the goal?

*  We found it was way better for us not to have to constantly grade homework and record assignments.  Now we just record them when they pass the test.  Homework is only worth one point.  The test is worth double the number of questions, ie. 8 questions = 16 points.   Next year, we are thinking since grades are based on how far you have progressed, we are only going to use 0, and 1.   Pass/fail for the most part.  Since passing means you have accomplished 80% or better, that’s all we really need to know.

* This year, we input every assignment into ABI so parent’s can see them at home.  Next year, we think we will only input the quizzes.  We have a Chapter Assignment sheet for the kids, and will get parent’s to sign it that so they will be informed.  Still debating that one.

* We found that grading is both easier, and more informative for us.  We have to stay on top of the quizzes, daily.  This gives kids immediate feedback so they know the next day where they stand.  But, usually I have about a dozen quizzes a day to grade, sometimes more.  It doesn’t take long, and I don’t feel like I’m slogging through 80 of the same test over and over.

* Off-task behavior is consistently a challenge.

* Students are learning more from each other!   They are consistently forming little groups and working together, without our intervention.

* We let kids who pass tests put their names on the board as “Movin’ UP!”  7th graders love this. We also post the names weekly for all to see.

* Best thing….we know our kids really well.  At any point in time, we can tell you who struggles with what, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.  And the kids know what they know….isn’t that what we want?