Mastery Learning

Mastery learning is a nontraditional instructional approach that can be traced to Benjamin Bloom's learning for mastery model. Mastery learning, was first introduced in American schools in the 1920s, with the work of Carleton Washburn. The plan grew for a few years; nevertheless, without the aid of technology to maintain the concept, expansion among developers and implementers progressively weakened. Mastery learning was revitalized in the form of programmed teaching and learning in the late 1950s in an effort to offer students instructional resources that would permit them to progress at their own speed in addition to receiving continuous feedback on their specific level of mastery. The 1960s saw a resurgence with Bloom's learning for mastery ideas, which suggested that, given sufficient time and appropriate instruction, nearly all students could learn.

Bloom is considered the major theorist and supporter of the mastery learning approach. Bloom's instructional strategy, learning for mastery, was later shortened to mastery learning. He was interested in the effectiveness of individualized instruction and one-to-one tutoring as instructional approaches. Bloom built on the ideas of John B. Carroll, who revived the concept in the early 1960s and who posited that student aptitude is a reflection of individual learning rate. Bloom believed that, by recognizing relevant individual differences among students and then adjusting instruction to meet their individual needs, achievement gaps between different groups of students could be closed and eventually disappear.

During the 1970s and 1980s many research studies on mastery learning were published; however, the research has declined since the 1980s. More recently, mastery learning has resurfaced in the context of computer-based learning and e-learning. It has also been linked to research and interest in outcome-based education.

A second model of mastery learning was developed by Fred Simmons Keller and is known as the personalized system of instruction. This model includes written materials for self-instruction as the major teaching activity, self-paced learning, demonstration of mastery before proceeding to new units, and instruction to address areas where mastery is not evident.

The approach is built on the premise that all students should succeed in learning new concepts and skills and that everyone can learn given the right circumstances.

Mastery learning requires a student to reach a level of predetermined mastery on instructional concepts and skills before progressing to the next instructional unit. While individual students may require differing amounts of time to master or learn content, all students are expected to achieve the same level of mastery through ordered steps. One fundamental principle of mastery learning is that 90% of students can learn what is normally taught in schools at an A level when given enough time to demonstrate mastery of objectives and appropriate instruction.

A mastery learning classroom is characterized by a variety of group instructional activities, frequent and specific feedback, diagnostic and formative assessments, and frequent correction of students' mistakes and misconceptions. Student success is measured through criterion-referenced tests to assess students' mastery of the identified concepts and skills. Student learning is largely dependent on the provision of adequate time and quality instruction provided by the teacher so all students can achieve the same level of learning. Teachers who use mastery learning provide frequent and specific corrective feedback to students, often through formative assessments.

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