The research shows mastery learning can be challenging for teachers to implement because of the amount of preparation to create assessments and activities that are carefully matched with each mastery objective.
Mastery Science provides the materials to eliminate this preparation. The flowchart shows the Mastery Science using the example gravity topic.
1. Teach
The AQA KS3 Science Syllabus has defined mastery objectives in terms of ‘Know’ and ‘Apply’. For best results from the system, you need ensure your teaching plan focusses on the ‘Ideas’ at the heart of students’ understanding. In gravity there are two Ideas, and the figure shows the mastery objectives for ‘Mass &weight’.
Pre-assessment: Students will find it hard to mastery new ideas if they did not already master the prerequisite knowledge. It is important to find out before teaching new content. But the real gains come from re-teaching what students did not know, so they are properly prepared to learn the new material
What we provide:
- Topic objectives: KS3 Science Syllabus objectives organised to highlight the Ideas
- KS2-4 route map: Prior Ideas from KS2, known misconceptions and related GCSE Ideas
- AQA topic progress sheet: the full list of objectives from the KS3 Science Syllabus
2. Assess (Diagnostic Quiz)
We created the assessment from scratch because past SAT’s questions are not well focussed on ‘Know’ understanding and are weak on ‘Apply’. Our quiz reveals fragile understanding, so that you can help students improve. The table shows how questions are linked to individual aspects of the ‘Mass and weight’ idea. Misconceptions are tested as part of the quiz, using distractors.
Quiz format: Each quiz has 15 questions, designed to take about 15 minutes. Our multiple choice quiz can assess the objectives quickly, can be marked almost instantly by students, and provides feedback on what students got wrong. Each question has 3 options which research shows is as good as the convention 4, and speeds up answering
Working Scientifically quizzes: The quizzes to test the processes of science are very similar to the ones for Syllabus topics. They can be used at any time during KS3. The only content knowledge assumed is from KS2 or one of the Starter Pack topics: Particle model, Separating mixtures, Cells, Movement and Contact forces.
Know and Apply: About 2/3 of the questions are about Know. These are set in familiar contexts and test accurate recall of the ideas – but that does not mean the questions are easy. Apply questions are set in less familiar contexts. They challenge students to recognise how the idea can be used, and involve reasoning as well as memory.
Two parts: Most topics in the Syllabus have two ideas. We have split the quiz into two parts, each focussing on one idea. This is so you have the option of using the quiz immediately after you have taught one idea, rather than waiting until both are taught.
Challenging questions: The questions are often more difficult than past SAT’s questions, particularly the Apply section. It does not matter if students get many of them wrong. This is an opportunity for them to reflect on what they haven’t quite understood, and Review the ideas better. Then to have a second change with similar questions. See 5. Reassess.
Formative questions: The questions are designed to provide information about students’ depth of understanding. They are not designed to be used for summative assessment.
When to use the quiz: We suggest using the quiz at the beginning of a lesson, and using the rest of the lesson for the next stage: Review/Extend.
What we provide:
- Diagnostic Quiz
- Quiz feedback
- Item specifications
3. Review
To adopt mastery learning means using assessment formatively, during the teaching of a topic, so that there is time afterwards for some students to Review the Ideas. First, decide whether students have mastered each Idea. You need to set a pass mark, one per Idea. The research indicates that a challenging pass mark e.g. 70-80% can work best, but it depends on the difficulty of the ideas. For example, on the gravity quiz there are:
9 questions on ‘Mass & weight’, so an 80% pass mark is: 8/9
Q1-6 are Know Q7-9 are Apply
7 questions on ‘Gravitational force’, so an 80% pass mark is: 5/6
Q10-12 are Know Q13-15 are Apply
What next?
After the assessment, the class will split and there will be several different activities going on at once. This will need careful planning to ensure all students are working effectively. You might want assign a tables for each activity and students move between the tables.
Students who did not reach the pass mark do the Review stage. Students who did go to the Extend stage (see next section). Review students will need more attention, either from you, or from a ‘knowledgeable student’ who can do peer tutoring.
Because of the high pass mark and the challenging quiz, there may be many students who need to Review. You can emphasise this is a formative assessment, and that this approach gives students the feedback and opportunity to develop their understanding.
1 Re-think Then students do the activities. There are 4 provided (2 Know, 2 Apply). Each is designed to take 10-15 minutes. There may not be enough time to do them all so students can prioritise areas where they made most mistakes. The activities are customisable. If you feel an activity is not relevant, you can substitute your own.
2 Re-do Finally, students look again at the questions they got wrong. A good task is to write down why the correct answer is correct and the wrong answers is wrong.
What we provide:
- Review activities – on reusable student sheets
- A Know activity for each Idea
- An Apply activity for each Idea
4. Extend
These activities are designed to challenge and really engage students who master the ideas. Engagement is very important as we want students to be motivated to pass the test, by the reward of having more exciting activities. If the Extend is just more or harder questions, there will be less reason for weaker students to aim for mastery. Extend activities relate to the Extend learning objectives and practise higher-order thinking
Extend activities are designed for students to do without teacher input, since you will need to focus on helping students dong Review..
Ideally Extend activities should be done in pairs to encourage discussion. Each Extend activity takes 20 – 30 minutes and can be customised to fit the available time. If possible, give all students some experience of Extend, so that they are motivated to achieve mastery on a future quiz.
What we provide:
One Extend activity per topic – a reusable student sheets
5. Re-assess
Re-assess is a second quiz, for students who did not master the ideas first time around. It gives them a second chance to show they have learned well. Research has shown that allowing students to demonstrate they have done better is important to improving achievement.
It is a ‘parallel quiz’. This means it tests the same objectives as the first quiz, and the questions are very similar. We have modified the first quiz so that students cannot simply remember their answers. It still tests their knowledge and understanding.
The Re-assess is taken after the Review activities, and should always be taken at least one day after the first quiz.
What we provide:
- Re-assess Diagnostic Quiz
- Quiz feedback
