Page Comparison

There are two current models of mastery learning within education establishments - the difference in these is what happens when some learners haven't yet mastered some learning that their peers have already mastered

• • in LFM - learning for mastery, learners who haven't mastered their work, must work harder and access extra materials or help, often from their peers
  • in PSI - personalised system of instruction, learners who haven't mastered their work, can spend more time or access extra material of help

Here Brett Tallman explains the two types of mastery learning and the effect size of mastery learning

The timely practice system uses a different model. In timely practice learners who are further from mastery on any layer (small bite of learning), practise the layer more frequently and receive help and feedback when necessary. Meanwhile their peers practise more on the the layers that they need to practise. 

To embed learning more deeply - to come closer to mastery - there it is more efficient to wait between one practice and the next. With timely practice, the teacher will use this time to teach other layers from other topics. After a minimum of 2 months the teacher may return to teach another layer from the same topic. This more tightly spiralled scheme of learning means that each small bite of learning is taught to mastery before the next small bite is taught.

With LFM and PSI the practice, like practice in , PSI and traditional maths lessons the practice is blocked - so learning is less efficiently embedded in long term memory. The learning of the curriculum is planned in advance and often each topic is taught at most once per year. So larger bites of learning must be taught at one time and revision must be included when some learners have forgotten all/some of what was taught in last years large bite of learning on the topic. For these reasons teaching and learning is less efficient for low attaining learners than with timely practice.