Chapter 2: Mastery

There are many definitions of what it means to master a topic, thus it is interesting to evaluate the varying professional views on the matter. As discussed in class, the six facets of understanding are explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy and self-knowledge. However, it is necessary to expand upon this very general definition by contemplating what this means to the individual student. Mastery of content goes beyond merely being able to repeat an explanation, as well as simply being able to choose the correct choice when given options. Instead, mastery involves understanding every element of the concept individually, and then being able to explain the concept to others. If a student can do this, it is evident that they have a mastery of the subject. It was nice to have an explanation of ways to evaluate mastery of a topic, those being Nolan and Taylor’s explanation: multiple assignments to prove mastery, and tracking the progression of work done over time. Therefore, we must know our own objectives (possibly through backwards design) in asking students to complete a task. Another interesting aspect was the concept of how to test whether students truly understand a concept. While oral explanations are theoretically accurate, students may attempt to gloss over trouble areas when verbally explaining their explanation. Instead, they should be asked to write out a process and how they arrived at their answer. Just as the student is working to find meaning in their learning, it is the teacher’s responsibility to understand school and state standards, and there are many ways for the teacher to do so. As discussed in various other books, it is essential to incorporate the assistance of other professionals, thus the new teacher should consider the lesson plans and assessments of other faculty members of the same content area. Likewise, those who have been teaching for years must still reexamine the importance of the content they are teaching, and the ways they are assessing students. While this may be difficult for some students, the primary focus must be on mastery rather than effort.