Getting Students to Mastery – A Day in a Mastery-Centered Classroom

This article really spoke to me.  It is something that I worked towards with my Digi-Centres and Student as Teachers Unit.  One of the key quotes from the articles –

“Most important, students felt the respect I had for them. The students who understood a concept quickly and were ready to move on were allowed to do so. Students who took more time knew that I wasn’t going to move on without them. It took these learners a while to get used to the idea that they couldn’t hide or slide by and that they were going to have to learn the content and demonstrate their understanding before moving on. Such a class may be the first experience a lagging student has had with someone saying, “I’m absolutely not going to leave you behind.”

Once my high school learners realized I meant this, the stragglers caught up. Respect is powerful.”