Differentiation is out. Mastery is the new classroom buzzword

A dose of eastern-inspired mastery has entered schools. Roy Blatchford discusses the new approach and how could it affect learning

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But recently a dose of an eastern-inspired “mastery” has entered our schools, with the impact in maths being measured by an Education Endowment Foundation report. It’s caught the attention of policymakers, and earlier this year the Department for Education flew in teachers from Shanghai to raise standards with their “mastery” style. The Oxford University Press has also produced a paper exploring mastery in maths and how it can raise achievement. The national curriculum frameworks for English and maths are now rooted in it.

At the heart of the Chinese classroom is the teacher’s unshakeable belief that all children are capable of learning anything if that learning is presented in the right way. The idea works on the basis that understanding is the result of high intention, sincere effort and intelligent execution, and that difficulty is pleasurable.

In lessons where mastery is practised, teachers ensure that at least once or twice in a session the students are in awe of the teacher’s own scholarship. Pupils are encouraged to wonder how the teacher worked out a conundrum. The idea is that their interest will be piqued and they will want to be able to do it too.

The teacher – like a seasoned stand-up comic judging how long to keep his audience on hold – will then share an inventive clue, comment or question to enable the pupils to reveal their own knowledge and skills.The penny drops. The pleasure on their faces is clear.

One benefit of this approach is that it avoids the negative potential of differentiation which, if we are not careful, can lead to depressed expectations of what “less able” pupils can achieve. Activities can be oversimplified; the challenge for deeper learning removed. The completion of the task at a lower level is the learner’s modest prize.

Mastery also allows teachers to really challenge students. Many teachers in our risk-averse culture are wary of pushing students intellectually in the classroom.

A great teacher I know says that when the 10-year-olds in her class make a maths error, she asserts an instant “wrong”. The brighter the child, the sharper her “wrong” will be. At times she is moved to say “wise mistake” – but that’s as complimentary as it gets. Years of inspirational primary practice have taught her that children don’t want to hear false praise or be asked to talk in pairs when they make a number error. The child wants to work it out, get a similar question right next time and the time after that.

It’s a similar mindset to the world of elite sport. For example, the Olympic runner Mo Farah has said flatly that he can – and must – become better, run faster. He said it when he was unknown, and he’ll probably say it after his best season. He is pursuing mastery, in the knowledge that he’ll never reach it. It will always hover beyond his grasp.

For most mortals anywhere in the world, acquiring a new skill is a mix of perspiration, repetition, frustration, humour and light-bulb moments. Mastery attracts precisely because it also eludes. As the school year unfolds, it will be interesting to see what teachers and students make of the new buzzword.

Differentiation is out. Mastery is the new classroom buzzword | theguardian.com.
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Differentiation is out. Mastery is the new classroom buzzword