The solution you’ve been looking for…
Regardless of the grade, subject, or content we teach, as educators we are always looking for answers. As we discussed in Part 1 and Part 2 of this course, you may be looking for a change or just want some solutions and tools to help you reach more students.
We have found that the easiest and most efficient way to increase your impact as a teacher is Mastery Learning. Mastery learning includes and encompasses several components that are built with embedded best practices and student centered pedagogy.
These best practices include:
- Learner paced content delivery
- High accountability (85% competency required)
- Targeted instruction aligned with standards
- Clear, standards based learning targets
Organizing it all…
Most research-based educational concepts, when implemented properly, can have a positive effect on student achievement. Mastery Learning is absolutely one of these concepts, but without a proven formula to implement it properly the effectiveness is greatly diminished.
This is why we’ve created The Grid Method. It is a simple, easy-to-implement system that allows any teacher (like YOU!) to get the benefits of Mastery Learning in their classroom without the struggle of trying to include all the pieces and parts that make it work.
What’s The Grid Method?
The Grid Method – Mastery Learning System is a student paced, competency based educational system where:
- Learners work through a Mastery Grid
- They access content and activities (Learning Opportunities) at their own pace.
- Move on only after 80 – 85% competency is shown on a given Learning Opportunity.
- Formative Assessment is gathered after every Learning Opportunity.
- Individualized intervention and differentiation is provided as needed (and easier than ever!!!)
Looking at the Mastery Grid….
The Mastery Grid is the foundation of The Grid Method and the key to the aligned planning and mapping of the student journey through the curriculum. This document, it’s development (We’ll cover that in Part 4 don’t worry!), and it’s components encompass all the parts of lesson planning and instructional design needed to make them more effective.
(Click Picture for Larger Image)
Learning Targets (Outlined in Red): The left side of the Grid is made up of aligned learning targets based on Webb’s DOK. These targets include 5 Levels (note: there are only 4 levels of Webb’s Depth of Knowledge. We’ve added the 5th as described below)
The levels are broken down based on cognitive demand or Depth of Knowledge as noted below:
- Level 1 – Basic Recall
- Level 2 – Application of Basic Skills / Concepts
- Level 3 – Comparative Analysis / Organizational Thought
- Level 4 – Create / Design
- *Level 5 – This level is labelled as “Independent Exploration”. This is to facilitate the extension of learning for students who complete the Mastery Grid before their peers and provides the opportunity for deeper learning and understanding.
*Please Note: Webb’s Depth of Knowledge consists of Levels 1-4 only. We have added the 5th level to allow advanced students to further their learning journey via independent exploration of the content being covered.
Learning Opportunities / Tasks (Outlined in Blue): Aligned Learning Opportunities (LO’s) are placed to the right of each learning target. These tasks are carefully chosen and developed to meet the needs of the aligned learning target. Each activity should spiral content and increase in difficulty from Left to Right on the Mastery Grid.
When a student has completed the learning opportunities in a given row on the Mastery Grid they will have mastered the aligned Learning Target.
Each LO Box on the Mastery Grid includes:
- The title of the activity.
- A short description of the activity.
- What the student needs to complete the activity.
- How the student will show mastery or be assessed.
The Mastery Grid is the foundation of The Grid Method and its design has been purposefully thought out and developed to meet all best practices of instructional planning and design for learning in the classroom.