FIAE- Chapter 2

This chapter helped me to understand mastery, not only what it is but why it is important. Mastery is more than just knowing the information, it is manipulating and applying that information to other situations and understanding it. There are two ways to accomplish or collect evidence of mastery: multiple assessments and tracking the students’ progress of a few works over a period of time. As a teacher, you must be clear about the objectives before you can use differentiated instruction and adequately assess the students’ understanding of these objectives. The teacher must be open to the students’ unique way of learning and understanding. In order for the student to master any piece of material the teacher must utilize all tools they posses, including being open to new ideas from the student, in order to fully help. To look at ones’ own teaching approach each year is far from too much. An annual focus on mastery for every topic in the classroom can help to decipher between mastery and almost mastery mixed with hard work. As a teacher, you are always looking to what facts or points to emphasize as well as what to prune and what to keep. Looking to other colleagues and their ideas can really help to structure and keep focused. Sharing ideas and opinions is the best way to improve you teaching as well as the overall outcome of your classroom.

From a student perspective, I can see that it is important to really know and understand what I am doing. From a teacher perspective, it is crucial to help guide and coach not push and force, a student towards mastery. I believe that no matter the material a student should be open to new ideas and styles of learning just as the teacher must enter a new classroom open to new ideas and styles of teaching. The best teaching and learning process occurs when both parties can relate to each other and help the overall outcome of the class become a positive one. Understanding newfound knowledge can lead to a better future utilizing these new tools of learning.