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MASTERY
LEARNING
Success for Every Adult Learner
MASTERY LEARNING
The Need for Mastery Learning

The challenges of the adult education classroom are clear. Each

student has a different story and different skills. How do you
get students to learn so they don’t fall behind the rest of the
class? Mastery learning postulates that every student should
have the benefits of a personal tutor. Since a classroom
can’t provide a tutor for each student, what elements
of tutoring can be implemented in the classroom to
maximize learning? A personal tutor provides two
main things: enough time to learn and appropriate
help when needed.

Foundations of Mastery Learning

In the 1960s, John Carroll outlined mastery

learning, and Dr. Benjamin Bloom developed
it in the 1980s. Over the last 30 years,
dozens of studies have identified elements
that significantly improve learning speed,
retention, and performance. Dr. Bloom
defined a process that allows students
to master skills through sufficient time,
deep instruction, and ongoing formative
assessments.

The Results of Mastery Learning

Bloom’s research compared a traditional

classroom, a mastery learning classroom, and a
personal tutor. In the mastery learning classroom,
over 80% of all students achieve the highest levels
of performance.
Mastery for Every Adult Learner

Up until now, it has been impossible to implement mastery

learning principles in the adult education classroom.
Students’ needs are too varied, and teacher resources
are too limited.

Essential Education has changed this. Our powerful

adaptive learning system creates a truly personalized
experience for every learner. Mastery is the norm, not
the exception.

Traditional Classroom Achievement

Aptitude Achievement

Mastery Classroom Achievement

Aptitude Achievement

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 ADDRESSING PROBLEMS
IN ADULT EDUCATION
What Problems Do You Face in the Adult Ed Classroom?

Students aren’t independent learners. Students often need help organizing knowledge so they
can understand and remember it. They can get easily overwhelmed and discouraged because
they have difficulty connecting what they are trying to learn to what they already know. They
lack basic study and goal-setting skills.

Students have gaps in knowledge and skills. While students have experience with many
concepts, their understanding is often flawed and incomplete. Pushing students into new material
before they have mastered foundational skills limits their progress and is a key reason students
stop coming to class. The challenge for the teacher is identifying these prerequisite skills and
gaps. Placement tests are generally not enough to solve this problem. Deeper assessment tools
are required.

Students learn at different speeds. A common learning obstacle for adult learners is that they
learn at different speeds. Students need to move through some material slowly, repeating
lessons several times before they fully comprehend the content. The challenge for the adult
education instructor is to find ways to give all learners the time they need to master the material.
When learners don’t have sufficient time to master concepts, they may leave programs before
completing them. This is one reason for the lower attempt rates on the high school equivalency
(HSE) tests.

Students are not strong readers. Student difficulties are complicated by the fact that many adult
learners are not strong readers. Low comprehension skills and vocabulary make it difficult to
learn concepts in social studies, science, and mathematics. The challenge is how to incorporate
core reading skills into all subject areas.

Students lack motivation. Motivation is crucial for adult learners. Education has often not been
a very positive experience for adult ed students, who may feel overwhelmed by the magnitude
of what they need to learn. On top of all the other jobs of adult education teachers, they need
to help their students deal with motivation issues.

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 TEACHING PRINCIPLES FOR MASTERY
A mastery learning classroom addresses the issues of adult education by providing the tools for students to learn
each skill before moving forward. By implementing five principles, the mastery learning classroom mimics, as closely
as possible, a personal tutor for each student.

Identify Skill Gaps .................. 4 Use Smart Assessments ..... 14

1 4
Identify gaps in students’ Use intelligent formative
understanding that need to be filled assessments to not only identify the
and teach the prerequisites and missing elements of the student’s
foundations first. Students move understanding but provide the
forward with more confidence and direction to teach it effectively.
success when they have the necessary Use a continuing cycle of assessment
foundations in place. and instruction until mastery
is demonstrated.

Divide the Learning ............. 6

Give Corrective
2
Divide learning into manageable
pieces that students can accomplish Instruction ............................. 16
in a couple of weeks. Smaller portions 5 Use feedback data from smart
are easier to absorb and track. assessments to reteach concepts and
Students stay motivated because they skills until the student has mastered
are successful quicker. them. A built-in safety net structure
ensures that students completely

The Student HomeRoom ..... 8 master the skills they need to pass
their high-stakes test.

Instruct for High

Engagement ......................... 12 The Diagnostic Center ........ 18
3 Use adaptive learning tools to
customize the instruction and materials
to what each student needs to learn.
Use materials that are meaningful,
relevant, and engage the learner
cognitively and emotionally.

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1

IDENTIFY
SKILL GAPS
What does the student need to learn? Solutions from Essential Education

One of the foundations of mastery learning is Instead of throwing the student into material they
assessing the student’s missing prerequisite skills. are not yet ready for, our course instruction starts
In math, for example, a student may struggle with by building a strong foundation of understanding
fractions because they do not clearly understand and skill. Because we start with this crucial step, our
numeric relationships. Once the student learns students actually move through the complex material
relationships on a number line, the student can much more quickly. We see much lower dropout rates
quickly learn operation skills with fractions. Assessing because the student does not feel lost or frustrated.
missing skills is a crucial step in educating adult
Step One: Identify Prerequisites
learners. If missing foundational skills aren’t identified
In Essential Education Academies, students start
and addressed, the student struggles with gaining
with a built-in initial assessment that identifies the
mastery of the primary skill. Here’s how we solve this
degree of their skill mastery against the targets of the
learning obstacle for your adult learners.
educational goal they are working towards.

Step Two: Customize Learning Plan

The program uses the diagnostic data
from the student’s initial assessment
Assessments identify skill gaps and
to automatically create a customized
prescribe learning. learning plan. The first lessons in
the learning plan teach the student’s
missing foundational skills, the
building blocks needed to move on to
more complex skills.

Step Three: Track Student Progress

The built-in diagnostic center
gives teachers real-time skill
mastery reports that detail student
performance on each target and
skill and identifies gaps. As the
student progresses, the skill mastery
report shows the student’s most
current performance.

Each question is tied to

specific skills that determine
assignments and review.

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2

DIVIDE THE
LEARNING
How much can the student absorb? Solutions from Essential Education

Mastery learning breaks materials down into bite- Filled With Lessons, Units, and Levels
sized pieces that the student can absorb. Each piece We divide the learning into small units with built-in
must be learned before moving forward. There are smart assessments. In their customized learning
several reasons for dividing the learning. plans, students have easy-to-achieve sections to

1. Smaller learning units allow students to see master, which builds learning confidence.

the results of their efforts quickly and motivate Maximize Understanding and Retention
students to keep learning. Students are given the time and deeper instruction

2. Dividing the learning forces students to focus to master each concept and skill before moving on

on one piece of the learning, instead of to the next, so their overall acquisition of knowledge

getting ahead of themselves and skipping is faster.

foundations.
Progress Motivates Students
3. Dividing the learning also assures that Easy to accomplish unit-based learning allows the
students have mastered a skill before moving students to focus on one piece of learning at a time
forward. and see forward movement. Students stay motivated
because they can see the direct result of their study
Units of learning are defined by two criteria.
time and know what they need to do next to achieve
First, how much content is required to teach
mastery learning. The student HomeRoom lets the
a discrete set of skills and knowledge?
student see forward progress and performance.
Next, what does the student need to learn to
gain mastery?

Learning is divided into easily

Learning delivery absorbed units.
focuses the
student on one
task at a time.

Students progress
through easy-to-
accomplish units.

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 THE STUDENT
HOMEROOM

Motivating Students

Because of the sheer amount of material most adult

ed students need to learn and the gaps in their
understanding of basic concepts, they easily get
discouraged and frustrated with their progress. The next step forward is always
right here.
Mastery learning principles are changing the
motivation landscape for adult education programs.
Students are able to progress quickly because
instruction is customized to their precise needs. The
result is that students see success on a daily basis,
and nothing motivates more than success.

A Personalized Dashboard

Our courses give students a personalized learning

dashboard where they see the immediate results of
their efforts. Learning is, in many ways, a transactional
experience. The student invests time and expects to
See progress through
see the results of these efforts.
the course.

A Picture of Progress

The HomeRoom shows students exactly where they

are and what they have achieved. It gives students
See practice test achievement.
a way to see the results of their efforts in tangible
movement toward their learning goal. This motivation
drives the student to put in the time and effort to
reach mastery-level learning.

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The HomeRoom is the
student dashboard.

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Easy to Use at a Glance

The HomeRoom provides easy-to-use tools to

track progress and access learning. Students can
begin by simply accessing the next lesson and
watching progress, but over time, can learn to use
the HomeRoom tools more deeply to understand
their learning.

Students see performance

and progress.
Mastery level for
each unit.

Select to
access review.

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Connecting Effort to Progress

Study time has a clear connection to progress.

By tracking study time against a goal set when a
course is started, the student can see their effort
reflected in their HomeRoom. Linking effort
and results creates motivation.

Time studying leads to

achievement.

Students see if
they’re meeting
their goals.

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3

INSTRUCT FOR
HIGH ENGAGEMENT
Is the student paying attention? Solutions from Essential Education

In mastery learning, instruction is appropriate, Our high-engagement content is taught with

relevant, and meaningful to the student. Research personal, direct, interactive instruction rather than
has clearly demonstrated that instruction quality an impersonal text-based slideshow. The student
determines the speed, degree, and ease of learning. is immersed in a virtual classroom of adult students
Poor content produces poor learning. who explain, activate background knowledge, and
present material in multiple learning styles.
Many adult learners are not strong readers and lack
basic learning and study skills. In consequence, they Accessible Learning
do not always follow every part of a classroom lecture Our lessons personally engage the interest and
and cannot always achieve deep understanding attention of the learner. Instead of requiring self-
from printed material alone. Additionally, students directed reading, they restate, reinforce, and use
become bored and frustrated with content that’s multiple types of media.
too hard or too easy. Our adaptive learning software
Interactive Learning
provides the content that the student needs.
Students must engage with the learning and be
active. They learn to think more clearly
because they are interacting with our virtual
Multimedia lessons engage students, not just reading text on a screen.
students. Diagnostic and Responsive Learning
Lessons provide reteaching based on
student performance and interaction.
Interaction provides both engagement and
reinforcement.

Higher-Level Learning
Lessons model thinking concepts with
instructional characters. An emphasis
on problem-solving, applying principles,
analysis, and creativity enables students to
Engaging relate the learning to problems and situations
interactions in day-to-day living. Students build skills to
and pass the HSE exams, as well as move on
explanations. to better jobs and higher education. They
can continue learning beyond the adult
Multimedia classroom education classroom and cope with a rapidly
experiences. changing world.
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4

USE SMART
ASSESSMENTS
Is the student learning? Solutions from Essential Education

In mastery learning, the focus is not on summative Each unit of learning comes with its own built-in
assessments, but formative assessments that check assessment, which analyzes student performance,
whether students are learning during instruction. provides up-to-date information on student skill, and
Assessments are not one-shot; they are part of an indicates needed corrective instruction.
ongoing effort to help students learn.
Assessment Reinforces Learning
Our Academies give students continual parallel
formative assessments that help determine the
Students are continually effectiveness of the instruction and offer students as
assessed. many chances as they need to demonstrate mastery
and experience success.

Automatic Assessment Informs Instruction

Regular assessments One of the most important features of our mastery
give current, useful learning software is that it applies this teach-and-
data. assess cycle automatically. This is the power of our
built-in adaptive learning engine. It is continually
gathering data about the student and then using
that data to make informed teaching decisions to
maximize mastery for the student.

The automatic mastery system tracks data from

assessments, providing information to students and
teachers to inform instruction on multiple levels.

Students, teachers, and the

mastery program modify
instructions based on data.

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5

GIVE
CORRECTIVE
INSTRUCTION
How can you reinforce learning? Solutions from Essential Education

A critical element of mastery learning is giving Immediate Feedback and Correctives

students immediate feedback and assigning the Our courses teach with an interactive conversation
needed instruction. The need for corrective feedback between students and their virtual teacher, Leonard.
means formative assessment is crucial; with continual When students respond, they receive immediate
assessment, the learning can be adjusted to the feedback, teaching, and explanation.
student’s needs.
Responsive Review at Multiple Points
Mastery learning feedback: At the unit assessment, corrective feedback is given

1. Shortens the feedback time so that the student for every missed question. After units and levels, the

knows immediately how to improve. program identifies and recommends review lessons
personalized to the student’s performance. Review
2. Couples feedback with responsive reteaching
lessons reteach skills and knowledge where the
so that the student can improve. In a classroom,
student underperforms.
giving instantaneous feedback and corrective
instruction to multiple students can be Feedback on Progress
daunting, but our courses provide reinforced In the HomeRoom, students always know what to
learning automatically. Corrective feedback is study next, how they’re doing, and how far they
integrated into our lessons and quizzes. have to go. Progress is sped up when students show
understanding or slowed down when they haven’t
learned the content.
Corrective instruction is given at
multiple levels.
Multi-Layered Corrective Instruction
With multi-layered corrective instruction, students
can master material much more quickly because the
instruction zeros in on the precise skills they need.
Time spent in confusion and frustration when the
learner doesn’t have the foundation understanding
is eliminated. Feedback with correctives allows
students to learn at their own speed. But more
than that, it changes their fundamental view
of what learning and education is. For the first
time, students see that they can actually learn
things that have confused them in the past. They
Automatic and teacher-assigned
become true learners. The results are astonishing.
review appear in the HomeRoom.
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 THE DIAGNOSTIC
CENTER

Sophisticated Tools for Tracking Data

Personalized teacher interventions enhance mastery

learning, and Essential Education makes those
interventions possible by providing instant and easily
accessible information about student attendance,
performance, and progress. The interface facilitates
communication with learners and custom intervention.
Our mastery learning programs give teachers a set of
very sophisticated yet practical tools to track student
progress and intervene when necessary.

1. Monitor student activity

Dashboard reports allow teachers to see who has been working with the
program and who has been absent. Study time reports show the actual
time each student has spent studying in and out of class.

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 2. See practice test scores

At a glance, teachers see the scores students have achieved on

practice tests for each subject. Then they can drill down and see
scores on all the attempts of each practice test. Teachers can see the
relationship between study time and progress on the HSE practice tests.

3. Check needed skills

The skill mastery report breaks down assessment targets into

component skills and provides up-to-date information on student
performance. Using the 24 built-in HSE assessments, the program shows
what skills students have mastered and what skills they need to study.

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Keep Learning on Track

Many adult learners need a helping hand to keep

moving because they are not independent learners.
Our diagnostic reports give both the teacher and
the student a scaffold for success to keep motivated
and excited about learning and reaching their goal.

4. Add assignments

Personalized teacher
assignments augment the
customized study program.

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 5. Customize learning plan

Teachers can access and modify each student’s learning plan, providing
truly custom learning from the teacher’s informed perspective.

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IMPLEMENT MASTERY
LEARNING IN YOUR CLASSROOM
See firsthand why thousands of adult educators rely on
Essential Education’s mastery learning solutions to help
learners reach their goals.

SCHEDULE A DEMO AND

GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
go.essentialed.com/demo-request

“Essential Education provides comprehensive instruction,

relevant practice work, tests and quizzes that effectively measure
competency, and additional material to support adult learners at
all levels. I would highly recommend this program as a means to
facilitate student-directed learning and to support teachers with
instruction and assessment.” – JENN MCDONALD
HiSET Instructor
Laconia Adult Education

Visit our website for more information.

Education to Change Lives
essentialed.com/educators
(800) 931-8069