Mastery: path and destination
The key virtue of mastery-based assessment is the clarity it provides for guiding pupils to incrementally build mastery (allowing pupils to discover through insight, or through toil, the relevance of connatural knowledge and the educative process). The biggest obstacle is the high demand for well-defined expectations of mastery. The penultimate obstacle is the extent the levels depend on the student to engage with the process.
- A few design considerations
- Multum non multa. (Do much of one thing, not many different things.) Cull the objectives. Distill them down to the most essential and order them according to the levels.
- Lex orandi, lex credendi. (The law of worship is the law of belief: order how you assess to the nature of who you assess.) Order your time in the classroom to include frequent assessment as part of the ethos. Consider assessment to be an essential part of instruction. Train students on how to receive, process, and act upon feedback. Ensure daily habits are ordered to mastery at the level of understanding.
- Festina Lente. (Make haste, slowly.) Provide activities that lend themselves to quick and clear feedback. Exercise great prudence and temperance to design activities that allow for rich guidance through feedback.
Recent Blog Posts Relevant to Design Principles
- Class Catechisms Are Awesome!
Class Catechisms are awesome, and you should consider using them as part of your class this school year. Here’s why: Before I make the case more thoroughly for why you should use Class Catechisms, I’ll first try and describe what they are. What is a Class Catechism? I first learned about this practice from Joshua… Read more: Class Catechisms Are Awesome! - Principles of Classical, Catholic Education: An Examen
I composed an examen for students some years ago. The purpose was to identify and clarify enduring pillars of classical, Catholic Education worthy of examining our cultivation of wisdom & virtue. I find the examen works well as a teacher given the goal of being life-long learners. I hope others may also find value in… Read more: Principles of Classical, Catholic Education: An Examen
kyle E. Albarado 