General Principles- Common Learning Difficulties

Whenever learning becomes abstract or passive, whenever key skills are not explicitly demonstrated and practiced, whenever the Mastery student feels unable to display a high degree of competence on work assigned, whenever the work of the classroom becomes isolated from the physical world, practical applications, real-world relevance, or clear expectations, some Mastery learners’ motivation will lag. As they become less motivated or more uncertain, these learners are likely to:

• Withdraw from classroom participation to conceal their perceived lack of competence.

• Ask for increasingly explicit instruction on what they have to do to avoid error.

• Produce minimal work—just enough to get by—because they no longer feel that they

can be successful or that the content of the curriculum will be useful to them in the real world.

In general, Mastery learners want to work and do well in school. When they withdraw from learning, many of their problems can be addressed cognitively according to four basic principles:

1. clear, clear, clear

Mastery students are motivated by clarity, competence, and success. Motivation starts with clear expectations. Set explicit and measurable goals for both academic achievement and behavior. The better the Mastery student knows the criteria for evaluating the performance, the more he will work to meet them.

2. model, model, model

The skills necessary for success hold whether the skill is fairly straightforward (e.g., studying for a spelling test) or if it’s a more abstract and complex skill, such as making inferences, establishing a thesis for an essay, or developing a plan for solving a mathematics problem. The more explicitly the teacher models the skill, the stronger Mastery students will perform.

3. practice, practice, practice

Mastery students need lots of practice on key skills and central concepts. It is not necessary to reduce the thinking, reading, writing, or problem solving in their work; it is only necessary to provide more practice and better feedback on their performance.

4. organize, organize, organize

When it comes to learning complex content, Mastery students need organizational tools. They frequently fool us because they are so good at following directions, but their tendency to focus on details makes it difficult for them to see and use the higher-level concepts necessary to understand content like science and social studies. The use of visual organizers, as well as effective modeling and practice of study skills, can provide an effective boost to Mastery learners.