Course Mastery and Mastery Learning

Sal Khan introduces the concept of course mastery, referencing Benjamin Bloom's Two Sigma study, which shows the effectiveness of mastery learning. He discusses the challenges of differentiation in classrooms and emphasizes the importance of empowering teachers with technology. Course mastery allows teachers to set long-term goals for students, enabling them to learn at their own pace and improve performance significantly, as supported by multiple studies.

What did Benjamin Bloom's Two Sigma Study demonstrate about students in a mastery learning framework?

• They perform at the same level as their peers.

• They perform two standard deviations better.

• They perform at the 50th percentile.

• They perform one standard deviation worse.

Why is differentiation considered a best practice in education?

• It addresses the varying levels of student understanding.

• It helps teachers manage large classrooms easily.

• It allows students to learn the same material.

• It simplifies the teaching process.

What is Khan Academy's stance on choosing between a great teacher and great technology?

• They believe in using both together.

• They believe teachers are more important.

• They think technology is unnecessary.

• They prefer technology over teachers.

What is the purpose of setting mastery goals for students?

• To make students compete with each other.

• To ensure students learn at the same pace.

• To provide students with appropriate challenges over time.

• To limit the amount of material students learn.

How does mastery learning affect student performance on standardized exams?

• It makes them perform at the average level.

• It improves their performance by 20-30%.

• It has no effect on their performance.

• It decreases their performance by 20-30%.