Mastery Learning Model

In the name of the Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Magnificent. All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of the Universe. We praise Him, and seek His help, and His forgiveness, and we seek His protection from the accursed Satan. Whoever Allaah guides no one can misguide, and whom He allows to be misguided no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allaah, who is One alone and has no partners. I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. May the blessings of Allaah be upon him and his family and his companions and the righteous who follow them until the Day of Judgment.

Allaah , the Most High says; "And those who disbelieve say: why is the Qur'an not revealed to him all at once? Thus (it is sent down in parts) that We may strengthen your heart thereby and We have revealed it to you gradually". 25:32

From the guidance of the Salaf regarding seeking knowledge

Az-Zuhrī (d. 125H) said: “Whoever searches for knowledge at once, it will slip from him at once, and indeed knowledge is obtained only one or two Hadīth at a time”. Al-Jāmi lil-Akhlāq ir-Rāwī 1/232

As'salaamu alaykum my dear sisters, I pray this blog finds you all in the best of health and eeman (ameen). Today's blog is about Mastery Learning applying teaching and learning according to Qur'an and Sunnah. This is a program I use with my children to help them inshaa'Allah retain information. With the Mastery Learning Program children can work at their own pace according to his/her learning styles. For my program I teach one main subject by the month. For example; the month of May is Reading/Writing in which we only focusing on. I find this works better with my family so my children are not so overwhelmed with so many subjects as you will find in today's traditional classroom setting. Using this type of method my children are able to comprehend the materials as needed. As educators we ask ourselves all the time;"How can I teach better? "How can a person learn better? and "How is it possible to remember the learned material all the time?"

The theories of mastery learning resulted in a radical shift in responsibility for teachers; the blame for a student's failure rests with the instruction not a lack of ability on the part of the student. In this type of learning environment, the challenge becomes providing enough time and employing instructional strategies so that all students can achieve the same level of learning (Levine, 1985; Bloom, 1981).

Mastery learning is an instructional strategy based on the principle that all students can learn a set of reasonable objectives with appropriate instruction and sufficient time to learn. Mastery Learning puts the techniques of tutoring and individualized instruction into a group learning situation and brings the learning strategies of successful students to nearly all the students of a given group. In its full form it includes a philosophy, curriculum structure, instructional model, the alignment of student assessment, and a teaching approach. Note: All According To Qur'an And Sunnah

How to instruct for mastery

1. Clearly state the objectives representing the purposes of the course.

2. The curriculum is divided into relatively small learning units, each with their own objectives and assessment.

3.Learning materials and instructional strategies are identified; teaching, modeling, practice, formative, evaluation, re-teaching, reinforcement, and summative evaluation are included.

4. Each unit is preceded by brief diagnostic tests, or formative assessments.

5. The results of formative tests are used to provide supplementary instruction, or corrective activities to help the learner overcome problems.

As a matter of curriculum development, mastery learning does not focus on content, but on the process of mastering it. Curriculum materials can be designed by in-house instructional designers or via a team approach by various professionals in a given setting either in a school or industry. Instructional materials can also be obtained as prepared materials from an outside commercial source. A combination of these is also possible however, the instructional materials are developed or obtained; the teachers must evaluate the materials they plan to use in order to ensure that they match the instructional objectives set up for a given course of instruction.

The great advantage of a mastery approach for catch-up or accelerated work is that, as teachers, we start by finding out what our students know, and then help them learn the things they will need to know in order to demonstrate mastery. Using a mastery approach also provides flexibility for accommodating instruction to individual learning styles, needs and interest.

Advantages

1.Students have prerequisite skills to move to the next unit

2. Requires teachers to do task analysis, thereby becoming better prepared to teach each unit

3. Requires teachers to state objectives before designating activities

4. Can break cycle of failure (especially important for minority and disadvantaged students)

http://www.ifets.info/journals/8_4/21.pdf

Daily Reading Activities Includes:

Islamic Worksheets/Reading Work Book (American Education Publishing)

Surah (of choice)

Arabic Alphabet (write)

Spelling Words (written multiple times)

Spelling Sentences

Journal Writing (Special Project Student Publishing Book)

Note: At the end of the month they would use their spelling word sentences to publish their own book inshaa'Allah.