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Mastery Based Learning Schedule and Grading with Jerry Snow
Description
Jerry Snow, district administrator and former middle school principal in Piedmont, Alabama, shows what a mastery learning day looks like. Students move through team time, class time and a period called my time, and families get two report cards: a numeric grade and a mastery report.
The detail to steal: my time runs three days a week on the subject where a student is lowest, and two days on ILP work. Students who keep the minimum pace choose their own work. Piedmont's minimum pace is about 25 percent of standards mastered each nine weeks.
What you'll learn
- Build a daily block like my time, where students work on their lowest subject three days a week and on ILP work two days.
- Let teachers decide what shows mastery for each standard, make them justify it, and aim for mostly depth of knowledge level three.
- Send a numeric grade next to a mastery report, so families can adjust to the change without a culture shock.
- Set a minimum pace with your teachers from the start, because some students stall when there is none.
- Spend a week listening to students and teachers, and ask kids if they are sitting idle in class, behind or ready to go further.
Chapters
- 0:00 Preview, then students at different levels
- 2:37 Class time, my time and team time
- 4:52 Team time, mentors and student-led conferences
- 6:40 What showing mastery looks like
- 8:51 Two report cards and parents who want grades
- 13:31 Setting a minimum pace with teachers
- 14:54 Fitting my time into the master schedule
- 18:34 Be a better listener this week
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Questions this episode answers
How do you schedule mastery-based learning in a middle school?
Snow's middle school splits the day into class time, my time and team time. In my time, students work three days a week on their lowest subject and two days on ILP work. Team teachers stay with the same students from sixth to eighth grade as mentors.
How do you grade mastery-based learning when parents still want letter grades?
Snow's school sends two reports: a numeric grade from zero to 100 and a mastery report from MasteryConnect. Students who miss mastery at 80 percent go through remediation, and needing more tries lowers the numeric grade. Snow tells parents the mastery report is what matters.
How do you set a minimum pace in mastery-based learning?
Snow had each core teacher write a pacing guide for finishing the state standards. The minimum is about 25 percent mastered after each nine weeks. His school skipped a minimum pace in its first semester and found some students stalled, while others can still go as far as they want.
About Jerry Snow
District administrator at Piedmont City Schools in Alabama and former high school and middle school principal.
Links and resources