Teacher is Unable to Check for Mastery to Inform Teaching Decisions

Teacher is Unable to Check for Mastery to Inform Teaching Decisions

When teachers do not use engagement techniques effectively, they do not have enough information to make informed teaching decisions about their students’ mastery. They may continue to teach the lesson without students understanding the content and lose valuable learning time as they need to go back and reteach content to ensure that students are firm. Without the progressive feedback provided by engagement techniques, teachers cannot safely assume that all students are at mastery.

The Problem is Compounded

Students develop gaps in their learning and are not brought to mastery as a group. When they move on to independent work, the teacher finds that not all students have mastered the content. They must go back and reteach that part of the lesson to ensure that students are firm. This results in less learning in that week. If the problem is not remedied, it affects learning time available in the term and year. Some teachers may choose to just move on, resulting in those students never learning the content. This affects students’ ability to make standard growth.