Chapter 2 FIAE

Mastery seems like an impossible task to accomplish and measure. I think the author is entirely correct when he says that mastery goes past just;  knowing and relaying facts, manipulating knowledge, and applying information. Mastery is fluid thing because you can never know every little detail about a topic. The closest we can come to true mastery is understanding. Understanding is talked about in “Understanding by Design” and is explained using the six facets; explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge. The use of these six facets is to help educators have a basis for knowing when students have shown proficiency and understanding of a subject. Once the students are capable of all these things they are considered to have shown mastery in the topic even if they do not know every little fact.
I liked reading through the questions about what type of assessment would be considered most appropriate for looking at mastery. I think that most of the examples that were given would show some sort of understanding but none of the activities alone would show true mastery of the subject.  It is also important to understand what types of things are worth mastering. In Chemistry for example, I would want all of my students to master Stoichiometry because it is a backbone to all other chemistry.   Certain subjects that are foundations for others are important to master because without a solid base there is no room for mastery in other topics. Sor students that I know will be advancing in Chemistry or other science fields I would make sure they are able to succeed with the amount of mastery I am giving them.


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