The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

Mastery

Robert Slavin

Leave no pupils behind: the principles (and limits) of a mastery approach

If all pupils are to master the prerequisite skills for important lessons, teachers must have the resources to help them reach the same baseline. When giving a lesson, all teachers face a dilemma. Some pupils will master all the lesson content, some will learn it partially and others will not learn...
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Rebecca Carver

Helping all pupils to master maths

Primary teacher Rebecca Carver explains how combining a mastery approach with creative strategies can help all pupils to succeed in this often problematic subject. Using the Mathematics Mastery approach, we set the same learning objectives for every child in every lesson. All children get the same...
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Liz Worthen

From differentiation tips to mastery: the changing world of gifted and talented

Liz Worthen takes a reflective look back at what’s changed (and what hasn’t) in regards to stretch and challenge for more able pupils. When the gifted and talented initiative launched , back in the heady new Labour days of 1999, our first (and ongoing challenge) was the name itself: what did it...
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