The Most Effective Mastery Teaching Methods

Here are descriptions of our unique, research-based teaching methods

Direct Instruction

The world’s most effective teaching method based on more than 40 years of scientific evidence. Originally developed in the late 1960s by Siegfried Engelmann at the University of Illinois (and later Oregon), this accelerated learning method was one of nine instructional models studied over two decades in the U.S. government’s massive $1 billion Follow Through Project (the longest, most expensive education research ever conducted). This study and many others found Direct Instruction is the most consistently effective method for teaching basic and advanced skills in reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, language development and self-esteem. MasterMind Prep uses Direct Instruction curriculum developed by leading Direct Instruction authors, including Michael Maloney, Bob Dixon and Terry Dodds. Features include:

  • Homogeneous skill grouping. Students are placed individually or in small groups with others at a skill or ability level where they can succeed and advance as quickly as possible.
  • Scripted or highly structured lesson plans. Teachers follow lessons that have been field-tested to ensure the best language and sequence to present information clearly so that students understand it in the shortest period of time
  • Intense, repetitive student interaction. Fast-paced lessons maximize time-on-task with a fun, interactive style in which teachers model concepts and ask students to repeat orally or in writing via chat or polling so the teacher can immediately determine which students master the content and which do not.
  • Immediate error correction. Teachers correct errors immediately in a positive way by re-teaching skills and concepts so that students are not confused.
  • Teaching to mastery. Students or groups do not move ahead until each student achieves 90% mastery of the material. Students may be retaught or regrouped to focus on their needs.

Adaptive Learning with Knowledge Space Theory

Rooted in ground-breaking research in mathematical cognitive science in the 1980′s by Professor Jean-Claude Falmagne at New York University and the University of California, Irvine and Professor Jean-Paul Doignon at the University of Brussels. This mathematical theory was created with several National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, and more than three hundred scientific papers and books have been published on the subject. MasterMind Prep uses complex math software based on Knowledge Space Theory that is capable of efficiently and accurately assessing math knowledge. As students work through problems and content in the software, algorithms recognize what they can master and continually test the “outer fringe”  of what they know. When they make errors, the software “adapts” by presenting similar content until it is mastered.

Behavior Analysis (also called Applied Behavior Analysis)

Rooted in the work of legendary behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner, this method is based on the belief that learning occurs best with order, success and positive reinforcement. Students know what is expected of them behaviorally, are held accountable for their performance and are constantly engaged as instruction is aligned for them to succeed. Behavior Analysis includes simple rules, communication and correction procedures to quickly and efficiently keep students on task. Corrections and feedback are made immediately but positively. Success is recognized with tangible rewards to improve student motivation and confidence. This method was recognized by Project Follow Through as the second most effective instructional method studied.

Precision Teaching

Uses a student’s own performance data (some call it “the learner knows best”) to set specific baseline skill levels and goals and to accelerate skill fluency, which is defined as accuracy plus speed. Like in medicine (i.e. measuring a heartbeat), Precision Teaching provides numerical performance fluency standards, frequent practice and a consistent method of recording, analyzing and making decisions based on student performance data. In Precision Teaching, developed by Ogden Lindsley at Kansas University more than 40 years ago, teachers (or students) take a timed sample of performance (we call them “fluencies”) in a variety of academic skills and behaviors such as oral reading or math facts. Students chart progress that compares current with past performance and shows trend lines toward individual fluency goals and errors.

Think Aloud Problem Solving (TAPS)

An advanced method for teaching critical thinking, reasoning, problem-solving and comprehension developed more than 40 years ago by Arthur Whimbey, a cognitive psychologist, author and leader in the critical thinking movement. Using elements of cooperative learning, TAPS teaches students to break down and think through complex thoughts and problems out loud while working with the teacher or another student and to draw graphics of what they are solving. It gives them immediate feedback on their reasoning process and accelerates their skills in a logical, sequential order. In some ways, it is similar to Lindamood-Bell’s Visualization and Verbalization method.

Programmed Instruction

A self-directed method of study also developed by Skinner that uses precisely designed curriculum sequences that introduce information so failure is radically minimized. Students learn and build confidence by being successful. Similar in philosophy to Direct Instruction, the method presumes certain foundational knowledge and is a mastery approach, in which students interactively check their own answers before turning to the teacher for feedback and review. It is more effective with older students who need to accelerate skills but do not need foundational skills.