Over the last several years I have partnered with schools districts across the country to help them implement mastery learning. The goal of this work has been to help transform how learning happens in schools, transitioning from the current system that enables and measures teaching to one that cultivates and measures learning. I started this endeavor by developing a system called MasteryTrack, a dashboard that enables students, teachers, principals, and parents to instantly see where students are in their learning. Recently I have broadened my focus, and I now help organizations design and implement mastery-based training programs. My current personal mission is to transform how learning happens in modern societies. This applies to schools and organizations, but also to all of us as individuals. How should we think about learning, and how should we make it happen? It should all be based on mastery.

I have pulled together much of the work I have done into this Overview of Mastery Learning. It includes key frameworks, examples of mastery dashboards, specific steps for implementing mastery learning, and additional materials like a description of a mastery learning architecture. You can also see some examples of the key content below. I hope these resources can help people pursue their own journeys in implementing mastery learning!

Overview framework for mastery learning:

Steps for implementing mastery learning:

1. Define the job or role – what does someone in this role need to do?
2. Determine the qualifications for the role
   1. This could also be the requirements to get promoted into the role
   2. What does a person in this role (or a candidate for the role) need to know or be able to do? This person is the learner
   3. This could also include experience or dispositions required
   4. These are the learning objectives
3. Define what it means for a person (the learner) to meet these qualifications
   1. This could also be framed as mastering the learning objectives
4. Clarify how a learner can demonstrate that they have met the qualifications
   1. How will they show that they have mastered the learning objectives?
   2. This can be done in multiple ways
5. Determine how someone (a manager, an evaluator, a teacher) will assess whether the learner has met the qualifications
   1. How will they assess the demonstration of mastery by the learner?
6. Define the processes through which the learner can learn the content
   1. There can be multiple ways
7. List the resources the learner can use to learn and practice
8. Create a system, tool, or other structure to track and display the progress of the learners
   1. Simple structure
   2. Able to be reviewed quickly and easily in real time