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Chelsea

 * Abstract:** This chapter discussed mastery of content. The book defined mastery as “more than knowing information, of course, but it can even go beyond manipulating and applying that information successfully in other situations”(11). When students are able to apply and use information correctly they have mastered the content. It is important for mastery of content that teachers keep track of student’s progress and give multiple assignments to determine a student’s [|mastery].
 * Synthesis:** We all agreed that to determine student’s mastery of content it is important to ensure that students can use and apply the information in a substantive way. By evaluating the mastery of students, you can determine if they have truly mastered the content. We also all agreed that it is important to find [|resources] to determine what essential areas should be covered. It is important that we teach for our students to understand and not just to memorize. Mastery for us is the idea that students truly comprehend and are able to apply and analyze.

Amanda Martemucci
FIAE-Chapter 2: Chapter 2 discusses what mastery in learning is. Students are considered to have mastered a task or understanding when they are able to use the information correctly but in a substantive way. Just echoing exactly what it is not substantive. To gain evidence of a student’s mastery a teacher must give multiple assignments and keep track of the student’s progress along the way. Teachers also need to know what is important for their students to master. Resource such as looking at state standards is a good start. I think mastery is important in students. A teacher’s goal is to help his or her students to succeed, and I want my students to not just learn facts that they can reiterate; I want them to gain meaning and mastery out of what they are learning. It would make me feel accomplished as a teacher if I can do this.

Bridget
Chapter 2: Mastery Mastery is being able to use and apply knowledge in contexts other than the one it was learned in. Many different forms of assessment and tracking the progress of the student in multiple ways over time can determine mastery. Just because a student can complete a project or talk about a subject and sound knowledgeable does not mean they are. Using written responses helps to see how well students know something, because in writing, it is harder to graze over the parts one does not know. Students should be able to prove their mastery in multiple ways in a differentiated classroom. This means that I need to assess my students multiple times throughout a unit to make sure they are on the right track. It also means I will need to figure out how many ways to let them prove their knowledge.

Moe
I liked chapter 2 because it talks very bluntly about grades and what they really tell you as an educator. Wormeli tells us that “grades are momentary inferences at best” (11), and I must say that I believe him. All too often students learn material for tests and quizzes in order to get a good grade, and then forget everything within the next couple of months. Actual learning would produce maybe not perfect grades, but better long-term effects. Wormeli dives in to the difference between mastery and non-mastery, stating that mastery is the ability for a student to take what they have learned and apply it to many different situations. As a new teacher I must consult many resources to help us decide what the students’ should be mastering, and what isn’t as important.

Kristen
In chapter 2 Wormeli tells us that there is a difference between a student performing well on a test and a student mastering the information or lesson. Its good for a teacher to be able to see when a student has mastered the subject and that is not an easy thing to do. Teachers have to evaluate whether students are proficient in each facet of understanding: explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy and self-knowledge. Students must be able to provide answers, examples and explanations to why their knowledge is correct. Memorization is not mastery for the student. Teachers must consult with their colleagues and examine what they think mastery of their subject is and they need to keep up to date on new information in their subject because there may be new ideas and methods that will help a student master the subject along the way.

Chelsea
This book defines mastery as “more than knowing information, of course, but it can even go beyond manipulating and applying that information successfully in other situations”(11). In order to master a subject we should be able to: access, analyze, evaluate and create (12), this can be done through different facets of DI. Students should be able to demonstrate proficiency of understanding by using all six different facets. Teachers should also be clear in their objectives for students understanding and learning. By creating clear and concise objectives teachers are able to aim for mastery of a concept with students with a clear plan. Objectives make mastery of a concept clear for both teachers and students.

Kevin
Chapter 2 is about mastery, proof of learning is shown through mastery of concepts but how as a teacher do we really know if a student has mastered something. The author makes the case that if something is to be truly mastered students need to be able to analyze, evaluate, and create it. The importance should not be put on whether a student can merely repeat a task, instead it should be whether can demonstrate something substantial, if they can go beyond merely what was taught and make their own applications. The author makes the point that in trying to find ways to evaluate mastery it is important to return what are the essential and enduring aspects of the lesson. It is impossible for students to master everything in a unit this is why it is important to be able to determine what is most important to master, and assess only those things. This whole idea about mastery has the most application for how students should be assessed. I want to make sure that what I am grading them on is what was truly important in the unit that my mode of assessment is actually giving me some representation of their learning.

Christina
Chapter two of Fair isn’t Always Equal defines mastery and talks of evidence that supports it. Mastery, according to the authors, is “more than knowing information… it can go beyond manipulating and applying that information successfully in other situations” (p. 11). This reflects the six facets of true understanding listed in Integrating Differentiated Instruction & Understanding by Design: explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge. In order to determine if a student truly understands, or has mastered, a topic, the evidence must come from multiple assessments that express each understanding. The last section of this chapter discussed how to determine what is important to master. As new teachers, it is important to use outside resources, such as colleagues, curriculum guides, and standards of learning, to determine essential areas that should be mastered, and others that should be covered.

Jesika
In this chapter I learned that mastery is not simply knowing information, but being able to understand, manipulate and apply that information in new and innovative ways. The author used the six facets that we learned in class to explain one component of mastery. Though he advises us not to confuse lots of hard work with actual mastery. This is applicable to both my classroom and myself. It will be difficult to see which I am seeing, mastery or hard work, but I will have to see the difference in my classroom if I want to make sure my students are actually learn what I am trying to teach.