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Mastery learning in mathematics relies on teachers addressing children's gaps in prerequisite knowledge before an idea is taught. It seems to be accepted, understandably, that when the gaps get too great, mastery approaches are a non-starter. >>
>> This being the case, I wonder about what happens at the start of education. In my (admittedly limited) experience of working in KS1, gaps in number sense, spatial awareness, attention span, etc are often vast, to the point where addressing them before a new idea can be >>
>> learned is impossible without delaying the teaching of the new idea for a very long time. This is the case despite the excellent work undertaken in reception. (I'd go as far as to say that I found a mastery approach harder to implement in KS1 than in upper KS2, despite the >>
>> greater absolute gap in maths attainment in the latter.)
I suspect that for a mastery approach to mathematics to be successful in KS1, the prime areas (and number sense) focused upon in reception would need to be prioritised for significantly longer than they are, with >>
I suspect that for a mastery approach to mathematics to be successful in KS1, the prime areas (and number sense) focused upon in reception would need to be prioritised for significantly longer than they are, with >>
>> carefully judged focus on those children who need more support in these areas and a concomitant delay in formal instruction, perhaps until the latter stages of Y1. I wonder whether there are any other mastery advocates who would *disagree* with this assessment. >>
