Chapter 2 FIAE

Mastery does not mean simply echoing information like a parrot. Mastery is learning information, understanding it on a deep level, and applying that information in a realistic context. Gauging students’ understanding can be done with repeated assignments. The purpose of this repetition is meant to embed the information into a students’ mind. Another, more pragmatic, reason for repetition is to give educators the ability to track a students’ understanding. A pre-assessment establishes a base that educators build off. An end assignment will ultimately encapsulate a students’ understanding of the given topic.

            A current example is my mentor teacher’s unit. Our end goal is the students creating a podcast that describes their journey from Mount Blue High School to their homes or vice-versa. They must use their understandings of cardinal and secondary direction, appropriate landmarks, specific road names, and approximate directions. In preparation for this project we have assigned various worksheets, covered tools utilized by Google Earth, and allowed students to collaborate with each other. Our hope is that the students will be able to demonstrate this information in their personal directions home.

            When I become a first-year teacher I must examine the curriculum standards, consult with other colleagues, and determine which topics to stress and which to cursorily cover. This approach must also be taken when switching to a subject that I am unfamiliar with. An example being my mentor, who has taught Geography, World History, and American history. Over his many years he has amassed a wealth of knowledge on each subject from colleagues, research, and other sources. After each year he reevaluates his content to determine what to include in next year’s classes.