Mastery learning: what is it? Well, the concept is quite easy: Students learn to master a variety of skill sets before going onto other areas of learning. Mastery learning tests are administered to each student to ensure they have reached a certain level of mastery. If the test is not passed, a repeat test is given until the respective student passes.

Introduced by educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom around 1968 as a theory that would reduce achievement gaps between students, mastery learning has become a very popular school of thought. In a mastery-learning classroom, teachers track a sequence of concepts and skills in certain individuals. After the initial instruction is given and the instructor feels his or her students have reached a point where they are ready for testing, an assessment is handed out which usually gives students an idea of what is to be presented to them in the future. Students are also able to give feedback which helps teachers identify where their students are struggling and can pinpoint ineffective strategies.

Mastery learning is a well-documented tool used widely in education systems around the world, including the realm of special needs learning. However, maintaining complete cooperation while implementing mastery learning into a program working with special needs children can prove difficult without the utilization of proper methods. To understand this, one must first address the reasons for why a student may resist learning, ranging from parental divorce, anger, self-esteem issues, attention deficit, peer pressure or depression. With a recent study by the Huffington Post showing that 45% of college students feel as if they don’t learn much while attending school, it’s clear that some revitalization is in order.

But what about students and their desire to learn? That desire is generally rooted from the first time they step into a classroom. Students held up to high, yet realistic, expectations and who have teachers who respond to their work with constructive and engaging criticism is fundamental in not just mastery learning theory but education systems as a whole. Certainly, motivating students by responding to their work will lower a student’s anxiety and resistance level in a classroom. Teachers can respond to a student’s work with rewards, encouragement and reinforcement.

Educators should cultivate a student’s individual ability to learn. Based on the above understanding of motivation, learning, and resistance combined with increased advancements as a student surpasses each task placed before them, teaching should be goal based and aimed at changing behavior which establishes lasting learning experiences. Teachers should also establish positive ways of breaking walls prevalent in resistant learners by giving problematic students a reason to act, creating enthusiasm in the teaching and learning processes. This also taps into forces determining behavior such as biological, emotional, cognitive, or social forces that activate and direct behavior.

So what can be done to implement mastery learning techniques? Most teachers do have the understanding that learning comes naturally to anyone who is motivated to do so. We’re picking up information about our environment, calculating correlations and contingencies, in a naive but essentially scientific process of experimentation and statistical analysis, formulating, testing, and revising theories about how the world and how we work. This attempt to predict and control, established effort and the search for meaning, is the essence of the learning process.
Learning comes naturally, but teachers can play a role in creating an optimal environment for learning to occur. That includes the student’s values, goals, and motives; and it also includes the interpersonal and institutional framework in which the individual student’s learning activities take place. And, bringing us back to cognition much depends on how these social factors are perceived. The interests, values, goals, and motives that students bring to the learning environment are at least as important as the abilities and strategies that they bring to the task of learning.

Mastery learning theorists and practitioners clearly (and forcefully) assert that a mastery approach is useful for any subject and for higher-order thinking skills. Any project that uses mastery learning only in the service of a few subjects or in simple recall areas is doing it a disservice. Benjamin Bloom’s major criticism stated that many teachers and programs in the US tend to focus only on the first and second levels of cognitive thinking. Thus, in some instances, mastery learning in special needs activities could be open to this same criticism, but requires persistence and perseverance to achieve any sort of substantial positive result.

Autism is a growing health issue among young children in the United States and around the world. This disorder is typically diagnosed in a child’s early years of development. The disorder in some children tends to be more severe than others. However, most children suffer from similar impairments when it comes to social interactions, activities and verbal development.

Children with autism have problems with cognitive thinking and processing information. Sometimes, they can become overwhelmed and anxious. That is why these children need the tools and resources to alleviate their anxiety and assist them in dealing with the outside world.

Learn Photography

Art therapy is highly recommended as an intervention for autistic children. Activities that are more visual such as painting or encouraging children to learn photography work well. This provides the child with an opportunity to express his or her creativity. It also helps the child to reduce the stress and frustration that results from autism.

Since many children with autism tend to have problems with language development, finding an artistic outlet for them can help them express their feelings and thoughts.

Art therapy, which includes activities such as drawing or photography, is an advanced and imaginative way for autistic children to discover and take advantage of a new way to learn. Most of these children do not do well with auditory learning. Therefore, it is strongly advised that instructors also use visual materials to accomplish clear and concise instructions.

For example, the instructor can use photographs, pictures and drawings to communicate with the child as it relates to understanding the flow of classroom activities. The child can view photographs to learn different sequences: what was just done, what is being done and what will be done next. This facilitates the child’s sense of structure, continuity and confidence.  

Autistic children should be provided with photographs of a favored object, which they can identify with. Many children prefer to draw pictures on paper because it requires less sensory processing. However, later, the instructor can introduce art lessons that teach children about photography or even how to sculpt clay.

If the child is uninterested in an activity, it may cause the child to exhibit inappropriate behavior. Therefore, since each child will have different personal taste, it will be a trial and error situation for both teacher and child. The instructor should continue to foster interaction until the child can express his or her preference.

Hands-on assistance

An autistic child requires a very structured program with importance placed on the methodical demonstration of materials. The classroom size has to be smaller than a regular classroom program. This allows the instructor to provide individualized attention to each child.

Art therapy promotes and encourages social connection between the therapist and the autistic child. As the child begins to new ways to express themselves and views it as something positive, it will be easier for both instructor and student. The child will become more motivated to learn and the child will enjoy this particular process of learning.

It’s a sad state of affairs indeed when a dispute arises between students vs. schools, but that’s where we find ourselves. Although special needs children make up about 10% of our population of students, special education is much harder to come by than one would think. Rarely do students in need of special education actually get it — and if they do, it’s usually because their parents fought tooth and nail (make that tooth, nail, and lawsuit) for them to get it — it’s a broken system.

According to a report from California Legislative Analyst’s office, approximately, 1 in 10 students  (which adds up to just under 700,000 in the state of California alone) needs special education — which would be fine if the laws did what they were supposed to do: federal law states that children with special needs must be provided a free and appropriate public education — ever since the Individuals with Disabilities Act (or IDEA) was passed. But is that what we see happening in real life? No — since 2010, a staggering 10,000 families have gone to court to fight for their child’s right to education.

There aren’t enough resources allocated towards education in order for each child to get the attention they need and deserve. Federal funding is supposed to cover 40% of special education costs, but in reality only covers a measly 17% — a pittance that doesn’t leave for much wiggle room. Unfortunately, it’s the kids (and their parents) that suffer the costs of this dearth of funding.

While special education students have a wide variety of needs, they tend to get lumped together — autistic children are often placed in classes for emotionally disturbed kids, two groups in need of different kinds of attention and support . It has come to the point where getting ignored is the accepted protocol — parents try again and again to get their child the attention they need, and are refused again and again, until finally the school relents — this little dance even has its own name: “Delay and Deny.” What a phrase to associate with education! The process of Delay-Deny is so widespread that the federal Department of Special Education even issued a memo forbidding it — even so, it’s easier said than done, and parents are still forced to go head-to-head with their schools and school districts.  And how long do these battles last?  Not weeks (and certainly not days), not months, but years.  Valuable years that the child in question will never get back.

And time isn’t the only issue: in Bay Area districts alone, hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent on lawsuits. A complete waste of money, especially when you factor in the fact that special education costs a mere fraction of that.

While special education has become much more of an issue than would be optimal (especially since the passing of IDEA), there’s hope: the Concerned Parents Association is filing a lawsuit against the California Department of Education, in the hopes of effecting some permanent change within our education system. Here’s to hoping this will make a difference.

Being a parent is challenging, but being a parent to a child with special needs presents its own set of unique challenges.

No matter what type of disability your child has – moderate or severe – you want to make sure that she is receiving the best opportunities possible. This, of course, includes her education. Children with special needs often suffer from a lack of motivation when it comes to learning.

They may feel like they aren’t being challenged enough, or they may feel as if they simply can’t achieve the goals that are set forth for them as a result of their disability. This lack of motivation can have a huge impact on the education of a special needs child.

If you are struggling with this issue with your child, you may be wondering how to get a grip on it. With proper planning and fun and realistic strategies, you can create a special education timeline that will help your special needs child achieve and succeed in her educational endeavors.

1.       Get Her Involved:

The best thing that you can do to motivate your child is to get her involved with her education. Ask her what her goals are and what she hopes to achieve. Ask her what her interests are. Let her help to pick out courses of study and to create an action plan that will allow her to successfully achieve her goals.

The more involved she is in her education, the more accountable she will feel and the more motivated she will be.

2.       Discuss Goals:

Discuss her goals, as well as your goals. What she wants to achieve is important, but what you want her to achieve is also important. Of course, you don’t want to pressure her or make her feel obligated to do something that she has no interested in doing, as this will only contribute to her lack of motivation. However, it is important that you let her know what you hope for her.

Together, you can create a timeline for her to follow that will allow her to achieve her goals.

3.       Be a Coach:

The last thing you want to do is stress your child out by being too overbearing; however, you are going to want to be her coach. Cheer her on. Let her know that she is doing a good job. If she falls off course, gently guide her back on.

Be her support system, but don’t overstep your bounds, as this can make an already unmotivated child even less motivated.

4.       Offer Rewards:

Rewards do have their place, and they can be quite useful when trying to motivate an unmotivated special needs child.

Choose rewards that are beneficial. Don’t offer something superficial for achieving a goal; rather, off something that will further benefit her. For example, if she achieves her goal of getting a specific grade on a history test, reward her with a trip to a museum so she can have a first-hand experience with the history she learned.

5.       Make it Fun:

Nobody likes to complete work that is boring and mundane. If your special needs child is offered boring work, she will very likely be unmotivated to do it.

Try to make tasks as fun and enjoyable as possible. Going on a scavenger hunt to find geometric shapes around the house is much more appealing than completing a stack of worksheets that ask her to circle pictures of geometric shapes. Even if her workload requires completing mundane worksheets, create a fun activity that she can participate in beforehand.

She will be more eager to apply what she learned from the activity to her worksheet, making the worksheet seem less mundane.

If your special needs child is suffering from a lack of motivation, employing these techniques will help to ignite the fire in her desire to achieve and succeed.  

It’s that time of year again. Many families around the world are pulling out totes full of Christmas decorations and preparing for another season of frivolity and traditions—many of which may have been passed down for generations. And while, for some families, these traditions are a cherished opportunity to spend time together, for the families of children with special needs, they can sometimes be stressful and difficult.

So, what’s a parent to do? Throw in the towel? Give up on years of tradition and treat Christmas just like any other day? You can do that, of course. Or, you could create your own traditions that speak to the needs of your family. 

Holiday Decorating

Decorating the house for the holiday can be a wonderful way to encourage creativity and even help with dexterity. When putting ornaments on the tree, pick treasures that are appropriate to your child’s abilities and allow him or her to hook the pieces onto the branches. If small ornaments and Christmas hooks are too manually challenging, try using favorite toys or dolls and simply have your child place them in the branches of the tree.

While you’re decorating the rest of the house, enlist your child’s help. If some of the decorations themselves are too fragile for him/her to handle, allow your child to make some of the decisions about which pretties to use and where they should go. Not only will this allow them to exercise their creativity, it will give him or her a sense of pride and help them understand that their role in these family traditions—and in the family itself– is very important.

Baking Christmas Goodies

Special treats are an important part of most family’s holiday traditions. And what could be more fun for your little one than getting elbow-deep in cookie dough and churning out some of those treats themselves? Yes, chances are the mess in the kitchen is going to be considerable, and it’s possible that your cookies will be more tasty than attractive. But who cares?

Kneading dough, greasing cookie sheets and smelling the lovely scents of ginger, clove and cardamom can be fun and intriguing sensory experiences. And, your kids won’t even realize that they’re actually practicing their motor skills as they use raisins, candies and frosting to decorate their creations. You can even use gingerbread men to practice learning some of the parts of the body—eyes, arms, legs, feet and hands.

Express Your Gratitude and Appreciation

The holidays are a perfect time to begin teaching your child about gratitude. At Christmas dinner, you can have everyone in your family share something that they’re grateful for or something that they love about other members of the family. You can also discuss special memories that everyone shares and ask your children why those particular memories are meaningful.

Giving Back

Giving back is what the holidays are all about—and they provide a perfect opportunity to teach your child about helping others. You can make a donation to a local charity in the family’s name, discuss several different charity organizations with your child and let him/her help you decide which one to contribute to, or take a trip to the grocery store and have your little ones help pick out special foods to include in a box for the food bank. Even more personally, with your child’s help, gather up toys that he or she has outgrown and donate them to a homeless shelter.

With a few adjustments and a little patience, holiday traditions can be a great way to help your special needs child learn new skills, feel connected to other people and strengthen relationships.