Explain what Mastering does and set student expectations

Updated 19 Feb 2024

Mastering assignment content:

  • Guides students through the solution of multi-step items with on-demand hints and feedback for wrong answers (unlike printed assignments)
  • Encourages students to work through items, moving incrementally toward a procedural understanding of problem types
  • May include Adaptive Follow-Up assignments that are targeted individually to provide another chance to learn or practice material where students showed weakness
  • Helps students improve test scores when compared with traditional written and hand-graded homework
  • Automatically scores student responses (except free-form answers), and lets you determine when/whether students can see their scores

Mastering can help you to stop students from falling too far behind.
When available, use Early Alerts to check for students who may be at risk in the course. Color coding in the Gradebook reveals students in trouble. Diagnostics View shows problem areas for the class as a whole.

It's very helpful to let students know that statistically only about 20% of students like Mastering in the first weeks of the course. This is not surprising; students have to do more work because Mastering is tutoring them.

The combination of unfamiliar, difficult material and a new way of working can initially make students unsure of themselves. However, according to studies of courses that use Mastering:

  • Student approval rises to over 90% by the last weeks.
  • Student grades rise by about 27%.
  • For course material, student grades rise by 5–7 points—a full grade.
  • Have the whole class do the Introduction to Mastering assignment together and discuss it.
  • Explain how grading works, how scores are calculated, and how scores are displayed on the Scores page for standard Mastering assignments. Also point out where students can see an assignment's Grading Policy.
  • Explain that Adaptive Follow-Up assignments (if available in your course) are targeted individually to provide another chance to learn or practice material where a student showed weakness, so he or she doesn't fall behind.
  • Reassure students that the time they spend on Mastering assignments provides more feedback, more chances to get the right answer, and more learning. The result is better understanding and better exam scores.