About this guide

Mastery learning starts with unit design, a hardly surprising notion. Design a unit of work with clear, specific learning outcomes and encourage students to meet the success criteria before moving on. This simple but powerful concept helps students build a deeper understanding of course content. 

However, any teacher will attest that no matter how well-designed a task, class, or unit is, there is an uncontrollable element. No shock that the element in question is the students within the classroom. This article is going to unpack how to encourage students to move beyond surface-level learning, no matter what task is presented to them. 

Understanding the difference

The concept of deep and surface learning originated from a series of experiments by Marton and Saljo in 1976. They found that learners engaged in two types of processing, either deep or surface. Surface learners are typically focused on memorising key concepts and reproducing information for tests without seeking a more profound understanding. In contrast, deep learners aim to thoroughly understand, analyse, and make meaningful connections between concepts. The approach each student takes comes down to their intention as well as the task (Dolmans et al.2015). While educators focus on curating learning tasks that encourage deep learning, this is not always possible, or students' intentions might not change. So, how do we encourage deep learning in all students, regardless of the task?

Fostering deep learning 

Pose questions, don’t give answers

Presenting students with questions, rather than answers, is one way to encourage students to engage more deeply with course content (Dolmans et al. 2015). This can be done for whole units by teaching the curriculum through problem-based learning, with research showing this to be effective in combating surface-level understanding. However, if you don’t have time to redesign whole units, posing exploratory questions and engaging in discussions before completing pre-established class tasks can push students to think more critically during the lesson (Odidovna, 2023). 

The types of questions teachers ask here matter. Avoid closed questioning styles and focus on thoughtful, open-ended questions. An example of a great questioning style is Socratic questioning. This questioning approach can be used when seeking clarification from students, challenging assumptions, uncovering evidence or consequences, gaining perspective and pushing for depth. 

Teachers can use this at the start of lessons and even throughout, and the benefit here is that it doesn’t matter what the original learning task is as it can be applied to a broad range of situations. 

Looking for  ideas? Download your free questioning cheat sheet, with techniques that deepen thinking, support conceptual understanding, and generate opportunities for mastery learning.

Struggle with purpose 

Creating true mastery will result in some discomfort for students. This feeling can often overwhelm them, and they will turn to their teachers for immediate answers and feedback. The challenge here is not to rescue them too soon. Allow students to embrace the learning curve and develop some grit by normalising failure and a lack of understanding as part of the learning journey. When we go in too quickly to help students find the answers, we are accessing surface-level learning, which is not the goal. 

For students who find the content (rather than the process) challenging, scaffolding can be a huge help. By scaffolding content with graphic organisers, sentence starters or providing key words, teachers can help students achieve mastery without leaving students to flounder. 

Atomi tip→ Assinging short Atomi videos to specific students can help build their content understanding and confidence in approaching more conceptual thinking. 

Promote feedback over marks

When students become overly focused on marks, they tend to lose sight of the purpose of a task, class or subject. When marks are the main source of validation and communication to students, they hyperfocus on assessment tasks and their outcomes. While these are important, particularly as students move into senior years of school, they promote surface-level learning. 

By highlighting the value of timely and actionable formative feedback, students can reflect on their learning and make any necessary adjustments. Leveraging online learning platforms can make this seamless for educators and help reduce workload. For example, Atomi’s AI feedback tool provides students with real-time, immediate and actionable feedback that can plug learning gaps and encourage reflection. 

Encourage metacognition 

It is important to develop students' metacognitive skills to help transition them from surface-level understanding to true mastery. Metacognitive strategies, simply described as ‘thinking about thinking,’ encourage learners to be more aware of the learning process. Strategies such as self-checklists, reflective journals or learning logs encourage students to pause and reflect on what they know, and where they need to spend more careful revision time. By embedding these tasks routinely, students slowly become more aware of their learning and make critical adjustments where necessary. 

Metaconitive strategies not only increase student academic outcomes but also foster a sense of independence, empowering young learning to become self-directed learners who are more resilient, challenge and actively seek out more profound understanding on their own (Evidence for learning, 2021). Atomi’s strengths scores help students to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses. Students can make decisions around where they should spend their time by highlighting key learning areas that require revision at the top of course pages. This offloads this task from the teacher and puts more responsibility on the student, making them more involved in their learning journey. 

Atomi tip → Not sure where to start? Here are a few resources that can help you encourage students to think critically about their learning:

• Exam mistakes reviewer 
• Past paper checklist 

The learning vs reality link 

Students are more likely to engage with learning tasks when they understand why or how they are relevant to the world around them. Connecting classroom concepts to authentic contexts makes learning more meaningful. These contexts can include real-world problems, current issues or community problems. 

Whenever possible, our Atomi videos and lessons include relevant case studies and real-world examples to highlight the “why” behind the “what”. In doing so, students are more motivated to master the material than simply memorise it. This is because they seek to understand and unpack what is happening around them. 

The end goal 

If we want students to move beyond the superficial and into meaningful learning, we need to curate learning experiences that invite them to think deeply and question boldly. Mastery is a mindset, a habit of approaching the world with curiosity and reflection. The challenge for educators is not just to cover content but to cultivate an environment where students are encouraged to uncover meaning. This is easier said than done with the long list of competing priorities. However, by leveraging technology thoughtfully and strategically, teachers can create a mastery learning environment without feeling overwhelmed.