Teach Effectively!

Several years ago I published a paper for some folks. Carl Binder, Elizabeth Haughton, and Barbara Bateman had written Fluency: Achieving True Mastery in the Learning Process and were looking for a way to disseminate it. It’s been out in the wild since 2002 and I know a few folks have read it. But lots more folks should read it, in my view. So I’m issuing a reminder about it here.

How can you tell whether someone has truly mastered a skill? What is the measurable indicator that a person really knows how to do something? These questions should be at the heart of every teaching decision, every observation of a child’s performance, and every evaluation we make about the success of an educational program. Yet for many educators, and certainly for most parents, answers to these questions are anything but clear. Most of us have grown up in a “percentage correct world” where 100% correct is the best anyone can do. But is perfect accuracy the definition of mastery? Or is there another dimension that makes the difference? In fact, we see many children and adults who can perform skills and demonstrate knowledge accurately enough – given unlimited time to do so. But the real difference that we see in expert performers is that they behave fluently – both accurately and quickly, without hesitation.

This is a marvelous work. It presents something that is both sophisticated and simple. It presents it in a clearly readable fashion. It’s true to the evidence. It’s good work. Get your copy of it here: PDF. It’s free. It’s quick. It’s likely to be beneficial if you teach students who need to achieve mastery.