Overview
Mastery learning is a way of designing units of work so that each set of tasks focuses on a particular learning objective and students must master a task to move onto the next one. By monitoring student progress through informal and formal assessments, teachers can provide additional support or enrichment to students depending on their level of mastery.
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
Why mastery learning works
Understanding the science behind learning and memory can help teachers understand why mastery learning is an effective teaching technique that improves student learning by responding to the ways the brain acquires, stores, and retrieves information.
Long-term memory
Long-term memory is the system that handles persistent memories of experiences and ideas. Long-term memory is a network of overlapping information with many rich connections. There does not seem to be any limit to the amount or complexity of information that can be stored in long-term memory. Forgetting has more to do with accessing memories than having enough space for them.
In the image below, think of the circles as ideas, and the connections in each colour as one of the overlapping memories, made up of several ideas.

Long-term memories are relatively stable and tend to come out the same way they went in, meaning that it can be difficult to adapt existing information to new situations. With time and repeat use, information in long-term memory can change, becoming generalised or less dependent on a specific context. Information can also be lost over time or changed by interference from other memories (particularly those which overlap).
Memories of experiences, which are heavily tied to a context, are known as episodic memories. Semantic memory, on the other hand, is the store of general or concept knowledge, which is less specifically tied to a single context. Procedural knowledge is another form which memory can take, containing knowledge of how to perform various tasks and skills at conscious and unconscious levels. For example, not all the knowledge required to ride a bike is something that you could easily put into words – some of that information is unconscious or ‘implicit’.
Working memory
Working memory (WM) is a fast and flexible system which we use to represent and manipulate information. Unlike long-term memory, WM is strictly limited in capacity and is not a persistent store, so information must be moved to long-term memory for lasting storage (see consolidation). Working memory can be thought of as using 'chunks' to represent information, though the amount of information that can fit into a single chunk varies. In general, the more parts and ideas that are involved, the more chunks will be required, but there is an exception for previously learned information from long-term memory, which can be heavily condensed.

For instance, learning about 'mammals' might initially require separate chunks for different features (vertebrate, milk, hair, etc.), but once children are familiar with the concept, 'mammal' could be represented as a single chunk, using the idea from long-term memory. There is substantial debate over the exact number of chunks that working memory can handle, but it is clear that it can be overloaded and that managing the burden can improve learning (see cognitive load theory).
Example of working memory
When you first meet someone, you use working memory to store the new name and face, but because this space is limited, it is hard to learn a lot of new names and faces at once. On the other hand, when you know all the students in your class, their names and faces are already in long-term memory, and you can easily use all that information.
Memory types diagram

In this diagram each circle is a ‘chunk’ of information. In this example, one ‘chunk’ in the working memory is a complex concept from long-term memory made up of multiple connected pieces of information, and others are new information.
Cognitive overload
Working memory is what we use to learn new ideas and manipulate information. Working memory has limited capacity.
When we are required to manage a lot of new information, we can run out of space in our working memory. The scientific term for this is cognitive overload. If you are cognitively overloaded, learning can suffer, and it can be harder to move information to long-term memory.
Cognitive overload
Working memory is what we use to learn new ideas and manipulate information. Working memory has limited capacity.
When we are required to manage a lot of new information, we can run out of space in our working memory. The scientific term for this is cognitive overload. If you are cognitively overloaded, learning can suffer, and it can be harder to move information to long-term memory.
Consolidation
Consolidation involves changing memories from a temporary working memory into a lasting long-term memory.
During consolidation, important memories are revisited, reducing their chance of being forgotten, and non-essential information is removed.
This process mostly occurs while people sleep, but there is growing evidence that some consolidation can also occur during waking rest. The term waking rest is used to describe someone who is not actively involved in an activity.
Mastery learning is effective across a variety of contexts
To understand whether mastery learning is effective across a variety of contexts, AERO conducted a review of 81 studies. The review found that mastery learning is an effective teaching practice across a variety of contexts and for different subgroups of students. Studies conducted across various locations suggest that mastery learning:
- has a positive impact on achievement in mathematics, sciences, social studies and English and foreign languages
- works for primary and secondary students
- is effective particularly for lower achieving students, with higher achieving students also benefitting.
Because of this, mastery learning is likely to work in most contexts.
Research
Mastery learning has a strong evidence base that meets AERO’s highest standards of evidence. For more information about the evidence base, see below:
Tried and Tested practice guide
Annotated reference list
Using the practice
To be effective, mastery learning needs to be implemented well. See below some ‘things to know’ when using the practice.
Snapshots of practice
Mastery learning may look different in different contexts. See below examples of Mastery learning in a variety of classrooms and settings:
Example of practice
Mastery learning at Trinity College
Implementation tools
Here you will find tools to help you implement mastery learning in your classroom or setting.