Spiral vs. Mastery

[ltatum]

Hello ladies!

We have only just begun our homeschooling journey (my oldest is almost four, and we are doing LHTH 2-3 days a week), so I admit I am quite new to the homeschool/education lingo. I've never been to a homeschool conference, or even a local homeschool group, and the what I've read about homeschooling comes from a multitude of inspiring homeschooling blogs & this encouraging board. I've also read a quarter of Educating the Whole-Hearted Child by Sally Clarkson.

So! Two of these new words I've encountered (here on the board) are "spiral" versus "mastery" -- as it pertains to... method? approach? (I'm guessing?) of a particular curriculum. Could someone explain the difference of these methods (or is it better called... approaches? philosophies? presentation of material?) and maybe even... pro's and con's, or why they matter? Is one better than the other? Or is one preferable depending on a particular child and his learning style? Does HoD or Charlotte Mason prefer "spiral" over "mastery" or use/recommend curricula with one over the other? Or is one approach better for one subject, while another is better for a different one? Will a curriculum come out and say they are "spiral" or "mastery" or is that something you as a home educator just need to know?

Thanks for your patience as I fumble over these new education vocabulary words.

Lacy

[tiffanieh]

The difference between the two is the approach it takes to learn a subject. In a Mastery type approach the student will learn everything thing there is to learn about the topic (ie. addition, or division, etc..) and will then go on to the next topic (ie. subtraction) without going back over the previous topics in too great of detail. The thought is once you've REALLY learned it, you don't need to repetition to keep going back over it...you move on.

Spiral approach has you briefly touching on a topic, learn a bit about it, then learn a bit more about another topic while still practicing the first topic you cover, and you keep adding to the amount of topics you cover all the while repeatedly going back over all the topics in review. For example, in math you wouldn't just study addition or subtraction, or fractions, but instead you'd have a daily dose of them all as you make your way to harder concepts continually spiraling back thru for review.

Did this make any sense?

Some learn better with a mastery program, while other kids really need a spiral approach. Neither one is superior...they both cover the same material, just in a different style.

[mrsrandolph]

Saxon Math is a spiral approach where content is constantly reviewed in subsequent lessons. I prefer this, especially for Math.

Math u See is mastery based. You get the concept and move on to the next, with less review of previously taught concepts.