"Mastery: Why Deeper Learning is Essential in an Age of Distraction" is a compelling deep dive into the science of learning, with clear practical ideas for how leaders and educators can leverage these insights in classrooms and the workplace.

“Mastery” begins by anchoring the reader into a review of how the current educational system in the Western world got to how it is today. In this overview, the reader is introduced to the ways in which the current popular approach to thinking about learning is flawed and damaging.

The authors then take their key mastery learning principles and illustrate what it could look like if various systems were reimagined with these principles in mind. From kindergarten through 8th grade, secondary school, university settings, to adult learning in the workplace, they do a thorough look at each setting and how a mastery learning approach could make a difference.

The key pillars of mastery learning are intuitive and straight-forward (give learners agency, deliberate practice and feedback loops, focus on proficiency not on the time it takes to learn). These strategies are underpinned by 3 enabling mindsets and philosophical approaches to learning (growth mindset, grit, curiosity).

I really liked how well the authors integrate several important concepts from the last 20-30 years’ research in education and human development in a cohesive way. I’d previously encountered concepts like growth mindset, grit, and deliberate practice, but I hadn’t before seen these ideas brought together in this way before. It makes a lot of sense and the relationships between these ideas are explained clearly and with plenty of examples.

Overall, I found this a strong contribution to the field of learning sciences and human development studies. The authors do a nice job of weaving in theory and real life examples and case studies to bring each idea to life.

I’d recommend this book to school administrators, leaders in higher education, and HR/organizational development professionals eager to support learning in a workplace setting. There are a lot of useful takeaways and practical insights that this book offers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wonderful book full of information that many might find old and repetitive, but for those, give it a chance. You will learn a lot from its pages.