1.1 - Mastery Learning¶

Before we begin this computer graphics textbook, let’s discuss the basic learning philosophy on which it is based.

In a traditional education system, all students work through material at the same pace and then take an exam. A student’s score on the exam is hopefully a reflection of how much the student has learned. In any case, the student is expected to go on to the next topic’s material, even if they have large gaps in understanding of the material they were just tested on. This lack of understanding of fundamental knowledge makes learning higher level concepts very challenging and in some cases impossible. Is there a better approach? Consider “mastery learning.”

Definition

Mastery learning maintains that students must achieve a level of mastery (e.g., 100% on a knowledge test) in prerequisite knowledge before moving forward to learn subsequent information. If a student does not achieve mastery on the test, they are given additional support in learning and reviewing the information and then tested again. This cycle continues until the learner accomplishes mastery. Upon mastery a student can move on to more complex topics.

Casual observation tells you that students learn at different speeds. So why don’t we allow enough time for each individual student to master a topic before asking them to tackle harder topics? It’s simple – one teacher can’t provide individual instruction to a group of students. If the teacher is the source of learning, whatever the teacher is “teaching” is what a student is “learning.” What is needed is a way for each student to learn different material at their own pace. What is needed is an interactive textbook like this one.

However, a self-paced, instructional textbook is not enough. We are terrible at discerning how much we understand! We often think we understand something, when in reality, we don’t understand the first thing about it. Mastery learning requires assessment. A student needs concrete ways to determine they have “mastered” a topic. Assessments could be done by a teacher, but the burden of constant assessments prevents the teacher from mentoring students who need help. Ideally self-assessment is needed. Self-assessment is, by far, the hardest thing to provide a self-paced student. This requires automated testing, which, in many cases, devolves into multiple choice questions that can be graded by a computer. The critical aspect of mastery learning is that a student does not study higher level topics until they are ready. So the burden of learning is on the student and it requires a student to understand when they are ready to tackle the next topic.

Therefore …¶

This interactive textbook provides a self-paced learning environment for a student to use mastery learning to understand computer graphics. Computer Graphics is a complex topic that requires a combination of many skills. It is up to the student to master the fundamentals before moving on to harder topics.

This interactive textbook provides three critical pieces of self-paced learning:

Detailed explanations of how computer graphics produces 3D interactive images.
Opportunities to experiment and directly work with computer graphics concepts.
Assessment tools for a student to determine if they are ready to move on to higher level topics.

In the ideal case a student would have a teacher or mentor to lead them through this textbook. If you don’t have a teacher, try to get a friend to study the material with you. But whatever situation you are in, don’t gloss over the self-assessments. The assessments will help you understand how much you are actually learning and which parts of the material you need to re-study. As a student you need to re-think what it means to learn and you must break your old habits of just ignoring things you don’t understand. If you don’t understand something, study it again (and again) until you do understand it!

This textbook is designed to be self-directed and self-paced. You are encouraged to stay with a topic until you understand it at more than a surface level. If you “master” each topic before going to the next topic, you will be prepared for the more detailed topics that follow. If you proceed past a lesson you don’t understand, you will quickly get bogged down and frustrated. Take a pace that suits your learning style and abilities. If you do, your learning will be more enjoyable and the things you learn will have a longer impact on your future abilities.

Glossary¶

mastery learning: learn a foundational topic completely before moving on to harder, more advanced topics.

Self-Assessments¶

It forces every student to learn at the same pace. More advanced students get bored. Less advanced students struggle.
Going at an "average" pace is OK for some students, but it hinders the advanced and struggling students.
It continues with new material even when students don't fully understand the current material.
Gaps in knowledge can prevent a student from understanding more advanced material.
It is old and needs updating.
Just because something if old doesn't mean it needs to be replaced.
It assumes that gaining 70% understanding of a topic is good enough.
If a student understands 70% of a topic, there is still 30% they don't understand. This causes problems when trying to learn more advanced topics.

        Q-3: Q-2: Please correctly order the following steps to mastery learning.Study a topic.
---
Perform an assessment of how much you understand about the topic.
---
If not 100% on the assessment, go back to step 1 and re-study the material.
---
If 100% on the assessment, begin study of a new topic.
---

You can skip the self-assessments at the end of a lesson because you understood all of the concepts on the first reading.
This is possible, but very unlikely.
Re-studying a lesson when you miss questions on assessments will keep you from being frustrated on more advanced topics.
When you don't fully understand something, your gaps in knowledge will hinder you when studying more advanced topics.
You can skip the interactive examples. They don't really add much to your learning.
Not true! Only when you engage with the interactive examples will you learn how WebGL actually works.
Performing the self-assessments at the end of each lesson is critical to your learning.
Without assessment, you can be self-delusional and think you understand concepts when you really don't.

Next Section - 1.2 - What is 3D Computer Graphics?