**Bloom's Two Sigma Problem** refers to a phenomenon identified by educational psychologist [[Benjamin Bloom]] in the 1980s. The "Two Sigma Problem" arises from Bloom's observation that students who receive one-on-one tutoring perform two standard deviations better (hence "two sigma") than students who learn via traditional classroom instruction. ### Background: Benjamin Bloom, known for his work in educational psychology and the development of Bloom's Taxonomy, conducted research to explore the impact of different teaching methods on student performance. His studies found that the average student tutored one-on-one using a mastery learning approach performed better than 98% of the students who were taught using conventional instructional methods in a classroom setting. This difference in performance was quantified as two standard deviations, or "two sigma." ### Implications: The Two Sigma Problem poses a significant challenge for educators: how to replicate the benefits of [[one-on-one]] tutoring in a classroom setting, where such individualized attention is often impractical due to time and resource constraints. Bloom proposed that if educators could find teaching methods that approached the effectiveness of one-on-one tutoring, it could lead to a dramatic improvement in student learning outcomes. ### Attempts to Address the Two Sigma Problem: Various strategies have been explored to address the Two Sigma Problem, including: 1. **Mastery Learning**: This approach involves ensuring that students achieve a high level of understanding before moving on to the next topic. This method has been found to improve student performance, though not as much as one-on-one tutoring. 2. **Peer Tutoring**: Utilizing peers as tutors can provide some of the benefits of individualized attention, and has shown positive effects on learning outcomes. 3. **Adaptive Learning Technologies**: With advances in technology, adaptive learning platforms can now provide personalized learning experiences, adjusting the difficulty and type of content based on the student's performance. 4. **Formative Assessment and Feedback**: Frequent assessments and feedback can help guide students towards mastery, helping them correct misunderstandings before they become entrenched. ### Conclusion: While completely replicating the two-sigma advantage of one-on-one tutoring in a classroom setting remains a challenge, the insights from Bloom's research have significantly influenced educational practices. The pursuit of methods to achieve similar gains continues to inspire innovation in teaching and learning strategies. # References ```dataview Table title as Title, authors as Authors where contains(subject, "Bloom") or contains(subject, "Bloom's") or contains(subject, "GASing") or contains(subject, "Tutor") sort title, authors, modified, desc ```