Concept:Mastery orientation is a learning goal where students focus on improving their own skills and understanding, not on outperforming others.
Explanation:To encourage mastery orientation, a teacher must emphasize personal effort and progress.
Option A: Focusing on individual effort helps students see that hard work leads to improvement, which is the core of mastery orientation.
Option B: Comparing students with each other promotes competition and performance goals, not mastery.
Option C: Assigning lots of practice material does not necessarily support mastery; it can create pressure without focus on personal growth.
Option D: Unexpected tests increase anxiety and shift focus to grades, not learning.
Therefore, only option A directly supports mastery orientation by valuing effort over comparison or external rewards.
Answer:A. focusing on students individual effort.