The topic of this research study is mastery learning, an educational theory that began with the work of John Carrol in 1963. The core principle of this theory is that all students can achieve uniform learning outcomes, but it will take some students longer than others to reach the same performance goals. The problem that this research study…

The purpose of this project was to equip SSM faculty with teaching strategies designed to effectively engage Gen Z students toward meaningful learning. The project involved designing a workshop that introduced the characteristics and learning preferences of Gen Z students and modeled teacher-centered strategies that lead to a more meaningful…

The concept of mastery learning was formally identified and explained by Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues in 1968. Since that time, there have been strong supporters (Guskey, 2010; Hunter, 1982; Meece et al., 2006) and critics (Anderson & Burns, 1987; Arlin & Webster, 1983; Slavin, 1987, 1989) of this strategy and the educational…

The effects of fluency-based instruction and accuracy-based instruction on contingency adduction were assessed using an alternating treatments design. Stimulus equivalence tasks were used to measure contingency adduction. Stimulus classes were composed of arbitrary visual forms. One treatment condition consisted of teaching fast, fluent responding…

In response to a shift to high-stakes assessments, teachers are changing their instruction and approaches away from research-based formal training on best practices teaching in response to the stress and pressure this shift has created (Avalos et al., 2020; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Musoleno & White, 2010). More research is needed on teachers who…

The present study employed an alternating treatment design to examine the use of a socially assistive robot on the educational outcomes of children with severe symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. Participants included three children, ages 5-7 years old, recruited from a public elementary school in the Northeastern United States. The study…

This study works to assess the degree to which the impact of implementation of Mastery Learning can be described through teacher perception, academic achievement, and student growth. Elementary school teachers in a suburb in North Carolina implemented the Mastery Learning framework. The school's end-of-grade test scores were above state and…

This study investigated the effect a computer intervention program has on student proficiency in the Algebra 1 End of Course (EOC) examination. This study utilized the intervention math program IXL Math, a computerized program that targets individual students' skill practice and supports students' need to accelerate mastery of Algebra 1 skills in…

For students entering college with very little or poor physics background, the transition into fast-paced calculus based physics courses at a large university can be demanding; this thesis documents tools used in a preparatory course which is intended to ease that transition by teaching fundamental skills and problem solving. Within the…

This study was conducted to reveal how and why teacher self-efficacy developed by bridging the theoretical instruction of teacher education program coursework to the real-world enactment of specific classroom management strategies. Low teacher classroom management self-efficacy has been correlated with early teacher attrition, perpetuating the…

The present study sought to evaluate trial designs and training designs that are commonly used in popular commercially available computer-assisted language-learning (CALL) programs. The first two experiments (Experiment 1a and 1b) compared the effects of passive viewing and active student response methods in vocabulary learning. Contingencies on…

An acquisition criterion, more commonly known as "mastery criterion" is an instructor-established standard of performance that may signal the acquisition of a novel skill or the conclusion of a phase of intervention. When teaching new behaviors, researchers and practitioners in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) apply some type…

Many high school students with disabilities receive instruction in a cotaught classroom. Despite the consistent implementation of this service delivery model, students with disabilities are inconsistently demonstrating content mastery in ELA and math on end of course assessments. The goal of this multiple case study was to identify barriers to,…

What motivates people? Daniel Pink explored this concept his book Drive (2009) and found purpose, autonomy, mastery, and connectedness are key ingredients to motivating people and increasing personal satisfaction. The purpose of this capstone is to introduce a coaching model for administrators to use that complements the existing teacher…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how closely kindergarten teachers in a high performing school district in North Carolina instruct students towards mastery of phonemic awareness skills. This study explored to what degree teachers are implementing the findings of Shanahan (2005) and Ehri, Nunes, Willows, Schuster,…