Six studies are reviewed which indicate that direct instruction tends to produce higher academic gains for handicapped children than traditional approaches. They also suggest that some subtle principles of direct instruction--such as insistence on complete (rather than partial) mastery of each step in the learning process--are important.…

In a study involving 25 physically handicapped and 44 nonhandicapped preschoolers, two aspects --persistence and curiosity-- of mastery motivation were assessed with structured tasks. Free play was also observed to assess motivation in an unstructured setting, and mothers' perceptions of motivation levels were assessed. Results indicated that a…

The Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction (ECRI) teaches teachers to use proven instructional strategies and a management system to prevent reading failure and enhance language skills through an approach featuring stress on quality instructional time, teachers' use of positive reinforcement, and expectations of high mastery levels. (Author/CL)

Social work education journals do not always include research studies done in other academic departments in higher education. This bibliography includes materials from other academic departments related to the alternative teaching method called mastery learning. Mastery learning is a behavioral and outcome-based teaching method that involves using…

Mastery learning is a behavioral instructional method using additional learning time and repeated testing opportunities to increase student learning. A quasi-experimental group design with repeated measures was used to contrast mastery learning and nonmastery learning instruction for 137 undergraduates in 4 sections of an introductory social work…

Explains the components of the mastery learning model and discusses the model's curricular implications and problems. Condensed from "Mastery Learning, Fastback 154," published by the Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, Bloomington, Indiana. (Editor/SJL)

Presents four guidelines for improving individualized instruction, based on the author's experience with the "mastery learning" approach to instruction. (JG)

Describes how the spiral curriculum, which introduces theater in elementary school, provides a basis for mastery teaching. Provides ideas for curriculum development, management, facilities, equipment, and costuming for the elementary, junior high, and high school programs. (PRA)

To move information toward knowledge and activity toward mastery, learners must play with ideas, use them, and make them their own. Methods for achieving mastery include interdisciplinary approaches that require deep thinking, story telling, and reflection. (Contains 20 references.) (SK)

Although much has been written recently about gaps in the achievement of different groups of students, the problem has been with us for many years. This manuscript presents a historical perspective of the problem, viewing it as one of reducing variation in students' achievement. Specifically, it reviews the work of renowned educator Benjamin S.…

Interactive response systems "clickers" can provide multiple benefits to the students and faculty who use them, including immediate performance feedback and greater student engagement in learning. My own exploration of this technology has yielded five pedagogically different types of polling questions, specifically measurement of student…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

The main aim of this study is to integrate cooperative learning strategies, mastery learning and interactive multimedia to improve students' performance in Mathematics, specifically in the topic of matrices. It involved a quasi-experimental design with gain scores and time-on-task as dependent variables. The independent variables were three…

As the demand for online education continues to increase, institutions are faced with developing process models for efficient, high-quality online course development. This paper describes a systems, team-based, approach that centers on an online instructional design theory ("Active Mastery Learning") implemented at Colorado State…