This Solution-Finding Report provides information, requested by Kerri White, Arkansas/Louisiana Technical Assistance Coordinator for the South Central Comprehensive Center, on behalf of Kevin Beaumont, Director of Professional Learning at the Arkansas Department of Education's Division of Educator Effectiveness. Beaumont's request was seeking…

Although competency-based education (CBE) has existed since the early 1970s adult-focused degree programs, interest in CBE has spiked in recent years due to the increased attention on higher education affordability and accountability. This article reviews the extant literature on CBE to address the following questions: (a) What are the definitions…

This paper reviews the research bases for components of the resource/consulting teacher (R/CT) model, including use of curriculum based assessment, direct and data-based instruction, criterion-referenced mastery learning, stages of learning development, applied behavior analysis, and school consultation. (Author/DB)

The Outcome-Based Instructional Systems approach is a comprehensive design for teaching and learning and instructional management that has its roots in the mastery learning and competency-based education movements of the early 1970s and has been implemented in hundreds of schools and districts across the country. The first part of this brief…

The momentum of Outcome Based Education (OBE) appears to be growing. This paper presents an overview of OBE and its prospects for successful educational change. Successful implementation requires 3 to 5 years; the involvement of administrators and staff in the development process; the use of a top-down approach; alignment of all areas with one…

Awareness of the need for more effective instruction for heterogeneous groups of students has resulted in the development of the "mastery learning" model through which students are provided with the additional time necessary to achieve mastery of the content to be learned. The mastery learning model does not, however, provide a…

Literature on individualized learning appearing in the past three years includes many reports which are rewritings from the same data; however, generalizable results do exist for the practitioner. Individualized instruction systems work as well or better than traditional, conventional instruction. Students learn more, make higher grades, save…

Having established that mastery learning works, researchers are beginning to investigate components of the system and theorists are integrating it with other recent trends. (Author)

Disadvantages and advantages that physical therapy and allied health programs have encountered in utilizing a mastery learning approach are identified, based on a literature review and questioning of health educators. Recommendations concerning the implementation of this approach at California State University, Fresno are offered, along with a…

It is proposed that the only technology that has consistently been effective over traditional education approaches is the personalized system of instruction (PSI). An overview is given of the purpose, origin, development, and use of the system. The five critical components are outlined: use of student assistants, emphasis on the written word in…

This text presents basic principles of applying curriculum-based assessment (CBA) to the evaluation of and instruction of students with disabilities. Throughout the book, the mnemonic APPLY is used as an organizing method for teachers to develop and use CBA. APPLY stands for: (1) analyze the curriculum, (2) prepare items to match curriculum…