This annotated bibliography on mastery learning, intended for use by teachers, administrators, curriculum-planners, and researchers, covers writings and reports on the following topics: (1) research reports; (2) use of mastery learning concepts and strategies; (3) task skills analysis; (4) sequential learning; (5) learning hierarchies; (6) task…

Rural schools in Utah responded to state and local calls for school reform by implementing Outcome Based Education (OBE) programs beginning in March 1984. Significant improvements in learning have occurred as measured by test scores. Workshops introduced rural educators to OBE which provided a philosophical and operational framework for school…

The Time for Mastery Program was specifically designed to minimize the time costs of mastery learning by maximizing the use of instructional time to the fullest advantage. The program was implemented by three high school districts in suburban Chicago during the 1984-85 academic year. This article presents a brief description of the program, as…

"Fun activities," such as games, puzzles, discussions, debates, drama, and art, are used in every unit of the Chicago Mastery Learning Reading/Learning Strategies program. Activities include (1) ungraded optional activities, (2) enrichment activities, and (3) subject-related applications. These materials aid in comprehension, memory, and transfer;…

Examines the assumptions underlying mastery learning to identify contradictions between these assumptions and the pedagogy of humanistic education. Finds no such contradiction. Suggests reasons for humanities instructors' opposition or indifference to mastery learning. Reviews the strategies used in the City Colleges of Chicago's faculty…

Describes two introductory college-level geography programs which use undergraduate students as peer teachers. In a human geography course, they act as small-group leaders in role-playing simulations. In a physical geography course, peer teachers serve as tutors for mastery learning. Socio-psychological, pedagogical, economic, and political…

Describes a self-paced mastery learning process applied to an introductory sociology course at Lambton College (Sarnia, Ontario) in an attempt to correct traditional instructional and grading "malpractices." Describes course goals and organization, behavioral objectives, grading contracts, teaching techniques, student evaluation and feedback, and…

Most educational advances are timid improvements on the periphery and ignore underlying shifts in national need. This article discusses some cultural shifts and speculates about design responses: corporate training, resiliency and life-long skills improvement, the shift from learning as work to learning as entertainment, and the shift from mastery…

During the past five years, East Islip (New York) School District has developed an outcome-based curriculum and instructional format focusing on student mastery of thinking skills. Connecting mastery learning with thinking skills provides a framework allowing students to make their own connections between instructional fragments, classroom…

The Morningside Academy in Seattle, Washington, is a remedial program for children and youth with learning problems. Working with job preparation agencies and focusing on fluency-building techniques with real-world applications, the program improves basic skills an average of two grade levels every five weeks. (SK)

Outcome-based education, a labor-intensive process driven by mastery learning, is an unsuitable model for training future teachers. Education professors are too overworked to provide individualized instruction. Although OBE theoretically balances remediation and enrichment, fast learners often "tread water," with little incentive to work…

This case study of a restructured high school in Baltimore, Maryland, demonstrates an approach to the education of gifted and talented students utilizing principles of the Coalition for Essential Schools, an education reform movement headed by Ted Sizer. The case study first examines Coalition principles, which call for a commitment to…

Every developmental education teacher would probably agree that motivation to complete assignments is one of the biggest obstacles to getting students to practice necessary skills. Short stories and other types of recreational reading might help motivate students, but they need to learn specific skills to help them cope with college textbook…

The Reading Experiences Associated with Partners (REAP) approach to science combines reading process and product. Students work together sharing their ideas, interests, and knowledge. Results are recorded, and every effort is made to arrange the classrom so that it will aid students in meeting the task objectives. Children can be paired with a…

The curriculum matrix is a tool to help curriculum coordinators, principals, and superintendents specify, justify, and align curriculum and instructional time to district specified standards. The problem the curriculum matrix solves is connecting the curriculum; that is, tracing an idea from initial justification to its placement in the curriculum…