Massive open online courses offer a valuable platform for efficient and flexible learning. They can improve teaching and learning effectiveness by enabling the evaluation of learning behaviors and the collection of feedback from students. The knowledge map approach constitutes a suitable tool for evaluating and presenting students' learning…

Recent studies suggest that testing on prior material enhances subsequent learning of new material. Although such forward testing effect has received extensive empirical support, it is not yet clear how testing facilitates subsequent learning. One possible explanation suggests that interim testing informs learners about the format of an upcoming…

Learning experience designers consistently balance the trade-off between open and close-ended activities. The growth and scalability of Computer Based Learning Platforms (CBLPs) have only magnified the importance of these design trade-offs. CBLPs often utilize close-ended activities (i.e. Multiple-Choice Questions [MCQs]) due to feasibility…

Formally describing and assessing the difficulty of learning and teaching material is important for quality assurance in university teaching, for aligning teaching and learning activities, and for easing communications among stakeholders such as teachers and students. This paper proposes a novel taxonomy to describe and quantify the difficulty…

Laboratory studies have routinely demonstrated that testing often leads to greater learning and retention than repeated studying. In the classroom, this effect has been replicated with memory and application tasks. However, studies of classrooms involving mathematical problem solving are sparse and have had mixed results. This paper presents the…

Mastery-grading techniques such as mastery-based grading, specifications grading, and standards-based grading are assessment techniques professors are implementing in order to support a growth mindset of learning, decrease test anxiety, and help students develop a deeper understanding of course objectives. In this paper, we provide an analysis of…

The authors present the results of quantitative data and student feedback from a two-year study of the effects of a new assessment model called "mastery-based testing." In mastery-based testing, students are given problems in which they can only receive full credit for the problem after they demonstrate mastery of the objective being…

This study reports on the goal structures of one rural and one urban Grade 11 class in China, based on classroom observations and teacher and student interviews. Classroom observations, conducted over a 6-month period, focused on physical settings and classroom activities. In each class, seven students and the homeroom teacher were interviewed to…

Seeking help as an important self-regulated learning strategy has been consistently associated with student motivation. Despite the extensive body of research on typically achieving students, no studies have included help seeking in the literature on talented children. The present study explored the help-seeking intentions and beliefs and…

Nowadays pedagogical testing technology has become the basic tool for diagnosis and assessment of the level of students' mastery of learning material. Primarily they allow testing the acquired knowledge and skills in their use as a technology of the definite types of problems solution. Thus, the level of logical reasoning development plays a…

Students should learn best by repeating a cycle of studying, testing, and feedback, all of which are components of "mastery learning." We performed an archival analysis to determine the relation between taking quizzes early and quiz performance in a "mastery learning" context. Also investigated was whether extra credit resulted in early testing…

This paper discusses a pilot study of the effects of a curriculum focus intervention on students' prealgebra achievement. Elements of the intervention include identification of high-priority learning objective; structured repeatable testing; and a coherent, rubric-based feedback component. This research differs from traditional mastery learning…

A post-quiz remediation strategy based on mastering a sequence of subskills in college algebra resulted in higher examination scores for students. (Editor)

Investigated was the influence on learner outcomes of the repeatable testing provision of Bloom's mastery learning model for ninth graders in an Introduction to Chemistry and Physics course. Neither student achievement nor attitude toward learning science was favorably influenced by repeatable testing. (MNS)

Focuses on modifying personalized systems of instruction (PSI) by using competency unit testing instead of mastery testing. The algebra service courses at the University of Arizona are described. Includes data on student achievement. (MNS)