It is a relief to read an analysis of the Internet that is not yet another contribution to the hyped-instrumentalist discourse typified by a "gee-whiz" ethos touting efficiency gains and the lasting technical transformation of education. Hubert Dreyfus' (2001) "On the Internet" is at one and the same time, philosophical, post-Nietzschean and also…

Almost all children can learn what the schools teach today, but, at present, only one-third of them do, says Benjamin S. Bloom, Charles H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor, University of Chicago. While the conventional system of group instruction is effective for some students and ineffective for others, he states that mastery learning…

Mastery criterion manipulation may produce dramatic behavioral effects. Results of a study investigating three undergraduate classes indicate that the 90 percent criterion class was inferior to both the 80 percent and the varied 60-90 percent criterion class on several measures, including degree of accuracy and final grade. (BJG)

Benjamin S. Bloom claims in his new book, "Human Characteristics and School Learning", that any child can learn anything taught in school, given enough time and quality teaching. Author does not share his optimism. (Editor/RK)

It has been 25 years since the publication of J. B. Carroll's (1963) seminal work on the model of school learning (MSL) and its subsequent identification by B. S. Bloom (1968) as the theoretical basis underlying mastery learning. Carroll's model of school learning is a theoretical formulation asserting that the degree of learning attained on a…

A general analysis of the learning process precedes the discussion of a teaching model designed to provide effective control of the process of attaining knowledge. Features of the model discussed include preliminary knowledge, motivation, presentation and activities, feedback, and planning the assimilation process of a complete subject. A 21-item…

Considers new modes of course organization that are based on computers, videodisc players, compact disk players, and other components of interactive technology. Topics discussed include student control of content and pace, ways of learning, mastery courses, learning cycles, hypercourses (non-linear courses), and student organized courses. (17…

Reviews recent research that can inform educational practice. Includes the influence of high school students' epistemological beliefs on academic performance; effects of cooperative and mastery learning on students' ability to generate higher-level questions; effects of knowledge maps on undergraduate learning; and comparison of learning by…

This paper presents a new European teaching model based on ideas and methods of Socrates, Jean Piaget, and Lev S. Vygotsky. The starting point for this new model was the use of Socrates' dialectical method in teaching 906 primary and secondary school students the reduplication of a square. Results of this exercise were compared with Piaget's and…

To determine whether individual differences in student achievement and learning rate are reduced or eliminated by mastery instruction, 166 Navy trainees who had completed a computer-managed course in basic electricity and electronics were cluster-analyzed into groups, using 24 measures of cognitive characteristics. Discriminant analyses were…

Two questions are addressed: (1) What are the motivational characteristics of a child who is most likely to achieve in school at an optimal level? and (2) What kind of educational environment fosters these characteristics? Evidence suggesting that external rewards and punishment can have negative long-term effects on achievement motivation is…

Examines results of studies conducted at the City Colleges of Chicago's Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning on the characteristics of effective teachers (i.e., organized, student-oriented, encouraging student participation, and providing feedback) and effective students (i.e., involved, motivated, planning-oriented, selective, and…

The inservice programs in this publication demonstrate varied approaches to staff development. The programs range from districtwide efforts with a particular topic, such as thinking skills, to the creation of teacher centers and highly individualized growth plans such as a voucher system. The programs demonstrate a commitment by the district to…

The objective of this practicum was to apply mastery learning principles in the development of a computer-based instruction lesson on "Divisibility Rules," which was designed for students preparing for the General Education Development (GED) examination. This practicum sought to demonstrate that computer-based instruction which follows…

This paper examines student characteristics associated with success in a mastery learning strategy by: (1) continually assessing over terms the entry and exit skills of the students enrolled and (2) constructing and validating a scale for measurement in the affective domain. The mastery learning theory itself was proposed by Bloom (1968) as a…