This study reports on an investigation of the differences in results between students with special educational needs assigned to special classes or regular classes in lower secondary education. Cognitive competencies were measured using curricular Finnish and mathematics tasks, school achievement using grade point average (GPA), and learning…

This article undertakes a discursive analysis of the concepts of "inclusion" and "mastery" using memory stories generated in a collective biography workshop. The five authors analysed their memories from childhood and adolescence on two separate and competing concepts that currently inform educational practice: inclusion and mastery. These stories…

Mastery learning, an approach originated by B. Bloom and based on formative testing to give the student feedback and correction, is advocated as an effective way to individualize instruction in a mainstreamed setting. (CL)

The Content Mastery program, which evolved from the synergistic model, provides instructional accommodations and teacher consultation and support that encourage the success of students with learning disabilities in regular classroom settings. Students remain in mainstream classes as long as they can profit from instruction and attend the Content…

Mastery learning offers a way for teachers to offer individualized instruction to students and to help more of their students be successful in learning. Practical implications of using the mastery learning approach are described, followed by evidence of its effectiveness. (JDD)

The article presents a five-step model for implementing a consulting teacher model and effective interventions for mildly handicapped students in regular education settings. Interventions include principles of effective teaching, mastery learning, peer and cross-age tutoring, cooperative learning groups, and instruction in metacognitive learning…

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 challenge of providing appropriate education to learning-disabled students in the least restrictive environment led to creation of the Content Mastery Program. The program enables learning-disabled students to receive all major instruction in mainstream classrooms, through the cooperative effort of the classroom teacher and the special…

The article starts with a historical overview, discusses the arguments for and against ability grouping. It surveys the literature on different practices of grouping that exist in the American and British literature. The study mainly focuses on instructional grouping practices based on ability and on cooperation. It discusses arguments for and…

Physical educators can help mainstreamed handicapped children by (1) preparing classmates to understand and accept disabled children; (2) avoiding practices that unintentionally embarrass the mainstreamed child; (3) building self-esteem through success; and (4) using mastery teaching and peer tutoring. Modifications of rules and equipment are…

Individualized instruction is an important tool in mainstreaming special needs students in industrial arts, as experience has shown. Important steps toward meeting these needs include (1) making an individualized assessment of each student, of student needs, and of the present state of student accomplishments; and (2) developing an individualized…

Describes mastery learning, a teaching model that allows full inclusion of rural students with intense educational needs. The approach is based on curriculum modifications, team teaching, peer tutoring, and cooperative learning. Documents the success of mastery learning in the case of a rural first-grade student with Down's Syndrome. (LP)

Social adjustment of 46 children with and 199 children without learning disabilities (LDs) who were integrated full time in third grade team approach to mastery (TAM) classrooms were examined. Children with LDs, particularly boys, were well-integrated socially in TAM classes. The mixture of students may enhance acceptance of children with LDs.…

This paper reviews the literature on mastery learning theory and reports its successful application since 1987 with mainstreamed special education students at one elementary school in Missouri. The methodology, originally developed by Benjamin Bloom, involves formative evaluation after initial instruction followed by either corrective activities…

An elementary school principal and mother of a son with learning disabilities (LD) offers a personal perspective on educational trends such as resource rooms, content mastery, and inclusion. The paper argues that regular classroom teachers are not trained to teach LD students and that adequate support for mainstreamed LD students would be…