Two classroom studies tested whether mastery-approach goals and performance-approach goals nudge students to pursue different learning agendas. Each showed that mastery-approach goals promote an interest-based studying approach in which students allocate study time disproportionately to personally interesting material over duller material. Study 2…

After reviewing effective teaching research during the past 20 years, one basic question arises: do teachers make any difference? Specifically, do teachers' classroom practices have any effect on student outcomes beyond the effects of ability and home background? What knowledge of minimal teaching competencies has been gained, and how firm is the…

An overview of research studies on the relationship among time factors and student achievement is presented. The California Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study is cited as a seminal work in this area. A brief summary of findings on allocated time, engaged time, and academic learning time includes a discussion on how these studies have been expanded…

An overview is presented of school effectiveness research which has identified characteristics of academically successful schools. The research reviewed has reexamined such things as the way educators manage time, assign students, define curriculum, determine class size, organize schools, and assess achievement. This report focuses upon three…

Investigated how students and teachers in mixed-age classes spent their learning time during reading, language arts, and mathematics. No significant differences between single- and multi-aged classes was found. Concludes that teachers found working in mixed-age classes very difficult, with most working as if they were teaching two different…

High school mathematics teachers were trained to provide mastery learning instruction. A primary characteristic of this method of instruction is the feedback-corrective enrichment loop. This study was conducted to determine whether class time could be allocated for the principles of mastery learning within the fixed amount of available time…