Little is known about differences in middle school students' motivation and the motivational climate provided across rural and urban settings. We examined change in middle school students' personal mastery goals and perceptions of mastery goal structures in their classes. Results showed students' personal mastery goals and perceptions of mastery…

This paper describes the design principles, instructional practices, and specific curricula of Direct Instruction--one example of focused, systematic, explicit instruction. At a time when public schools are increasingly held accountable for students' achievement and for closing and preventing the achievement gap between minority/disadvantaged and…

One goal of most courses is to prepare students with basic knowledge and skills associated with the course content. Mastery learning can be a rewarding way to encourage greater student achievement by allowing students multiple attempts to demonstrate an understanding of course concepts. This may involve repeated submissions of individual…

Research in goal theory has often relied on the general linear model, ignoring some central assumptions of the theoretical framework under investigation. The purpose of the two studies reported here was to illustrate how the Rasch model can supplement traditional statistical analyses when evaluating the effects of goal orientations on persistence.…

This field study examined how early socialization experiences affect new employee mastery of socialization content and socialization outcomes. New employees reported the realism of their preentry knowledge and the helpfulness of socialization agents. A follow-up survey assessed mastery of socialization content along with role clarity, job…

Carroll's (1963) model of school learning and Bloom's (1968) mastery learning both address theoretical and practical aspects of the time factor in school learning via an appeal to diagnostic-prescriptive teaching. The design of instructional environments and materials--particularly as advocated by Glaser (1976)--represents the mechanism to bring…

This collection brings together writings on two powerful approaches to education, outcome-based education (OBE) and mastery learning. OBE is about refocusing on the people in the educational system and their success in achieving excellence as learners and teachers. The following papers are included: (1) "Toward a Network Description of…

Yale Public Schools (Yale, Michigan) conducted a field experiment in implementing mastery learning. The purpose of the experiment was to provide a hands-on experience for teachers in the implementation of mastery learning and to use students as their own controls in order to compare the results of the implementation of mastery learning both in…

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…

The impact of the School Improvement Through Instructional Process (SITIP) program in Maryland schools was studied. The program encouraged application of research on planned change to implement one or more of four instructional models: Active Teaching, Mastery Learning, Student Team Learning, and Teaching Variables of "content" 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…

In this practicum, 15 learning-disabled pupils in grades two and three participated in an individualized program featuring mastery learning, a personalized system of instruction, attention to learning style and modality, and behavior modification, in order to improve reading levels and poor behavior. Program components included learning stations,…

This document summarizes a catalogue report of major Minnesota proposals issued over the past two years (through the end of the 1985 legislative session) for improving the quality of K-12 public education in the State. The document provides an overview of the themes and highlights from the proposals, following the topical order used in the…

Noting that school activities, in general, are judged by the extent to which they achieve their academically defined goals, this paper contends that schools serve another purpose, a social one. Arguing that schools should help children learn social responsibility and prosocial behavior and attitudes, the paper provides a rationale for, and a…

These materials contain the test booklets and answer keys to the mathematics mastery program of the West Bloomfield Schools (Michigan). Two booklets, forms A and B, were developed for grade 7 and grade 8. The answer keys are on separate sheets. The mastery program is based on textbook and supplemental materials. (TW)