Six ways to reverse student disaffection with basic science instruction are proposed, including examining the current medical model critically, changing the emphasis from facts to problem solving, decompressing the dental curriculum, building in redundancy to deepen understanding, developing applied basic science, and reexamining the changing…

Discusses changes in teaching English since the Dartmouth Conference. Discusses issues in education in the mid-l960s; the second international conference at York University in England; the third international conference at Sydney, Australia; and the l984 international seminar at East Lansing, Michigan. (EL)

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…

Argues that instead of lengthening school days and years, schools should efficiently include rescheduling school days to include solely academic courses and instituting mastery learning. (JW)

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…

The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between enactive mastery experiences (with computers, the Internet, training, online courses, and hybrid course experiences) and online course self-efficacy (OCSE). A total of 94 mid-Illinois university students participated in the research. Pearson's correlation and multiple regression…

Describes the formative evaluation of Project IMPACT, a computer-based information system designed to provide school personnel with frequent systematic evaluation information on student progress. Preliminary evidence indicates that with this information instructors can modify instruction to meet the needs of the students and thereby may increase…

Discusses a mathematical model for mastery learning. The model includes measures of a motivational factor and the specific ability of a learner with respect to content being learned. The model also contains a variable reflecting prior learning. Assumptions/limitations are discussed, and research questions raised. (Author/JN)

A Brooklyn (NY) district superintendent rebuts arguments against the Chicago Mastery Learning Reading (CMLR) program that appeared in an article in Learning (November 1982). Based on his district's experience with CMLR, the superintendent points to improved reading scores, teacher enthusiasm, and renewed student interest in reading as indications…

The author discusses various ways that children differ biologically and relates these to their needs during the learning process. Tutoring, individual inquiry, and mastery learning are included in the discussion. (SA)

A number of individualized approaches to student learning are reviewed: Keller plan, refined linear model, variable route model, modular learning model, and independent study. Each successive approach offers students an increasingly wider degree of choice to determine goals and the means of achieving them. (Author/MLW)

Determined if modifying Bloom's mastery strategy improves science achievement during a six week human physiology unit. Findings indicate only a small degree of improvement in achievement of 185 students. Suggests that the approach employed in this study would be impractical for the biology classroom. (DS)

Describes instruction that has proven effective in teaching Black children to read. (MKM)

To address deficiencies in basic skills, a Florida middle school is piloting a program that immerses 75 students in a mastery-learning curriculum centered around reading, writing, basic language arts, and functional math. The program covers science and social studies thematically and has a social/personal skill development unit. The principal's…

Findings of positive effects of mastery learning on experimenter-made measures can be interpreted as supporting the view that this technique may help focus teachers on a given set of objectives. The claim that mastery learning can accelerate achievement, in general, in elementary and secondary schools is still awaiting evidence. (SLD)