Following the Migrant Student Record Transfer System Skills list, this checklist, designed for non-English speaking students, is a system for rapidly evaluating a student's skill level and for keeping track of the student's mastery of suggested objectives at the fourth grade level. Objectives to be mastered with 100% accuracy include: spelling…

Discipline records and reading test scores revealed that students in the Redding Middle School (Middletown, Delaware) were achieving low reading scores while the number of discipline referrals remained high. This report of a practicum project shows how the school's teachers and administrators succeeded in changing the direction of this trend,…

On July 1, 1974, Camden County College was awarded a grant by the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education for the purpose of developing an individualized instruction system for implementation across Camden County College. This system would allow students to proceed at their own rate through courses of study and eventually entire…

A change in philosophy for pharmacology instruction for paramedical students required a change to non-traditional methods of instruction. The course consists of five specific and one student-designed unit including objectives, study questions, projects, quizzes, and exams. Multimedia support is discussed, as well as the use of unit directions,…

A program based on the personalized system of instruction (PSI) was written and used in a developmental reading-study skills course for college freshmen. The following principles characterize the PSI: emphasis on the use of written materials--textbook references, questions, and teacher-developed worksheets; the required passing of a mastery test…

The materials in this teaching unit are designed to improve the skills of second grade students in following directions, understanding and following a sequence of actions, and recognizing common word structures (compound words, prefixes, and suffixes). Each section of the unit contains a brief overview of the skill area, a list of performance…

This is a position paper which deals with learning and reading difficulties of students in urban schools. The program upon which this paper is based is a learning and reading readiness classroom system that uses the Informational Process Model. This system acts as the basic construct for matching learners' needs based on the assessment data, with…

These proceedings contain three reports of improvement programs designed to help students to succeed in large urban school systems. In the first report, the "Achievement Goals Program" (AGP) is described as a highly structured, objective based instructional program in reading and mathematics carried out for the purpose of reducing racial…

This 10 unit manual introduces the concepts and components of mastery learning and helps instructors organize mastery learning courses of their own. Unit I introduces mastery learning as a process involving the development and presentation of objectives, homework, formative evaluation, corrective assignments, evaluation retakes, and summative…

The influence of positive change in instructional effectiveness upon several affective characteristics of teachers was investigated. The focus of the study was upon the influence this change in effectiveness might have upon measures of teachers' feelings of responsibility for student achievement, feelings toward teaching, and teachers'…

A basic writing course designed for college freshmen who do not score high enough on entrance examinations to qualify for regular composition courses emphasizes the positive aspects of a student's writing. The nongraded course consists of four components: journal writing, grammar instruction, in-class paragraph writing, and controlled composition.…

One hundred twenty-five students found to have few areas of skill mastery were selected to form the Fresh Start Minischool (FSMS). The Fresh Start approach was characterized by individualized instruction in four academic areas (Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science). Students proceeded at their own pace and acquired skills according to…

The dilemmas facing urban schools can be examined on the instructional level. Low achievement of inner city students is attributable largely to educational inequities. Often the expectations and attitudes of teachers, parents, and students work in combination to yield a nonproductive learning climate. This negative climate is preserved by…

This booklet contains over 35 sample student activities designed by teachers to support the development of prerequisite skills for reading comprehension and to offer opportunities for mastery learning. Activities are suggested in the areas of letter/sound relationships, word recognition, experiential concept development, cognitive concept…

If colleges were to accept the mission of helping each student to learn as much and as well as possible, the organization of education would change. In that the three fundamental practices of education--classes, semesters, and grades--are counterproductive to the goal of maximizing student learning and exist only to meet administrative and fiscal…