It is argued that colleges and universities can become more productive by enhancing the efficiency of student learning. This requires both acceleration of learning through individually paced mastery learning, better academic focus, year-round schooling, and an earlier start to graduate and professional education. Eight strategies for enhancing…

Student motivation is a cause of great concern for educators at all levels, but perhaps never more so than during the middle school years. Teachers' observations about declines in student interest and confidence in academic tasks are borne out by a number of large-scale empirical studies. In this article, the author examines how teachers create…

This study aims to develop and evaluate competency-based web learning material (CBWLM) for the college practicum Microprocessor Laboratory. After using the CBWLM for 8 weeks, this study investigates CBWL's learning effects and self-directed learning aptitudes (SDLAs) as well as exploring the influence of SDLA on learning effects based on the…

The most radical and fundamental school reform of all was the creation of the free and universal system of public education in the United States, but there has been a plethora of reform efforts since. This book reviews the history of over 30 reforms since 1960, remarking on how ideas have influenced educational practice and commenting on how poor…

In 1993, the Oregon Legislature funded six curriculum development projects to design frameworks for integrating academic content with technical skills, work behaviors, sample teaching activities, and assessment strategies appropriate to the state's Certificates of Advanced Mastery (CAMs). This report describes results for the six projects as of…

The Flex Lab at Santa Fe Community College, in New Mexico, is a self-paced, computer-assisted training center that allows students to accommodate college credit courses into their schedules. The Lab offers courses in introductory computers, keyboarding, and various computer programs and emphasizes several features of the Personalized System of…

Recent years have seen a new and serious commitment to improving methods of assessing academic performance. Schools, school districts, and states are experimenting with a wide range of assessment alternatives. This paper is about this new commitment to assessment and begins with some background on standardized tests because the rationale for…

This paper analyzes mastery learning as an alternative to curriculum planning and discusses implementation of the strategy in a prekindergarten through eighth-grade school district in Red Bank, New Jersey. The paper briefly describes district schools and circumstances affecting the school board's decision to implement mastery learning; discusses…

Increasing numbers of state-mandated testing programs have resulted in the selection of norm-referenced tests (NRTs) for statewide assessment. Adaptation or customization of existing tests has become a viable solution for individual programs. Changes in test instruments have arisen from the behaviorist approach and mastery learning, minimum…

This quasi-experiment was designed to assess Robert Slavin's challenge to research on the effects of mastery learning on student achievement in algebra. Focus was on determining if there would be a difference in mathematics achievement between an experimental group (EG) of students whose initial cognitive entry skills were enhanced and who were…

Designed as a resource for persons interested in improving the quality of teaching and student learning, this book covers aspects of the teaching-learning process that can be altered with relative ease. Practical suggestions are given in chapters focusing on concepts known to have a strong influence on student learning. The chapters include: (1)…

This 723-item bibliography lists materials on teacher effectiveness research published from 1978 to early 1984. Reference to some earlier works of significance is also included. Teacher effectiveness research is here defined to include principally studies conducted in the presage-context-process-product tradition in an attempt to determine…

Weak increases in classroom cohesion for three seventh-grade classes instructed by a mastery learning technique compared to three conventionally instructed classes are demonstrated using block analysis of variance, triadic census (balance theory), and block modelling (role theory) analytic techniques on repeated-measures sociometric rating data.…

The purpose of the Fresh Start Minischool (FSMS) was to provide instruction to students entering high school with deficient mathematics and reading skills. Students worked at their own pace on sequenced learning tasks in social studies, mathematics, communication, and science. Additional program components included counseling and staff…

Faculty members are the most important resource for attaining high student achievement and retention rates. At the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), interviews with instructors who achieved over 90% retention for the Spring 1979 semester revealed that their courses were well-structured, used materials related to students' needs, and did not rely…