Recommended strategies for improving the education of economically disadvantaged students include dispelling teacher misconception, hiring teachers from disadvantaged backgrounds, using noncredentialed staff from the community, emphasizing mastery learning and holistic teaching, and revising the curriculum to incorporate heterogeneously grouped…

Summarizes the classroom and school literature on the effects of teacher expectations, proposes a school-based model for the influence of teacher expectations on student performance, and describes applications of the model in Connecticut's school improvement efforts. (RH)

Intelligence is here defined in terms of component processes, and three programs are reviewed that train aspects of intelligence as specified by this theory: Feuerstein's "Instrumental Enrichment," Lipman's "Philosophy for Children," and the "Chicago Mastery Learning" program. Central suggestions are provided for…

This Delaware state content standards booklet for teaching grades 6-8 social studies in Delaware public schools begins with a one page chart outlining information for the disciplines of civics, economics, geography, and U.S. history. The booklet addresses standards for civics, lists end of cluster expectations for the end of grade eight, and cites…

Since the late 1960s when Benjamin Bloom outlined his mastery teaching strategy, mastery learning programs have been implemented, such as Learning for Mastery and the Personalized System of Instruction, and several experiments have been carried out to test whether the mastery learning technique has an effect on student achievement. This paper…

The mastery approach was taken with physical education majors at the sophomore level. The approach was based on several considerations which included the achievement of a minimum competency level. The students were allowed to select one of three options to achieve this level. (JN)

Presented are examples of the use of Student Research Projects to enable math educators to accomplish four tasks: (1) to increase the interdisciplinary nature of their course, (2) to involve the community more in education of students, (3) to encourage student participation in the solving of real life problems, and (4) to assist students in coping…

Historically ranked low on student performance, the New Orleans schools are fighting back with a new program called the Secondary Curriculum Improvement Program. (Author/JM)

Describes an introductory physics laboratory course, used at the University of California in Berkeley, designed to teach students some general intellectual skills. Results of the course evaluation are also discussed. (HM)

Physicians need to be proficient in the administration of basic cardiac life support (BCLS) and emergency cardiac care (ECC). The introduction of a self-teaching CPR-ECC course for freshmen medical students at the University of Mississippi has greatly reduced the amount of faculty time needed to teach CPR. (Author/MLW)

The effects of instruction in the Piacceleration Program (PXL), a hands on mastery-based program of instruction in Piagetian skills, on the acquisition of skills of classification, seriation, and conservation were studied with 28 Head Start students of Hispanic origin and 28 comparisons. PXL students did perform better on these skills. (SLD)

The article documents an intervention approach with learning disabled students which combines the effectiveness of Direct Instruction and mastery learning with the efficiency of technology (videodiscs and computers). Examples are given of effective technology use to teach earth science/chemistry, fractions, health, reasoning skills, and…

Examines the role of teacher effects in mastery-learning research. A review of the literature reveals the following: (1) failure to control for teacher effects; (2) tendency to redefine teaching as managing; and (3) tendency to reduce teaching from a professional to a technical field. (Author/BJV)

Eight adults with mild disabilities were successfully taught to write checks, complete deposit slips, and reconcile monthly bank statements using a personalized system of instruction which involved a self-paced manual, progression to new material only after demonstrating mastery of previous material, and repeated testing. (Author/JDD)

Outcomes-based education (OBE) views itself as drastic break from current inequitable educational practices and means of providing educational success for all students. Reexamines OBE from a multiparadigm perspective of organizations and educational administration. Although certain OBE facets may be empowering to students and teachers, much of the…