This conference reaction paper tracks some of the common themes that run through five papers presented at the same conference at the session on curricular and instructional issues in compensatory education with special reference to Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981. The reaction paper attempts to interpret the…

Based on the concept that teachers can help students become better learners, mastery learning involves the identification of specific segments of learning and then mastery of them by individual students. Mastery learning provides a structure for teaching that includes class instruction followed by small group work. It is a group-based approach to…

The purpose of this study was to identify factors responsible for the perceived decline in attitudes toward science observed in an intervention study designed to enhance scientific literacy. The literacy study focuses on a new freshman course in an urban Catholic high school. Negative attitudes toward science were found to be related to the demand…

During 1985-86 the School Community Education Program (also known as the Umbrella Program), funded by the New York State Legislature, provided a variety of educational and training experiences to some 25,871 participants, including pre-kindergarten children and their parents; and students, teachers and supervisors from kindergarten through grade…

In spring 1981, resources were allocated for the establishment of the Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning, which would coordinate strategies to improve methods of instruction and learning in the community colleges of the United States. The emphasis of the Center is on the development of strategies that require relatively small…

Haskell Indian Junior College's computer-managed instruction (CMI) reading program uses the computer to maintain records of student achievement; schedule student assignments and tests; provide students, teachers, and administrators with student progress reports; and compile, retrieve, and analyze data. Using classroom instruction and a mastery…

This report describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs designed to improve the educational opportunities of working class children in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. First, an overview of the objectives, program types, timetable and organizational structure is presented. Secondly, programs are described according to three…

Effective curriculum is based on a mastery learning model. According to Carroll's mastery learning model, learning rate is partially a function of student "perseverance" or time on task, which is in turn determined by a learner's entering repertoire and the quality of instruction. Although the mastery-learning model looks simple, its execution is…

"Managing Reading By Objectives" (MRBO), the Beaverton (Oregon) School District's reading instruction system--based on learning objectives shared among parents, students, teachers, and administrators--is described through summaries, articles, diagrams, and policy statements. This compilation includes (1) an information sheet; (2) a flow…

The purpose of this effort was to investigate individualized and self-paced instruction systems throughout the country and to develop a detailed document showing how to plan, implement, and operate a self-paced individualized instruction system as an option to a conventional system on the college level. Benefits of such a system are that it can be…

This paper describes a field study of the "Personalized System of Instruction" (PSI) as it was used in an undergraduate communications research course. On the basis of statistics from two years of the program's implementation and from student responses after completing the course, the study draws five conclusions. (1) Most students did…

Mastery learning is described as a system for providing a unit-by-unit sequence, and arranging that each unit be successfully mastered by each student before they begin the next unit. This process requires mastery tests to control the rate of student progress. The proper setting of score levels to represent mastery is a difficult task. The claim…

This study explored the effects of a modified mastery learning strategy as well as locus of control and aptitude on achievement, attitudes, and on-task behavior of high school chemistry students (N=156). Mastery learning in this study was modified to limit diagnosis and remediation to two cycles. Three treatment groups were included: (1) contrast…

Developed for non-English speaking kindergarten children, this skills check list was designed to evaluate rapidly and to monitor a student's mastery of suggested objectives at the kindergarten level. Objectives to be mastered with 100% accuracy include: (1) oral identification of 6 basic colors; (2) oral identification of numbers 0-5; (3)…

The four components of quality instruction identified by Benjamin Bloom in "Human Characteristics and School Learning" (1976) form the basis of a remedial composition program designed for disadvantaged junior college students. The first component, cues for learning, is programed into the packets of student materials. These cues include identifying…