Instructional Principle: Given enough time and help, about 95 percent of the learners in any group can gain complete mastery of the designated instructional objectives.
Traditional instruction holds time constant and allows achievement to vary within a group. A college course may last sixteen weeks, for example, and at the end of that time students who have mastered the subject thoroughly receive grades of A, those who have mastered very little get grades of F, and so on. Mastery learning, on the other hand, holds achievement constant and lets the time students spend in pursuit of the objectives vary. In a single college course, a few students might meet the standards to get an A in ten weeks; most might meet the standards in sixteen weeks; but a few students might take twenty-five or thirty weeks to meet these standards.
Mastery learning is not synonymous with pass/fail grading, nor does it imply that "standards should be lowered." When mastery learning is successful, high standards are articulated and students receive ample time and help to meet these standards. Additional information about mastery learning can be found in Guskey and Gates (1986), Slavin (1987), and Levine (1987). {EV - ADD NEWER CITATIONS.}
Mastery learning has received formal emphasis only in the past thirty years, but students and teachers have known about this principle for a long time. For example, most students having trouble in a subject usually believe they can master it if they are given enough time.
Two problems often arise with mastery learning. First, grouping and scheduling may become difficult. It is easier to require people to work at a constant pace and to complete tasks at a predictable rate than to permit wide variations in activities within a class. Second, while slow learners spend extra time on minimum standards, the faster learners in the same class may be forced to wait when they could be progressing to higher levels of achievement. These problems are not insurmountable. They can be overcome by supplying individualized attention, setting high but attainable standards, and making additional materials available for learners who need more time and supplementary activities for students who master objectives more quickly than others. Computers can aid mastery learning in three ways:
In areas where there is an abundance of software, computers can make an easy and obvious contribution to mastery learning. For example, if students are expected to learn the names, locations, and capitals of all the states, there are several programs designed to help them reach this objective (Figure 3.1). For example, States, States and Capitals, States and Traits, and U.S. Atlas Action offer useful and interesting drills to help students meet these objectives. Students who need additional practice could run one of these programs repeatedly till attaining mastery; or it may be useful to add variety and avoid monotony by making available more than one of these programs. Students who achieve mastery more quickly than others could be permitted to move on to games that include additional information about the states, such as Space Commander (Gamco) and America Coast to Coast or more detailed information about a single state, such as Know Your State. Or they could run programs that involve problem solving skills, such as Road Rally U.S.A., Crosscountry U.S.A, and Where in the U.S.A is Carmen San Diego? Or they could work with database programs that permit them to obtain more detailed information about specific states, such as U.S.A. in Profile and U.S.A. Geograph. (Check for new ones for this paragraph!).
The availability of computer programs makes it possible to promote mastery learning regarding higher order objectives as well. For example, while some students would reach an understanding what it was like to travel west as a pioneer by running MECC's Oregon Trail just once or twice, others might need several trials to come to this understanding. What do the faster students do while these others continue to enjoy themselves by mastering Oregon Trail? Having them leave the computers and do worksheets is almost a form of punishment. Having them continue a simulation they have already mastered may become boring; and they may ruin the simulation for others by telling them the answers and reducing creative thought. One solution is to offer these early finishers a second simulation on the same objective. Santa Fe Trail, Yukon Trail, Expedition (MicroEd), Settling America, and Wagons West all simulate similar pioneer journeys. Students who enjoy adventure games could be permitted to start Gold Rush! (Sierra Online), which is described in Chapter 2. If the teacher is not restricted to American history, MECC's Amazon Trail (Figure 3.2) would be a useful follow-up activity. The computer can help keep students at all levels of proficiency on task, while the teacher interacts with them as necessary to monitor progress and assure mastery. In this way, all students can master legitimate, higher order objectives without any inefficient waste of effective learning time. ADD NEW EXAMPLES
Even though there is an abundance of good software currently available for most subjects, in many cases the programs do not match up properly with textbooks, and therefore a teacher may be unable to find good software to support mastery of a specific unit of instruction. To overcome this problem, teachers can use programs such as Create Lesson (EV - Get some new ones!) or HyperCard to fashion their own curriculum-correlated practice materials (Figure 3.3). These programs permit the creation of custommade lessons that allow students to achieve mastery learning, without straining the resources (or the patience) of the teacher. A common format of such programs includes: ADD NEW EXAMPLES
More sophisticated authoring programs offer additional advantages such as student-controlled pace, effective use of graphics and sound for reinforcement, and automatic record keeping, discussed later in this chapter. In addition, some shell programs (such as Hartley's Medalists series) (Change) provide a useful game format into which teachers or students can insert questions relevant to their own needs (Figure 3.4). Finally, to promote mastery of higher order skills, teachers should consider programs like..... ADD NEW EXAMPLES
Mastery learning overlaps considerably with other principles discussed in this chapter. Mastery learning has for many years worked quite well without the aid of computers. Even so, the wise use of computers can often make mastery learning work more effectively.
Mastery Learning
Mastery Learning Notes
http://www.humboldt.edu/~tha1/mastery.html
Good notes from a lecture by Benjamin Bloom on this topic.
Mastery Learning
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/instruct/mastery.html
Concise, well organized summary of mastery learning.
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