Mastery Learning

Ref: John B. Carroll, Benjamin Bloom, and Madeline Hunter


Notes from Benjamin Bloom lecture [ACSA, April, 1987]:


With traditional instruction, the correlation of pupil
performance from grade-to-grade is 80%+.  The variation within
each grade is greater each year.  The range is double the second
grade in the fourth grade, triple in grade 6.  Rank order
is already fixed by third grade for the next 8 years for 90% of
kids.  Similarly, self-concept drops grade-by-grade for the
bottom 20% while it rises year-by-year for the top 20%.  This is
true of most countries, not just the US.  

Home environment is the major key for elementary success 
[k-6],only a small percent recover.  It is possible to change the
instructional effect, even though we may have little success
directly changing the home effect.  The mid-point for

conventional instruction is the 50th percentile.  For individual
tutoring, it is the 98th percentile.  For whole class mastery
learning instruction, it is the 84th percentile.  It is unlikely
that an inherited characteristic can be change in one term--but
altered learning conditions can make a fantastic change.

CORE IDEA OF MASTERY LEARNING:  aptitude is the length
of time it takes a person to learn not how "bright" a person is,
i.e., everyone can learn given the right circumstances.

How to instruct for mastery:

     1.  Major objectives representing the purposes of the course
or unit define mastery of the subject.
     2.  The substance is divided into relatively small learning
units, each with their own objectives and assessment.

     3.  Learning materials and instructional strategies are
identified; teaching, modeling, practice, formative evaluation,
reteaching, and reinforcement, etc., and summative evaluation
are included.

     4.  Each unit is preceded by brief diagnostic tests.

     5.  The results of diagnostic tests are used to provide
supplementary instruction to help student(s) overcome problems.

     Time to learn must be adjusted to fit aptitude.  NO
STUDENT IS TO PROCEED TO NEW MATERIAL UNTIL BASIC PREREQUISITE
MATERIAL IS MASTERED.  

[There is a difference between "80% of students will master the
material" and "each student will master at least 80% of the material"
before proceeding.]

Bloom, Block, and Carroll believe that mastery learning can be
handled in a normal classroom.  Another group has developed a
comprehensive curriculum system for use in reorganized schools.
Ref: Individually Prescribed Instruction [IPI--Learning Research
and Development Center of the University of Pittsburgh] 
provides for organization of schools and classes to provide for
more individualized instruction than is possible in most systems.

Benjamin Bloom also asked students to "think out loud" while
answering exam questions.  He found that many students who could
answer short-answer questions were befuddled by thought
questions.  They did not know how to solve problems [not limited
to math problem solving--including questions like, "Give the
reasons which would have influenced a typical Virginia tobacco
farmer to support the ratification of the Constitution of 1789,
and the reasons which would have influenced him to oppose the
ratification."  A good problem-solver reasoned like this: 
"...what rights did the Constitution give him?  From the
standpoint of money, which one would be more to his advantage? 
Prior to the Revolutionary War, he would have to pay taxes to
England....  He might approve of it for patriotic reasons and
from the standpoint of money, he wouldn't be limited to shipping
his tobacco to England...so he wouldn't have to pay those
taxes...etc."  Another student, who could respond readily to
true/false, multiple choice questions, was stumped.  A poor
problem-solver, he thought, "Well, to tell the truth I never had
anything on that in class and I can't think of any."]  Tutoring
has been proven as a successful way to remedy this sort of
deficiency.  Tutors are hard to come by.  However, group
discussions, where good problem-solvers tell how they reason an
answer, are good substitutes.  ["metacognition"]
     Bloom suggests that at the end of an instructional unit,
[about every two weeks], the teacher give a formative [not used
for grading] test to find out what has been learned and not been
learned...determine corrective instruction for the common errors
 ...reteach--perhaps in a different way/style...and test again on
the same items using altered questions.  Grading for mastery is
not on the curve.  Rather it means that every student can get an
"A" if they master the material.  Using his methods, the average
student of Bloom's mastery class passed at the 95th percentile of
traditionally-taught classes.
 
Related topics:  Language Labs, Direct Instruction, Practice
Theory, Head Start.

Additional Bloom suggestions:
     Give a pre-test and review at the beginning of a semester
those essential, basic facts, skills, concepts that are
necessary to later success.

    Give two chances to succeed on each quiz/final exam. 
[Bloom's not sure whether you should take the average or the
better of two scores.]  But he is sure you should reteach the
areas missed in the first test...use a different explanation/
example/demonstration than the first time or a different style of
instruction [e.g., coop. learning vs. direct instruction].  Then
use a different form of the test.

     If this process is repeated every 2 or 3 weeks, those who
follow mastery learning vs. a control [conventional instruction]
group achieve these results:

     Mastery learning 85% in top 10% vs. 45% in conventional.

     Time on task, 45% of time in conventional instruction.  
     Mastery learning 85%.  Tutoring, 95% time on task.

     Mastery learning fits sequential subjects best, e.g., math,
foreign language, etc. where prior knowledge is essential to
progress.  But it is adaptable to episodic subjects, like 
history, as well.

Suggestions for parents:  1. Household responsibilities,
i.e., one chore to be done one time.  2. Regular times for
eating, studying, sleeping, working, playing.  3.  School work
and reading come before play--even before other work.  [Musicians
practice regularly or they don't make it!]  4.  Praise for good
school work--occasionally before others.  5.  A quiet place to
study.  6.  Family exchange on what pupil is doing...listen to
the child's report.  7.  Visit libraries, zoos, museums, etc., as
a family.  8.  Encourage good speech habits.  At dinner or
another time when everyone has a chance to talk.  9.  Discuss
what is being studied, materials used, etc.  10.  Give special
help when needed.  11. Talk re. planning for future, prep. for
college, vocation, etc.  There is a very high correlation between
home environment/attitude toward education and school success.


5 Keys to success:

     Mastery Learning.  

     Home environment.
 
     Pre-requisite enhancement.

     Make reading automatic, beyond decoding.  

     Emphasis on creativity, higher mental processes [upper
     levels of the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, critical
     thinking, etc.

MASTERY LEARNING

DIRECT INSTRUCTION BASIC PRACTICE MODEL

The Basic Practice Model of Teaching [Joyce and Weil]:

Phase one:  framework for the lesson is established.
     a.  provide objective of lesson and level of performance
     required.

     b.  describe the content of the lesson and relationship to
     prior knowledge/experience.

     c.  discuss the procedures of the lesson--the different
     parts of the lesson and student's responsibility during each
     activity.

Phase two:  explain the new concept(s) or skill(s), demonstration
and examples--orally and visually.  For a concept, include
attributes (characteristics), the rule or definition, and several
examples.  For a skill, identify the steps of the skill with
examples of each.  It is important that pupils have a visual
representation of the task (VRT) in the early stages of learning.

Phase three:  Structured practice.   Lead students through
practice examples working in a lock-step fashion each step of the
task as it appears in the VRT.  [e.g., use an overhead projector
doing practice examples on a transparency so that students can
see the generation of each step.  Then provide a visual 
instructional plan (VIP)--in which each step is detailed--to
pupils to use when they get stuck in individual practice or
independent practice.]  Refer to the VRT while working practice
examples as a group.

Phase four:  Guided practice [in class "seat work."  With the
teacher circulating [e.g., "praise, prompt, and leave"].  Monitor
students' work, providing corrective feedback as necessary, and
assess performance of the group in determining whether the class
is ready for the next instruction.  Additional time for those
whose aptitude calls for a longer learning period can be provided
by giving "extra credit" assignments, supplementary activities,
etc.

Phase five:  Independent practice [additional class time or
homework] begins when students have achieved an 85 to 90% 
accuracy level.  To insure retention and develop fluency,
students practice on their own without assistance and with
delayed feedback [e.g., comments on graded papers].  Five or more
brief practice activities distributed over a month or more may be
required to "fix" the new concept/skill.

Go back to Class handouts, models, keys, etc.

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