Group-based, teacher-paced mastery learning model (Bloom)¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 quant-synthesis), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article describes Bloom's group-based, teacher-paced mastery learning model as an alternative to individually paced models such as PSI for postsecondary settings. In this model "learning is group-based and teacher-paced", objectives are clearly and specifically stated, and students receive regular diagnostic feedback via short formative tests that usually do not count toward a grade, each paired with corrective activities keyed to course materials for remediation. Grades are determined by summative exams such as a midterm and a final. The study applied this model in two sections of an undergraduate education course.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Well-planned and executed instruction, adequate time for students to learn the material, and regular checks on learning with immediate feedback and methods for correction of inadequacies

Constraints¶

• The individually-paced model can be difficult to implement in courses with a fixed curriculum and fixed amount of classroom time, motivating the group-based variant

Target Learners¶

• advanced undergraduate education majors (advanced sophomores and first-semester juniors)

Target Learning Objectives¶

• mastery of course content in educational psychology and teaching exceptional children in the mainstreamed classroom

Claims¶

• Mastery Learning Higher Achievement Grades Attendance Undergraduate [+M]
• Mastery Learning Reduces Aptitude Achievement Correlation [+M]
• In one synthesis of group-based mastery learning, five observational studies found more time-on-task in mastery classes and one community-college evaluation found lower attrition in seven of eight disciplines [+M]
• Group-based mastery learning programs yield positive achievement effects in every included study, but effect sizes vary so widely that an average was deemed inappropriate [+M]

Related Theories¶

Examples¶

• Superimpose group-based mastery learning on traditional lecture-format courses with formative tests and corrective activities
• Mastery Learning
• Mastery Based Progression
• Mastery Based Retesting
• Compress or mainstream developmental education with course redesign

Key Sources¶

• Guskey, Thomas R., et al. (1982). The Effectiveness of Mastery Learning Strategies in Undergraduate Education Courses. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED213702