Effective Use of Correctives in Mastery Learning

Mastery learning is a formative assessment strategy that involves the use of specific interventions, called correctives, to address the specific comprehension needs of the learner. Effective correctives are crucial for the effectiveness of mastery learning, so it is important that teachers make good decisions about what activities and strategies are used to address gaps in student knowledge. Correctives are defined as any instruction that present the concepts differently than originally presented, involve students in learning in different ways, and provide students with successful learning. Because of the time constraints inherent in the mastery learning process, not all instructional strategies can be used for correctives. The purpose of this review is to explore the available research and provide teachers the information to choose the most effective strategies and apply them in the most successful way. Tutoring, peer-tutoring, and cooperative learning are recommended for involvement strategies. Computer-based instruction, digital games, concept maps, and flashcards are explored as approaches to change presentation styles. Specific procedures for the appropriate ways and times to use each strategy are presented. EFFECTIVE USE OF CORRECTIVES 3 Formative assessment is a useful instructional tool that has the potential for raising the achievement of students in schools (Black & Wiliam, 1998/2010). However, it is important that teachers understand the role of formative assessment and how it can be used to alter instruction, increase learning, and fix student deficiencies. Simply giving quizzes that do not count for a grade is not formative assessment. The assessment is not useful, or formative, unless the teacher does something with the information that is gathered (Black & Wiliam, 1998/2010; Guskey, 2007b; Popham, 2006). Proponents of formative assessment stress the importance of feedback that contains a clearly stated goal, evidence about where the student is at the time of the formative assessment, and a method for the student to reach that goal (Black & Wiliam, 1998/2010). Popham (2006) states that at least half of the benefit of formative assessment is located in the student being incorporated in the learning process. This involvement changes the student on cognitive and affective levels that result in greater achievement. Teachers need guidelines that they can use to adjust instruction so the student is involved in the learning process and have a clear pathway to reach that goal (Black & Wiliam, 1998/2010). Mastery learning is a structured system that provides many useful components to help make formative assessment an instrument for increasing student achievement (Guskey & Pigott, 1988; Kulik, Kulik, & BangertDrowns, 1990). Mastery learning is an extremely flexible strategy with broad applications in the classroom, and as a result teachers can apply mastery learning in many different ways (Guskey, 1997). The adaptable nature of mastery learning makes it attractive for use in the classroom, but within the wide array of strategies available for corrective instruction some strategies will be more effective than others. Because of the importance of mastery learning in increasing student EFFECTIVE USE OF CORRECTIVES 4 achievement and the copious amount of literature on different learning strategies, a systematic review of the research on various strategies that are applicable for correctives was undertaken. The various suggestions for correctives made by Bloom (1968), Block and Anderson (1975), and especially Guskey (1997 & 2007b) were used as the foundations for the research. Articles were located through database searches and by tracing the citations of mastery learning articles and articles about differentiation. Meta-analyses and reviews of research were used whenever possible to provide the broadest applications of the various strategies. Research on special populations, English as a second language (ESL) or special education, was not considered due to the less generalizable nature of such research. In the following sections of this review the reader will find research-based strategies and suggestions to make corrective activities more effective. By using techniques that are supported by research, teachers using mastery learning will be more likely to reap greater benefits. Mastery Learning and Correctives Mastery Learning Initially developed by Benjamin Bloom, mastery learning is a strategy of assessment and differentiation that addresses the needs of individual students so they can receive almost the same quality of instruction as provided by an individual tutor (Bloom, 1968). Mastery learning involves both formative and summative assessments as part of the instructional process. Formative assessment is the more important of the two forms of assessment because it is used to determine appropriate feedback, correctives, and enrichment for students that are the essential elements of mastery learning (Bloom, 1968; Guskey, 1997). Bloom originally called this strategy “learning for mastery” but later shortened it to mastery learning (Guskey, 1997; Guskey,