TITLE A Study of Mastery Learning versus Non-Mastery Learning Instruction in an Undergraduate Social Work Policy Class. PUB DATE 2001-01-00

Mastery learning is a behavioral instructional method that utilizes additional learning time and repeated testing opportunities to increase student learning. While successful in higher education, mastery learning has not been studied in social work. In this study mastery and non-mastery learning instruction were contrasted using four sections of a junior-level introductory social work course in a public, Northeastern college. The four course sections were collapsed into two groups, mastery and non-mastery. Dependent variables included student achievement, instructional preference, and attitudes toward course topic. Instructor hours spent and instructor reactions to mastery learning were measured. Both methods resulted in similar achievement and similar changes in attitudes towards the course topic. All of the students preferred mastery instruction. Mastery and non-mastery instruction involved similar amounts of instructor time, but the mastery instructor reported increased classroom time efficiency and coordination between teaching and testing. Mastery learning should be considered a promising instructional method for social work education. (Contains 6 tables and 72 references.) (JDM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document