The effects of mastery learning and improved teaching on mathematics achievement for seventh grade Turkish students at a private secondary school

Abstract

The aim of this study is not only to test the effectiveness of Mastery Learning method of instruction on achievement levels but principally to check if improved Teaching could have an additive effect when used with Mastery Learning in raising achievement levels. The study was carried out in Robert College including for classes of Orta II mathematics. The hypotheses for this Study include: Hypothesis I: The achievment level of the class under Mastery Learning method of instruction will be significantly higher than the control class. Hypothesis II: The achievement level of the class under Improved Teaching will be significantly higher than the control class. Hypothesis III: Improved Teaching will have an additive effect to Mastery Learning method of instruction. The class under Mastery Learning method of instruction combined with Improved Teaching will not only score higher than the control class but will also have the highest mean scores when compared with Mastery Learning or Improved Teaching Class. These three hypotheses of the study were statistically tested using t-test analyses, Kendall's tau correlational analyses and analysis of variance. The results of these analyses show that: 1- The achievement level of the Mastery class 1S significantly higher than the control class at the .001 level of significance. 2- The achievement leTJel of the Improved Teaching class is significantly higher than the control class at the .001 level of significance. 3- The class under the combined Mastery anj Improved Teaching methods scored significantly higher than the control class at the .001 level of significance. The class under Mastery Learning combined with Improved Teaching scored significantly higher than the Mastery class at the .005 level and higher than the Improved Teaching at the .025 level of significance. In this study, Mastery Learning alone accounted for 15 % of the variance in achievement, Improv2d Teaching accounted for 17.6 % of the variation in achievement and the combined Mastery with Improved Teaching accounted for 33% of the variation in achievement among learners. The effects of Mastery Learning and Improved Teaching are additive according to the results of this study.