A Study Of The Effectiveness Of Mastery Learning Model On Achievement Of Pupil s Of Ix Class In Chemistry. Ms. Sarita* & Ms.

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1 A Study Of The Effectiveness Of Mastery Learning Model On Achievement Of Pupil s Of Ix Class In Chemistry Ms. Sarita* & Ms. Jyoti** *Assistant Professor, Department of Education, M.D.U, Rohtak **Research Scholar, Dept. of Education, M.D.U, Rohtak Abstract The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of mastery learning model on achievement in Chemistry. The sample consisted of 60 students of 9 th class Saini Girls Senior Secondary School of Rohtak. Mastery learning model based on the instructional material was implemented to the experimental group after pretesting. The gain scores were computed after post test for all the students. The findings of the study were (i) Better gain scores were obtained by the students taught Chemistry through the Mastery learning Model compared to those who were taught through conventional teaching (ii) Superior performance on the criterion achievement test showed by the group of students taught Chemistry through Mastery Learning Model as compared those taught Chemistry through Conventional teaching. The conclusion of the study was that the Mastery Learning Model plays an important role in improving the achievement of student in Chemistry. Keywords: Mastery Learning, Achievement, Chemistry Introduction An efficient system of education is an essential condition for the survival of an individual, society and nation in this age of high technology and competition. This is recognized by every nation and today every country is investing, as never before, a precious resource in education. The manpower engaged in this huge endeavor is perhaps the largest work force in every civilized country/society. Millions of children go to school for their education. Millions of rupees are being invested annually in the process. Despite all these efforts in education of children, pupil s achievement must to be desired. To overcome this difficulty, modern psychologists develop the concept of the mastery learning. Mastery learning was introduced into the professional literature in the late 1960s (Bloom 1968). Mastery learning is an instructional philosophy based on the belief that all students can learn if given the appropriate amount of time and the appropriate instructional opportunities. Mastery learning strategy is a new approach to student-learning which provides successful and rewarding learning experiences to almost all the students (Okey, 1977) and technology helps to transform education from faculty centered to learner centered and to make instructions better by replacing the Sage on the stage with interactive individualized learning possibilities ( Kelly & Schorger, 2002). The developers of mastery learning assert that it is most useful with the basics skills and slow learners at both elementary and secondary levels. B.S Bloom is unquestionably considered as the father mastery Learning Strategy for his systematic investigation into the problem of helping each child to achieve mastery of a subject & popularizing it. It is a new instructional strategy, which is used for developing mastery learning & objectives of Vol. 3, No. 7, July

2 curriculum can be realized. Bloom challenges the assumption that individual differences in school achievement are inevitable. Mastery Learning is designed to ensure that nearly all students reach the same level of achievements by repetitive applications of the simple formula: plan- teach- test-re teach and retest. Thus, mastery learning is the group-based instructions followed by remedial techniques. The literature indicates positive effects of mastery learning on students, especially in the areas of achievement, attitudes toward learning, and the retention of content. School systems that have implemented mastery learning have found it to be a very effective teaching and learning method. Bloch and Burns (1976) and Bloom (1976) have brought out the effectiveness of Mastery Learning Strategy at all levels of education and in such different subjects as Arithmetic, Philosophy, Physics and Geography. Gusey and Pigott (1988) analyzed the results of 46 studies on group based applications of Mastery Learning Strategy and found that such applications yield consistently positive effects on both cognitive and effectiveness outcomes. Kulik et. Al. (1990) made a meta-analysis of 108 studies on the effectiveness of mastery learning programs. They also found that mastery-learning programs have positive effects on pupil s achievements, attitude towards instructional method and attitude towards subject. Justification of the Problem The justification of the problem selected for a study in education is proved firstly by what new facts it can reveal, Secondly on the basis of findings what improvement can be made in educational system and finally how can students master all that is taught in the classroom. The present study contributed in detecting/ diagnosing the errors the students make regarding difficult concepts in Chemistry. It will provide the method of using mastery learning strategies to develop the child to the maximum of his potentialities and capabilities. Finally, the study opens new areas of research in the field of Chemistry. Objectives To find out the effectiveness of Mastery Learning Model on student s achievement in teaching chemistry. To study the effectiveness of Mastery Learning Model and Conventional Method on student achievements. To compare the mean achievement scores of the two groups of pupils, to be taught Chemistry with and without the use of Mastery Learning Model, before the experimental treatment. Hypotheses There is no significant difference between the effectiveness of students Vol. 3, No. 7, July

3 achievement taught through Mastery Learning Strategy and Conventional teaching methods. Sample The research investigation was carried out on the 60 students of class IX of Saini Girls Senior Secondary School of Rohtak. Design of the Study In the present study pre-test and post-test design with two groups was employed. Tools The following tools were used for the purpose of data collection 1. Jalota s Group Test of General Mental Ability 2. Summative test (designed by investigator) 3. Formative evaluation Unit Test (designed by the investigator) 4. Lesson Plans according to Mastery Learning Strategy (developed by the investigator). Procedure The experiment as conducted in two stages: Stage- 1: Selecting the experimental sample The experiment was conducted on 60 students of class IX of Saini Girls High School, Rohtak. Stage-2: Conducting the experiment: The experiment was conducted in following steps given below: Step- I: Administration of the pre-test. Step 2: Instructional Treatment Step -3: Administration of the Post test Analysis and Interpretation of Results Analysis of Pre- test Score The mean, S.D. and t value for the difference between the means of Mastery Learning Model and Conventional teaching on the pre-test were computed and placed in Table-I. Table I Mean, S.D. and t value for the difference between the means of the pre-test scores of the student of experimental group and control group Level of No. of Group M S.D 't' value significance at Students (N) 0.01 Experimental Controlled N.S Vol. 3, No. 7, July

4 N.S= Not significant It may be observed from the table that the t value for the difference between the means of two groups was not found to be significant even at 0.01 level of confidence, thus it can be said that both the groups performed equally well on pre-test. This finding is important as it reveals the fact that there is sufficient ground to believe that two groups were comparable. Analysis of Post-test Score The mean, S.D and t value for the difference between the means of Mastery Learning Model and conventional teaching on the post-test computed and placed in table II. Table II Means, S.D and t value for the difference between the names of the post-test scores of the student taught by Mastery Learning Model and conventional teaching Levelof No. of Group M S.D 't' value significance at Students (N) 0.01 Experimental Controlled S S=Significant The above table revels that the t values was found to be significant at 0.01 level. It shows that students of Mastery Learning Group have scored significantly higher than the student of conventional method group which ultimately may be attributed to the instructional treatment, i.e. Mastery Learning Model in which student were provided which each session of unit test, feedback and remedial instructions, which shows gradual decrease in errors. Analysis of Percent Modified Gains The scores obtained on achievements test before and after the instructional treatment, i.e. pre-test and post-test scores were used for calculating the percent modified gain scores. The values have been placed in Table III. Table III Means S.D and t value for the difference between the means of the poet-test scores of the student taught by Mastery Learning Model and conventional teaching Group No. of Students (N) Experimental Controlled M S.D 't' value 8.32 S Level significance 0.01 *Significant The above table reveals that the t value for the difference between means of percent modified gains of Experimental group and control group was found to be significant at 0.01 level. Hence, it may be inferred that the two Vol. 3, No. 7, July of at

5 groups differed significantly and the Experimental group performed much better than control as it shows superior mean gain scores. Hence it may be inferred that Mastery Learning Model plays an important role in improving the achievement of students in chemistry and was found to be superior to conventional teaching for class IX students in a representative school of Rohtak Findings The findings of the present investigation pertain to students of class IX of a representative school of Rohtak. Better gain scores were obtained by the students taught Chemistry through the Mastery learning Model as compared to those who were taught through conventional teaching. Superior performance on the criterion achievement test was showed by the group of students taught Chemistry through Mastery Learning Model as compared those taught Chemistry through Conventional teaching. Comparison with Other Studies The findings of the present study were very similar to various researches that showed that Mastery Learning procedures do very well at all levels of education. The studies of Hooda (1983), Chand(1984), Neeru(2001), Ali S. (1999), Mehra V. & Rathee N. (2004), Ashok, K.K., (2005) points out that the students involved in traditional learning environment. In the present study the content learning was speeded up by removal of errors by remedial instructions and thus, mastery learning model worked successfully. As in other studies pupils taught through Mastery Learning Model showed significantly higher on chemistry achievement test. Thus result of present study was very much similar to other studies. The presented study has attempted to explore the role of intelligence in the use of MLM in Chemistry so that teacher may use this model with different categories of children. Conclusion The conclusion is that the Mastery Learning Model plays an important role in improving the achievement of student in Chemistry. It was found to be superior and effective method than conventional teaching for class IX students in a school of Rohtak. The result showed that the degree of effectiveness of Mastery Learning is not positive to that extent in case of students of higher intelligence because they have better grasping power than students with low intelligence. Thus it can be inferred that scope improvement is narrower for intelligent pupils than for less intelligent pupils. From the research discussed above, it is evident that mastery learning is an effective method of instruction which enhances student learning, achievement, attitude, and expectations. References [1] Ashok, K.K., 2005 Effectiveness of Mastery Learning Strategy and Inquiry Training Model on Pupil s Achievement in Science Indian Educational review, Vol.41, No.1 Vol. 3, No. 7, July

6 [2] Best, T.W. (1969), Research in education, New Delhi Prentice Hall [3] Block, J. H. & Anderson, L. W. (1975). Mastery learning in classroom instruction. New York: Macmillon. [4] Dahiya S.S(1985), Effects of Mastery Learning Strategy and conventional Teaching in Mathematics and their Creative Abilities, Ph.D. Thesis, M.D. University. [5] Dash, M. (1984), Educational Psychology, New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications [6] Gage, N. L. & Berliner, D. C. (1988). Educational Psychology (4 th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. [7] Garrett, H.E. (1981), Statistics in Psychology and Education, Bombay: Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd. [8] Jangira, N.K. and Yadav, P.S., Effect of Teaching Mathematics using Indian Model of Mastery Learning (IMML) on Pupil Achievement, Self-concept and their Attitude towards mathematics, DTE, NCERT, [9] Rao, S.N. (1990), Educational Psychology, New Delhi: Wiley Eastern Ltd [10] Sharma, R.A. (1991). Technology of Teaching Meerut: International Publishing House. [11] Slavin, R. E. (1987). Mastery learning reconsidered. Review of Educational Research, 57, [12] Toyce, B. Weil, M. Showers, B. (1992), Models of Teaching, New Delhi: Prentice Hall. [13] Yadav, P.S. (1984), Effect of Mastery learning Strategy on pupils Achievement in Mathematics, their self concept and attitude towards Mathematics, Ph.D. Edu. in M.B., Buch (Editor), fourth survey of Educational Research Vol.2. Vol. 3, No. 7, July