For the past three years five teachers at Westminster Christian School have field-tested an
experimental computer-based biofeedback educational system with positive results. In the
experiment, two English teachers, a history teacher, an accounting-typing teacher and a computer
teacher taught their classes in a totally computerized environment. Every student was assigned to
a computer. Students then did their class work on the computer, took tests on the computer and
used the computer, to teach themselves the curriculum covered by the class.1
The teachers participating in the experiment claim that students learned so much faster
that they had to double the material they teach in the academic sections of their curriculum.
One teacher even claims to teach triple the academic load taught before the use of computers.2
English teachers reported that student vocabulary levels had risen to higher levels and that reading
speed and comprehension also rose.3 Teachers from all departments reported high test scores and
excellent long-term retention.
Students taking classes from teachers participating in the experiment claim they get better
grades, learn more, and that they like school more.4 Most of the students participating in the
program claim that their memory has iimproved and they do not need to study as much for other
classes which are taught in a traditional way.5
Westminster operated under two principles during this experiment: classroom immersion
and the mastery technique of instruction.
In classroom immersion, each student is assigned to a computer on a one-to-one ratio.
The computers are loaded with business and educational programs which assist them in the work
assigned throughout the course of the year. The students then do their work the way a
professional would do it, using the power and ease the computer has to offer.
This method, according to theory6, makes learning more work-relevant and encourages
higher efficiency, competency and self-reliance. Parents like this approach because it is "high
tech" and is "business like." Instructors like it because it integrates academic disciplines
effortlessly and holds students immediately accountable. Students like it because it offers
faster-paced learning in a multi-sensory environment.7
There are two disadvantages to teaching in this way. The classroom is technologically
dependant and technological problems have the potential to cripple the classroom. Furthermore,
although technology can make routine teaching work such as grading papers and averaging
grades trivial, the possibility of technical problems in the future and the need to be technologically
competent can intimidate instructors.
Westminster has dealt with these problems by nurturing interested teachers, hiring a full
time technology coordinator and by employing team-teaching techniques.
Teachers who show interest are invited to bring their classes into a multimedia classroom
filled with computers and teach their class with the technology coordinator present. This allows
the teacher to concentrate on the curriculum while the technology coordinator handles the
technical work.
As classes progressed, interested teachers were impressed with the rate of speed with
which students picked up new ideas and applied them. As teachers taught their classes in a
computer-rich environment, the teachers learned how to operate the equipment and run the
software. By observing as the technology coordinator as he does his job, teachers learned to fix
the most common technical problems that occur in immersion classrooms.
Many of Westminster's teachers go through a second training phase. They team teach in a
double-sized classroom with a retractable dividing wall. Half of this classroom is computerized
like an immersion classroom; the other half is a traditional classroom with rows of desks and a
blackboard. In this setting the teachers who are new to immersion classroom teaching can see it
done successfully by a seasoned veteran and incorporate what they learn gradually.
8
The Mastery program at Westminster uses biofeedback techniques to teach students
through repetitive testing. The program gets its name from a teaching technique in which
students are allowed to retake unit tests as often as they wish to improve their grade. When this
technique is applied, each time they retake the test on a unit of material, the instructor shows them
what they missed on the test and after that the instructor creates a completely new test.9 This
teaching method produces good results10 11 but suffers from three major disadvantages. First,
teaching in this way puts a heavy work load on the instructor. It is time consuming to create new
tests and grade them. It is also difficult or impossible to go over each question with each of the
students showing them the correct answers to the questions they missed. Since students seldom
read comments or corrections written next to the questions of their tests, private consultations are
required. Secondly, students soon learn that initial testing is discarded and they come to tests
unprepared. This raises the number of times they are tested, which exacerbates the work load
problem for the instructor and robs the class of time for other activities. Third, students that
perform at a high level must wait or perform noncurricular work while the instructor remediates
the students that need to be retested. This slows their learning and eventually robs the school of
its academic leadership.12
Using a computer program like Mastery largely overcomes the problems inherent with the
Mastery system of instruction, allowing both the students and the instructor to enjoy the benefits
of high learning rates and high grades inherent with this approach to education. The Mastery
program created at Westminster Christian School reads multiple choice questions created by
teachers in their subject areas and changes them into digital question banks. Students then run
the question banks13 during a teaching session. The answers to questions are presented in random
order and the questions themselves are randomly chosen out of categories stored in the question
bank. This results in a unique test every time the program is run.
Since the test is taken on the computer itself, grading and correction is done immediately
for the student. It is an established fact that the effectiveness of correction diminishes rapidly with
the passing of time.14 The use of computers to present the material and correct student errors has
therefore resulted in substantial gains in learning efficiency beyond those expected from the
employment of the Mastery teaching technique. Computer-based testing has also automated
grading tasks for instructors to the point that the instructors, for the most part, only need to
record the submitted grades.
Because students can be taught academic material directly by testing, many teachers allow
advanced students who finish ahead of the class to take the tests on material that will be covered
later in the class. Students quickly learn the new information without the teacher's assistance and
are able to take leadership positions in classroom discussions. Because many of the students in
the class perform at a high level, the instructor needs to add to the amount of academic material
available to the students in the Mastery program. Advanced students then complete the class with
more information at their disposal than students who finish on track. Some teachers in our study
never even present the material in the Mastery program at all. All the students in their classes
learn the material directly from the Mastery program in test form. This seems particularly
effective when applied in vocabulary enhancement lessons.
A visitor to an immersion classroom running the Mastery program would get the
impression that teaching using the Mastery program is effortless, but this is an illusion. Although
computer-based instruction eliminates grading and reduces the work of creating tests, the high
learning rate of the participating students and the high information demands of the Mastery
teaching technique result in an impressive amount of pre-class academic preparation on the part of
the instructor.
Westminster's Mastery program uses the structure of the human body and the prevailing
culture in American society to provide immediate reinforcement of effective learning.
The human eye is composed of three separate sensing organs: rods, which see in low
intensity light but only see in black and white; cones that see red and green, and cones that see
blue and yellow.15 Shifts in any of the three pairs of colors make a profound impact on the
viewer.16 That is part of the reason paper documents (black on white) and stop lights (red and
green) work so well. Mastery uses blue to yellow light shifts accompanied by sounds to reinforce
learning and shifts in all three to organize information for the reader. It is this color organization
that makes Mastery particularly effective for mildly learning-disabled students.
The fact that blue-to-yellow light shifts are largely unused by our society gives their use in
this context two additional qualities. First, there is a subtle shock value associated with anything
that is unfamiliar.17 Students will sometimes talk about feeling their wrong responses in the pit of
their stomachs. Some students make an audible "YIPE" when they have made an incorrect
response. Secondly, because, shifts in other colors are common, they are also predefined to a
large extent in the minds of the students. With the red-green shift, red means stop, green means
go. With the white-black shift, black is information while white is the background. In Mastery,
blue comes to mean a challenge and yellow comes to mean correction. Both these colors are used
against a black background which enhances contrast and draws the attention of the student as
black text does on a printed page.18
Timing is vital to successful education.19 Studies have shown that the more immediate the
reward and correction are to student responses, the more effective those rewards and corrections
become to the students.20 If reward and correction occur the instant a student responds, students
not only learn, but also improve their learning curves.21
The use of music to enhance teaching has deep and wide roots in our culture and heritage
dating back to Pythagoras who founded geometry in the 6th century BC. Pythagoras discovered
a strong link between mathematics and music. Later, Plato and Aristotle adopted music to
prepare student minds emotionally for productive study and to enhance memory.22 During the
same period of time, in the Middle East, the Hebrews were setting their religious writings to
music so their children could learn them accurately and quickly.23 The tradition of teaching with
music has persisted through the centuries even to the present. To this day our children are taught
the alphabet using music.24
The Mastery program uses music or note combinations to assist in learning in three ways.
First, the moment students run the program, it plays the first nine notes of Bach's Toccata
and Fuge in D Minor in allegro. This music is immediately recognizable as classical, preparing
students emotionally for the complex tasks ahead. The minor key and low tones communicate a
sense of size and power, giving students a brief "rush" of adrenalin. This makes many students
more alert and better learners.
Second, Mastery uses sound to communicate.
When a student makes a correct response, the program rewards them with a quick four
note trumpet laurel. The quickness of this note sequence and its high pitch according to research
causes students to learn more quickly25 and is immediately recognized as a positive thing.26
When a student responds incorrectly, the program responds with two notes that bear the
same tonal qualities and beat as the English slang phrase "Uh-Oh." The incorrect response then
gains many of the same bad connotations by association.27
Third, students are randomly challenged to bet on their knowledge of a certain subject.
When such a challenge occurs, a siren goes off. Siren sounds are associated with danger. This
excites students, giving them an adrenalin surge.28 Because challenges are totally random events
and affect the outcome of the entire teaching session strongly, anticipation builds up in students as
they proceed through the lesson. This anticipation raises their attentiveness.29
Finally, teachers have the option to have their students listen to Bach's "Joy" when they
complete their session or choose to view their statistics. This is designed to leave them with a good
impression of what has just occurred.
Traditional classroom suffer from synchronization. Topics are covered in time slots by the
whole class. The amount of time allocated to learning a particular topic and the amount of
information presented within that topic are determined by the learning abilities of the weakest
students in the class and the logistical problems presented by having only one teacher. This leads to
tremendous academic inefficiency.30 Lessons that could be taught go untaught because a small
minority of students are still struggling with previous material and teachers simply cannot do two
lessons at the same time.
Computer-based instruction offers several levels of asynchronous learning and therefore a
solution to classroom synchronization. Because of classroom immersion dynamics, each student
essentially is accountable to the teacher via the computer. The classroom teacher can be with all
students correcting mistakes and reteaching because the computer has the teacher's guidance stored
within it and the computer is totally dedicated to teaching the student. As a result, every student is
free to continue at his or her own rate of speed, maximizing the amount of information learned by
every student in the class.
In addition to this, Mastery has been used in several ways to multiply teacher effectiveness.
Several Westminster teachers use it as an enrichment activity for students that finish early in other
areas of study. In 1996, the faculty and staff of Westminster Christian School ported several Mastery
programs to floppy disks, bar coded them and cataloged them in the school library. Students could
then check Mastery programs out of the library the way they check out books any time they wish to
use the program to assist them with their assignments or to prepare for tests.
Because of Mastery's integration into the curriculum of the school and its availability outside the classroom, Westminster is now in a position to conduct electronically based distance education. Electronically based distance education correlates positively with high student competency, higher subjective student satisfaction with the classes and increased student involvement in the subject area.
1. Ellen Gagn‚ distinguishes between two types of learning: Declarative learning, knowing about things, and procedural learning, knowing how to do things. Our study concerned only declarative learning, but seemed to have unexpected effects in the area of procedural learning. Gagn‚, E. D., The Cognitive Psychology of School Learning, Boston, 1985.[Go back.]
2. In the computer class, longitudinal records show an increase of 284.3% in the information given to students accompanied by a 50% decrease in the amount of class time spent imparting the same information.[Go back.]
3.English student's scores on tests resulted in 2/3 of a letter grade increase in over all GPA. Pazos, D., Evaluation of Computer Assisted Instruction in a High School Academic Setting, Florida Intenational University Library Press, 1999.[Go back.]
4. A total of 94% preferred learning using Mastery instead of using more traditional methods of teaching. This verifies the work of Ku.ik, Bangert and Williams Who found that students that learn using computer based instruction learned more and expressed a favorable attitude toward the use of computers in the classroom. Kulik, Bangert and Williams, "The Effects of Computer Based Teaching on Secondaty School Students", Journal of Educational Psychology, 1983..[Go back.]
5.An average of 82.1% of the students claimed that after using Mastery twelve times, it took less and less time to learn the information presented. 35.9% claimed that after twelve sessions, they did not have to study as long for their other classes because they learned more quickly as a result of using Mastery. [Go back.]
6. According to a research study by Giaconia and Hedges, individualized instruction, based on the needs and abilities of each student, increases the pace of instruction and therefore increases the total amount of information learned. Giaconia and Hedges, Review of Educational Research, 1982.[Go back.]
7. Our results are typical in this way. Computer-based instruction, according to a government study, consistently leads to stronger student performance. Roblyer, J. D. Measuring the impact of computers in instruction: A non-technical review for educators, Washington D.C., 1985.[Go back.]
8. Team teaching during teacher training correlates with higher teacher expectations, and higher
academic performance on the part of students who take that teacher's classes in the future.
9. The idea of mastery learning was first proposed by Carlton Washburne and Henry C. Morrison in the 1920s and later developed and expanded by Benjamin Bloom in 1968. (See Biehler, Robert F. and Snowman, Jack, Psychology Applied to Teaching, Southern Illinois Univ., p577ff.) In this learning system, students are taught and tested, then categorized according to test results. Students who fail the test "participate in corrective instruction" and are retested. Hyman, Joan S. and Cohen, S. Alan, "Learning for Mastery: Ten Conclusions After 15 Years and 3000 Schools," Educational Leadership 36, Nov 1979.[Go back.]
10. The mastery learning system produced a student academic learning level that was 80% above the control group in a study by Bloom. Bloom, B., Human Characteristics and School Learning, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1976.[Go back.]
11. Students who have been taught in a class using the mastery system recieved higher scores in standardized testing. Evans and King write, "The meta-analysis indicates that the average student in a mastery learning class performed at the 70th percentile, whereas the average student in a control class performed at the 50th percentile." For more information, see: Evans, Karen M., King, Jean A. Research on OBE: What We Know and Don't Know [Go back.]
12. See Slavin, Mastery Learning Reconsidered, Center for Research on Elementary and Middle Schools, Johns Hopkins University, 1987, p.7. [Go back.]
13. Many researchers critisize the mastery learning system as orignally proposed by Bloom because it has the many of the same weaknesses that the outcome-based the education plan (OBE) proposed by President Clinton has. Because the information in OBE can be controlled by the government, many people worry about the content of the curriculum that will be taught. At Westminster, the Mastery program data is programmed by the teacher. The Westminster program therefore continues to reflect the values and morals taught before its implementation. The program merely speeds instruction. It does not change what is taught. [Go back.]
14. In 1935, research done by Peterson, Ellis, Toohill, and Kloess found that student scores were 19% lower if testing was conducted six weeks after reviewing the material instead of two week after reviewing. Peterson, H. A. et al., Some Measurements of the Effects of Reviews, "Journal of Educational Psychology, (1935), 26:65-72. [Go back.]
15. Accoring to the Opponent Processing Theory of Color Vision proposed by Hering. See "Color Vision". This site is a testing site for color blindness. [Go back.]
16. According to the McCullough Effect, cones become desensitized with use while complementary cones become hypersensitive. See Corporate Vision Consulting. [Go back.]
17. ********shock of new things [Go back.]
18. Research has shown that memory is organized and enhanced by the characteristics of the background it is set against. See Mind Tools - Helping you to think your way to an excellent life!, [Go back.]
19. Westminster's philosophy is diametrically opposed to the philosophies of Bloom and those who embrace Outcome Based Education (OBE). OBE's foundational premise is that results are more important than time usage. Westminster hold the belief that time is the measuring factor of effective learning. High scholastic performance always implies the existence of a high rate of learning Students should be trained to learn, assimilate and apply information quickly. [Go back.]
20.B. F. Sinner noted, before the advent of small computer systems, that the lack of immediacy in classrooms made programmed learning an impossibility. According to Skinner, rewards or "reinforcements" must be immediate to be associated to the desired behavior or correct responses. Skinner, B. F. The Techoology of Teaching, Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1968.****[Go back.]
21. ********Biofeedback paraliminal learning. [Go back.]
22. Williams, Sarajane, Harp Therapy: A Psychacoustical Approach to treating Pain and Stress, [Go back.]
23. Many of the Pslams in the Bible have musical markings or instructions the meaning of which have been long since lost with the passage of time. [Go back.]
24. The tradition of teaching using music and rhythm has weakened in our particular culture but remains strong in many others. According to a study done by J. E. Bogen, Europeans tend to favor learning styles that are "left hemispheric" (in the analytical part of the brain) whereas native Indian cultures and African cultures tend to favor "right hemispheric"learning (the music-spacial area of the brain.) Kimmel, Karl J., Music-Videos In Education: Combining Visual, Verbal and Musical Mnemonic Facilitation For a Middle School Biology Unit [Go back.]
25. Dr. Alfred Tomatis discovered that music containing high frequency notes (5000 hz to 8000 hz) makes listeners more energetic and boosts IQ scores on tests taken within 10 minutes of hearing the music. (See Superlearning (r) Mind/Body Music, [Go back.]
26. Positive because the sequence ends on a higher note. It is a musical convention in western culture to interpret rising frequencies in music as positive, light and even happy. Stephen McAdams evenmakes the claim that some of these sequences are innate as well as learned. See Audition: Cognaitive Psychology of Music, Stephen McAdams, R.Llinas & P. Churchland eds., The Mind Continum, pp.251-279, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 1996. http://mediatheque.ircam.fr/articles/texts/McAdams96a/ [Go back.]
27. The phrase "Uh-Oh" in English slang is loaded with bad connotations. In most situations it carries a dark sense of disaster and impending doom. "Uh Oh" was the last thing misson controllers heard from the Challenger space craft before it blew up. [Go back.]
28. ******* bodily responce to excitment [Go back.]
29. *******anxiety anticipation and attentiveness [Go back.]
30. Some schools attempt to address this problem by "tracking" students. Students are placed in different classes based on their previous performance. Each class has a different teacher that progress through subject material at different rates of speed. This solution is only a partial solution for several reasons. Each class is again restricted in perfomance by its lowest performers., teachers still lack the ability to give true one on one help and many students find themselves in the wrong track. [Go back.]
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