ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the magnitude and stability of individual differences in the amount of time required to achieve a criterion level of performance (time-to-criterion). Time-to-criterion was defined in two ways: the amount of elapsed time and the amount of on-task time required to attain the criterion. Ninety students were randomly assigned either to a mastery learning class in which all students were helped to attain an 85% mastery standard or to one of two non-mastery classes. Students learned a three-unit sequence of programmed material in matrix arithmetic. The results indicated that time-to-criterion (defined in both manners) was an alterable human characteristic. Implications for schooling and school learning are discussed.
Recent innovations in instruction and educational measurement have led to a differential emphasis on two concepts present in school and school learning: time and amount learned. Traditionally, students have been allowed a fixed amount of time to learn a particular unit or task. The result has been variation in the achievement level attained. These recent innovations have emphasized setting fixed achievement goals. The result has been variation to the amount of time needed to achieve these goals.
20At first glance what seems to be involved is a simple trade-off of variables, that is, a certain amount of student variation in achievement is exchanged for an equal amount of student variation in time to learn (or time-to-criterion). In line with this view it has been suggested that this variation in time-to-criterion is relatively stable over time. This is the belief that underlies Cronbach’s (1967) statement that an alternative learning strategy with fixed achievement objectives for all students is not feasible since “it would extend the education of some youngsters until they were oldsters” (p. 25).
As one examines the nature of time-to-criterion more closely, however, one sees that two conceptions of time can be differentiated. During the period of time that is allotted to the student for learning a particular task, the student spends a portion of that time working on the task and a portion of that time doing things which are not relevant to the task. The amount of time that the student is in the presence of the learning task can be called “elapsed time.” The amount of elapsed time can be divided into two parts: “time-on-task” (the amount of time the student is involved in learning) and “time-off-task” (the amount of time the student is not involved in learning). With these definitions and distinctions in mind, it is possible to explore further the time-to-criterion variable in school learning.
The main purpose of the study, then, is to investigate the following hypothesis. Students who are provided with additional time and help to attain criterion levels in the early units of a three-unit sequence spend approximately the same amount of time-on-task to attain the criterion level on a final unit as students who attain the criterion on the early units with no extra time or help. That is to say, it is hypothesized that student differences in time-on-task to learn to criterion are alterable and can be minimized over a sequence of learning units given appropriate adaptive learning strategies.
