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Show ' j "l J - H A.. - - 1 t ) ' I i READING SEMINAR Dr. Ethna Reid, president of the Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction, created new awareness of and appreciation appre-ciation for mastery learning when she addressed separate Davis County audiences during dur-ing the past week. THE FIRST event on Jan. 26 was hosted by the Davis County Coun-ty School District through the efforts of District Secondary Schools Administrator Grant Steed and Bountiful High Principal Prin-cipal Don Perkins, who also serves as Davis South Secondary Secon-dary PTA administrative vice president. The meeting was especially for secondary school teachers. Coincidentally, Viewmont High School PTSA had also arranged to have Dr. Reid address parents on Jan. 28. PTA President Eula Price and Principal Almon Flake, who also serves as vice president of the BHS PTSA, feel that concepts con-cepts of mastery learning could enrich both home and school environment. PTA Parent Pa-rent and Family Life Com. Sylvia Syl-via Sornson was chairman of the event. DE. REID'S philosophy of mastery learning asserts that under appropriate instructional instruction-al conditions "all" rather than "some" students can learn 100 oercent of what thev are taught. Dr. Reid has developed an associated set of ideas about instruction whereby the philosophy philo-sophy of mastery learning can be implemented in the classroom. clas-sroom. Her "Reid Model" is used in classrooms across the nation. In Maine, teachers are hired only if they have had mastery learning workshops. In the Utah elementary schools which used her . methods, first grade strudents will achieve 9th and 10th grade levels of learning on their SAT tests. Results in secondary schools are equally amazing. DR. REID quoted the Duke of Wellington as saying that the British were not braver than the French in the battle of Waterloo. They were braver five minutes longer. Why do some students give up? They do not preceive themselves of people w ho will succeed dispite difficulties. Parents, teachers, and friends Viewmont High Principal Almon Flake, left, and Grant M. Steed, director of secondary education curriculum cur-riculum for the Davis School District, congratulate Dr. Ethna R. Reid following a reading orientation held recently. determine how students preceive pre-ceive themselves. DR. REID gave several examples ex-amples of teachers who were told that students (and in one experiment, rats) were of superior su-perior intelligence even though the students were of average ability. Other teachers were told that their students (who really had average ability) abil-ity) were very slow and dull. When teachers thought highly of students and expected much, the students excelled. When teachers expected little, the students achieved little. The difference was not in the ability of the students. The difference was in the minds of the teachers. Teachers of the so-called "superior students" spent more time teaching, and they used different methods, manners and language. SAID DR. Reid, "We cannot can-not tell students they are lazy and expect them to be industrious." indust-rious." She quoted Dr. Henry Eyring as saying that the earliest ear-liest words his mother said to him were, "You are a genius." Dr. Reid at first resisted a concept con-cept given to her by O.C. Tanner: Tan-ner: "The most difficult thing you can ever say to a child is 'yes.' But it is the only thing you can say." That principle is now fundamental in the Reid model of mastery learning. "As parents and teachers, we think our responsibility is to be a critic. But the key to mastery teaching is to ignor the behavior we do not like. Children Chil-dren cannot learn by ridicule, sarcasm, shame and embar-assment. embar-assment. It is marvelous to see a classroom where there is no criticism." said Dr. Reid. SHE EXPLAINED that the deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important. Students, therefore, do not want to do something they cannot can-not do. Teachers, therefore, must ( 1 ) teach the student what to do; (2) teach the student how to do it; (3) provide circumstances cir-cumstances that make it possible possi-ble for the student to do what he shoud do, and (4) motivate the student to want to do it. In order for learning to occur, teachers and students must be overtly involved. Mastery learning eliminates procrastination, insists upon reteaching rather than criticism, critic-ism, and give immediate reinforcement rein-forcement to even slight improvements. im-provements. MASTERY LEARNING demands de-mands much of teachers, but ultimately much time and energy ener-gy is saved as a teacher enjoys the productivity, accomplishments, accomplish-ments, self-discipline, . and congenial association of all students. In her two-hour presentation, presenta-tion, Dr. Reid gave parents specific ways of becoming mastery teachers. "Attention is the most powerful reinfor-cer. reinfor-cer. If you give attention to negative behavior, it will increase. in-crease. If you do not, it will go away." Students learn that the only behavior that receives attention is good behavior-correct behavior-correct responses and admirable admir-able conduct. AT THE conclusion of the Jan. 26 meeting parents clustered clus-tered around Dr. Reid asking questions and requesting additional addi-tional printed material to thelp them review and acquire mastery mas-tery teaching skills. Many were hopeful that mastery learning will occur in Davis County homes and schools. I |