Teacher Views on the Applicability of Mastery Learning Model in Teaching Learning Process

Article History: Purpose of the study: The purpose of the sudy wasto determine teacher views on teaching and learning in terms of the aspects of mastery learning method. To this aim, the following questions were examined: Do teachers believe that all students can learn all the course subjects, why? Do teachers believe that they can teach all the subjects of a course, why? Method: In the research, phenomenology (phenomenological method) was used as a qualitative research method. The phenomena investigated in the study was the views of teachers on whether they could teach mastery and whetherstudents could learn mastery. Interview method was used in Received: 01 Jun. 2017 Received in revised form: 01 Agt. 2018 Accepted: 08 Nov. 2018 DOI: 10.14689/ejer.2018.78.10


Introduction
The most important factor for an effective school is great expectations for educators, students and school members.This is because teachers need to believe in both themselves and their students, and they need to set high but achievable goals in order to create a healthy school environment.Perception of great expectations for everyone embraces the philosophy that all students can learn important, hard and interesting subjects as long as they are motivated, and sufficient conditions are provided.Important information is notintended merely for succesful students.This kind of information addresses all students regardless of their social status or career goals (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2013).Holmes andWynne (1989), andWeber (1971) state that teacher and students are the primary resources in effective school studies and models, and that physical facilities, classroom size, teaching program and teaching strategies are the secondary resources contrary to popular belief.An important factor shaping the beliefs of teachers, who are effective in students' learning, is teachers' high expectations toward students' success.In line with this perspective, Edmonds (1992) admits that all school age children can be educated (cited from Balci, 2013).Teachers convey their expectations of students by both verbal and nonverbal clues.It has been accepted that these expectations affect the interaction between students and teachers.Thus, they affect students' performances as well.In many occasions, teacher expectations turn into prophecies which become real in the end.Accordingly, if a teacher thinks that students learn slowly, and exhibits pursuant behaviour, students alter their behaviours paralel to this expectation (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2013;Jacobson & Rosenthal, 1968).
Both activity-based school culture and reliance-based school culture increase student success.Research demonstrate that reliance-based relations among teachers increase the success and improvement levels of students.In order to provide a successful school, teachers evaluate necessary ways, probable obstacles, available resources, and teaching aims and in terms of their teaching skills.This evaluation carried out by teachers contains all students' perceptions toward their learning abilities.In his research, Bandura (1993) highlighted that there is a positive relationship between student success and teacher efficacy, and that this relationship has greater effect on academic success when compared to students' socio-economic status (Hoy & Miskel, 2012).
As previously mentioned, many studies indicate that private reasons of school efficacy are not related to money.On the contrary, they are related to organizational climate and culture (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2013).Research emphasize that effective leadership skills, motivation, and responsibilities have more importance than money and materiality, and they put forward that roles, values, and beliefs in teaching and learning processes need to be changed and improved (Ducan, 2009).Similarly, Hill (2000) asserts that three factors are crucial for schools to be effective.He states that teachers should have a particular philosophy in terms of aims, targets, and strategies, and that teachers should be given more responsibilities to improve their teaching practices.
There is a sequence of important principles concerning school efficacy and excellence.The most prevalent of these principles is that teachers and managers have the expectation that all students can learn.Also, they need to give hints to the students about their expectations.Teachers who believe that students can learn, and who devote themselves to this belief are substantial for an effective school (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2013).In order to achieve this, teachers should clearly define their aims and expectations for all the students.In an environment of high expectations, educators believe that all students are able to achieve competence in basic skills ecause many behaviors are based on individuals' expectations from the results of the behaviors (Robbins & Judge, 2012).
According to Schlechty (2005), the idea that schools and teachers are responsible for the success of their students is indirectly related to the idea that teachers can do something about this success.This is a meaningful explanation.If schools and teachers do not know what they can do to influence student achievement, why do they exist?Teachers should be directly, personally, and urgently responsible for ensuring that learning outcomes of the students will lead to results that increase the likelihood of learning.More specifically, each teacher should be held accountable for ensuring that what is taught to students is the same as what they are intended to learn.At the same time, every teacher should be held accountable for enhancing student's participation, determination, and satisfaction in the activity they apply.
In 1963, John B. Carroll initiated a fundamental change in thinking about teaching characteristics.In his paradigm, Carroll has recommended that different students need different time to focus on learning the same material.Carroll's theory is based on the idea that all students have the potential to learn any content provided by the teacher but that each student needs different amount of time to learn the same material.He identified two factors that affect the learning rate of a student; the learner's willingness and opportunities for learning.The first one depends on the student (how much time he / she spends learning), and the second depends on the teacher who organizes the learning time.Nevertheless, it was Benjamin Bloom who developed the theory currently known as Mastery Learning in 1968.Bloom concluded that if enough time and qualified instruction are given, almost all students can learn.In addition, Bloom's mastery learning model present the idea that most of the learning is achieved by the teacher rather than inheritance.The theory of mastery learning has resulted in a radical shift in teacher responsibility in the form of student failures stemming from instruction rather than the lack of skills of the student.In this type of learning environment, the main purpose is to provide sufficient time for all students to learn at the same level, and to use effective teaching strategies.(Bloom, 1981(Bloom, , 1995;;Borich, 2014;Levine, 1985).In other words, it is suggested that when additional time and learning opportunities are provided tostudents, almost all students can learn all the new behaviors and achievements taught in schools (Senemoglu, 1997).
According to Bloom, learning in a particular period is the basis for what will be learned in later periods.A student's success in a unit facilitates the learning of other units related to that unit.If the learning process is approached sensitively, and appropriate learning conditions are created for the students, all the students can learn the subjects taught at school (Fidan, 1985).In the mastery learning model proposed by Bloom (1995), relevant pre-learning, which constitutes the prerequisites for teaching the skills to be taught, needs to be achieved in advance.According to him, about twenty-five percent of the variance of success can be explained by the characteristics of affective input; and for cognitive input behaviors this percentage can be up to fifty percent.Another important element in the mastery learning model is the quality of teaching.The quality of the teaching service is composed of various items.These items consist of clues and signs presented to the student, active involvement of the student in the learning process, reinforcements provided to learners, feedback, and correction system.
Therefore, when the characteristics of the students and the quality of the teaching service are positive, the level and quality of the learning productsincrease, and the difference of success among the students is minimized.Otherwise, the level and quality of the learning products diminish, and the achievement gap between the learners increase.This shows that the students' level of learning can be improved by making the changeable features affecting learning positive in the teaching-learning process, as stated by Senemoglu (1997).Thus, learning differences between students can be minimized, and the education system can be removed from being selective and skeptical.As a result, schools may become institutions where students realize themselves.
According to the literature and the results of the research, it has been seen that behaviors of students are usually in accordance with the expectations of their teachers (positive or negative).There are findings that students at schools where teachers have high expectations are more successful than those at other schools (Slavin, 2013).The fact that teachers have high expectations, and that they are rewarded for what they come up with are very effective in reducing the difference in success among students (Borich, 2014).
The most successful teachers are realistic about high and low success levels of students.A teacher who develops strict and explicit expectations towards the students causes them the most violent damage.On the other hand, a teacher that understands presence of difference, and chooses realistic methods and appropriate content will create a positive impact on students (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2013;Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968).As it has been emphasized in the literature, assumption that all students can learn and all teachers can teach underlies the basis of effective school understanding.In other words, it is accepted that effective schools are able to create a difference in students' learning.Student's role is defined as the one who succeeds at high levels (Balci, 2013).
The aim of the present researchwas to determine if teachers were able to adopt the assumption that all learners could learn all the subjects taught in schools when sufficient time and qualified teaching-learning opportunities were provided to students suggested in the mastery learning model.

Research Design
The qualitative research model was used in the study.In qualitative research, qualitative data collection methods such as interview, observation, and document analysis are used; and perceptions and concepts are exhibited in their natural environment in a realistic and holistic way.The most important contribution of these methods is that they allow researchers to demonstrate the social structure and processes (Yildirim & Simsek, 2005).In the study, phenomenology (phenomenological method) was used as a qualitative research method.According to Holt & Sanderg (2013), studying a phenomenon is about knowing how objects and events are related, and how they relate to the context they are in.Phenomenology is the study of a kind of relation and the condition of the relation.In the, the phenomenon investigated was teachers' perceptions of their ability to teach mastery of the subjects and students' ability to learn mastery of the subjects.

Research Sample
In the study, in order to have rich information, a purposeful sampling method was used, and the maximum diversity sampling method was chosen among the purposeful sampling methods.The aim here was to reflect the diversity of the individuals who were related to the problem at the maximum level, and to present different dimensions of the problem according to this diversity.In addition, common themes may arise among different features (Yildirim & Simsek, 2016).To provide maximum diversity in the research; A study group was formed with 8 female and 7 male volunteer teachers working in various grades such as kindergarten (3), primary school (3), junior high school (3), general high school (3), and vocational high school (3).The study group consisted of teachers in the fields of Foreign Language Education (2), Preschool Education (2), Vocational Education (1), Religious Culture (1), Mathematics (1), Counselling (1), Physical Education (1), Classroom Teaching (2), Geography (1), History (1), Literature (1), and Physics (1) in Duzce province during 2016 -2017 academic year.

Research Instrument and Procedures
Interview method which is one of the data collection methods was used in the study (Patton, 2014).Related literature was reviewed for interview questions, and possible interview questions were determined.These questions were prepared by taking the views of two academicians.The interviews were conducted by four trainers before and at the end of the application with the following semi-structured questions: 1) Do you believe that all the students in your class can learn all the topics of your lesson?Why? 2) Do you believe that you can teach all the subjects to your students?Why?

Validity and Reliability
Lincoln and Guba (1985) used the term "trustworthiness" to define reliability and validity in qualitative research.They stated that trustworthiness involves establishing -four criteria: Credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (Sencan, 2005).
Credibility is defined as the correlation between research results, and the perceptions of the individuals who participated in the research (Sencan, 2005).In order to increase research credibility, various questions were asked to educators, all answers were recorded in detail, and their opinions were included individually.The researcher tried to introduce the research application in a comprehensive way to ensure the transferability condition.At the same time, the factors that could affect the results were explained.The validity and reliability of qualitative research depends on the degree of overlap between the facts a person or an institution in real life and the recordings or comments made by the researcher.(Sencan, 2005).In order to increase the transferability of the research, the research process and the structures in this process were tried to be explained in detail.In order to increase the internal consistency of the research, all of the findings were given.

Data Analysis
Interview method was used in data collection.The data were analyzed using content analysis techniques.The data are presented considering the questions used in interviewing processes (Yildirim & Simsek, 2008).Accordingly, similar data were collected under particular concepts, and were interpreted after they were organized.The opinions of the participants were cited directly.The identities of the participants were kept private, and each interview form was given a different code in data analysis.Research process was explained in detail in order to increase the transferability.Also, all of the findings were given in order to increase the internal consistency of the research.

Results
As a result of the content analysis, research findings were categorized under the following four main themes, and they were explained with participant opinions.a) Teachers who believe that all students in the school can learn all subjects of the course b) Teachers who do not believe that all students in the school can learn all subjects of the course c) Teachers who believe that their lessons can teach all subjects d) Teachers who do not believe that their lessons can teach all subjects

Teachers' Belief that All Students Can Learn All of the Subjects in a Lesson
Only four of the teachers participate in the study (T1, T2, T9, T14) believed that all students ina class could learn all subjects of a lesson.These teachers' views were categorized as follows;  taking individual differences between students into account,  use of different teaching strategies, methods and techniques of the tools and materials in the courses, individualized education,  teachers' creativity and patience,  teacher's belief As a result, teachers stated that all students in a class could learn all subjects in a class.Teachers' opinions on this topic were as follows: Being a primary school teacher, I believe that it is not possible for students to maintain their concentration at the highest level during a lesson of 40 minutes.I think if the lesson was 30 minutes long, it would be more beneficial for students at this age period.I surely try to make lessons more effective and to approach to the maximum learning level.I enliven the lesson with many different methods, and try to reach out to all of the students while considering personal differences among them.For instance, I taught the subject of 'the family' at the third grades last week.I thought at least half of the classroom would participate in simple activities such as writing the meanings of the words, reading, and singing.I encouraged several more students to participate while they tried to introduce their family members with their photographs they had brought to the classroom.In the last lesson, they built a family play using the costumes that I brought, and nearly the whole classroom willingly participated in the activity.I think they implicitly learned the vocabulary related to the subject.(T1)", "I do believe that every child can learn.Each child in a classroom is different in many ways, but we can teach all subjects in a lesson using various methods and techniques with the help of individual studies.At this point, teachers need to be creative and patient.(T2)" , "I believe all students in my classrooms can learn all of the subjects.Their levels may depend, some of them may take longer to learn but it is possible for them to learn with sufficient patience and time.(T9)","I believe that all of my students are able to learn all subjects of my lesson.Because I think if they believe themselves, they can succeed no matter what their learning styles and levels are.If one person can do it, then others can also do it.If they find out their learning styles, listen carefully, revise, participate actively to the lesson with their materials, and do their homework regularly, they can learn.Each learning will be different for sure, but I believe that learning will occur to some extent.Some learn the first time a topic is introduced, others learn after many repetitions.But eventually they learn (T14)

Teachers' Disbelief that Students Can Learn All of the Subjects in a Lesson
The majority of the teachers who participated in the survey di not believe that all students in a class would be able to learn all subjects of a lesson (T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8, T10, T11, T12, T13, T15).The reasons for teachers' views were categorized as follows;  individual differences such as intelligence, talent and interest among students,  limitations in terms of time and facilities in the school,  differences in pre-learning and readiness levels of students. differences inperception and understanding of each student  differences in student environments  differences in student levels  differences and limitations in student capacities  lack of teachers' belief that every student can learn  differences in family structures, hereditary characteristics and up bringing environments For these reasons, teachers believed that all students in a class could not learn all subjects.Teachers' opinions on this topic were as follows: I do not believe that all students in a classroom can learn all of the subjects.Because all students have different interests, abilities and intelligence levels.I think it is utopic to think that learning occurs as long as suitable learning environment is provided.Students' learning is affected by limited time and facilities in schools.Everyone cannot learn a subject at the same level (T3)", "No, I do not believe it.Every student is at a different readiness level.Also, their family structures and environments are different (T4)", "No, I do not think.Every student has a different learning pace and comprehension ability (T5)", "No, I do not believe it.Because students are not at the same level of capacity to learn all subjects (T6)", "I do not believe because some students may have developed certain positive or negative prejudices towards some lessons.They may have different abilities.It is not correct to think that all students are obliged to have the same courses.For instance, a student who likes mathematics lesson may not be succeed at Turkish (T7)", "I do not believe that all of my students are able to learn all subjects.Because each student is different in terms of perception and learning levels.Since studentsare of different ages, have different family structures, financial statuses and capacities, it would be unfair to expect them to succeed at the same level.Students may need different methods to learn a particular subject.I cannot apply these methods sufficiently due to lack of facilities.This situation decreases the learning level of the students (T8)", "I do not believe it because learning levels of the students are not the same.It is not possible to teach all students at different levels in a classroom.The main reason is that students' environments and attention levels are different (T10)", "I do not believe it because students have different learning levels, desires, and interests; therefore, they learn what attracts them the most.Only students at a certain level can learn uninteresting units.It depends on their readiness levels (T11)", "No, I do not believe it.I think the levels of the students are different from one another.Besides, genetic factors, environmental factors, age, nutrition… All of these affect learning cooperatively.Also, there are students at various levels in the classrooms (T12)", "Since each student has a different readiness level, perception level, and learning way, it is very hard for them to learn all of the subjects.Each student interprets and structures the information in a different way (T13)", "I think this possibility can never happen.Because people are born with personal differences.This situation covers cognitive features as well as physical features.In modern educational approach, this can be explained with multiple intelligence theory.

Students concentrate on distinctive parts of a lesson as a result of their interests and abilities. This situation affects whole learning directly and causes differences at the level of learning in individuals. Different methods should be applied in order to overcome this condition. (T15) Teachers' Belief That They Can Teach All Subjects in a Lesson
Teachers believed that they could teach all subjects in a lesson, and they stated that it depended on teachers' competency, their preliminary preparation, and usage of various different methods and techniques (T2, T4, T6, T7, T9, T14, T15).On the other hand, some of the teachers did not believe that students could learn all subjects due to the fact that they had personal and environmental differences.However, they believed that they could teach all subjects in their lesson as long as they made preliminary preparation.The main understanding behind this opinionwas that the failure of students to learn a subject was related to their personal features, rather than teachers' teaching approaches.Teachers' opinions were as follows: I believe it.I can teach my students any subject I feelcompetent.It depends on teacher's competency (T2)", "Yes, I believe it.I can get prepared to the subjects I I am not competent enough, so there will be no problem (T4)", "Yes I believe it, I can apply various methods and techniques, and I can make preliminary preparation (T6)", "Teaching can be carried out successfully as long as sufficient material is provided, and teaching techniques are effectively implemented (T7)", "I can surely teach all subjects of my lesson.I believe that I can teach them within the time period reserved for my lesson (T9)", "I believe that I can teach all subjects of my lesson in my classrooms.I can teach by providing different examples, making connections with current issues, guiding students practice, and providing their participation.I believe that I can make a progress with trust, reliance, patience, and affection.However, a teacher may successfully teach all subjects, but students still may not master all of them.Also I have doubts about the necessity and prabability of it.Which one of us has ever learned all subjects in a lesson completely?Or which one of us has ever needed to learn them?(T14)", "If the readiness level, physical and cognitive statuses of the students are not extremely different, which requires Individualized Education Program, I believe that I can teach all subjects, and achieve the results using evaluation and assessment.I also experience it.I teach theoretical part of the subjects to the students who have posture or physical problems.Their friends perform the activities; therefore, the students with problems have the chance to learn them.Therefore, I can evaluate both theoric and practical parts.I have the chance to observe that learning has occured.However, all of these aspects are not separated from students' motivation to my lesson (T15).

Teachers' Disbelief That They Can Teach All Subjects in a Lesson
Teachers who did not believe that they could teach all subjectsrelated to their fields stated that it depended on their students' readiness levels, learning deficiencies, and their prejudices.On the other hand, they stated that they did not feel themselves competent in their lessons.Despite their negative beliefs and opinions, they also kept preparing interesting materials and made preliminary preparations beforehand.They also tried to keep the motivation of the classroom high, tried to attract their attention, started the lesson with great energy, approached to the topic with small steps, and implemented brainstorming activities.Direct quotations of teacher opinions were given below.
Since students are more interested in certain subjects, they cannot learn all subjects at the same level.Their readiness level and the effect of the previous teacher may turn into prejudices, and this may result in deficiencies in learning.At this point, the motivation of the classroom should be maintained as high as possible, and their attention should be kept.This can be achieved by starting the lesson with great energy, approaching the topic with small steps, carrying out a brainstorm activity, or encouraging them to tell their similar memories related with the topic.The previous subject may not have been taught effectively.Therefore, cyclical approach may be utilized in order to make a connection with the previous subjects.They can be taught again comprehensively.The main reason is students' readiness, learning deficiencies, and prejudices (T1)", "I do not believe that I can teach all subjects effectively in my classrooms.I may not have the required knowledge in all subjects.However, I challenge myself, I make preparations, and Iprepare interesting activities and materials (T5)", "I do not believe that I can succeed in teaching all subjects of my lesson.Just as a student cannot learn and understand all courses at the same level, a teacher also cannot teach all subjects (T8)", "Teachers start their lesson with enthusiasm.We want to convey all information we have to the students.We try to teach them everything we know.However, the unwillingness of the students decreases the motivation of the teacher.We can only teach willing and enthusiastic students (T10)", "Just like any other classroom, my classroom includes students who have different learning levels.Fot this reason, it is not possible to provide whole learning.There are age differences among students in the current system.We have to address different age groups by using various activities.Teaching can be easier as long as the opportunities are provided, and the students are willing to learn (T11)", "The reluctance of students affects our motivation.I start the lesson thinking that I will teach all subjects effectively, but I get affected by the behaviours of the group.Also the families should be willing.(T12)", "No, all students learn what they want to learn (T13).

Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations
Only four of the teachers participated in the survey (T1, T2, T9, T14) believed that all students in a class could learn all subjects of a lesson.When the opinions of these teachers were analyzed; students were expected to learn all subjects in the lessons as a result of taking individual differences among the students, different teaching strategies, methods and techniquesused in the lessonsindividualized nature of education, creativity and patience of teachers, and teachers' support into account.The result of the study revealed that all learners would be able to achieve all the outcomes that are taught when adequate time and qualified learning conditions were provided to them.This result shows that the teachers have the same attitudes with the mastery learning model (Bloom, 1981(Bloom, , 1995;;Borich, 2014;Fidan, 1985;Levine, 1985;Senemoğlu, 1997).This is a gratifying result for the students and the education system.
The majority of the teachers participated in the survey (T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8, T10, T11, T12, T13) did not believe that allstudents ina class could learn all subjects ofa course.These teachers' opinionswere categorized as follows; individual differences such as intelligence, talent and interest among students, limited time and opportunities in school, differences in pre-learning-readines levels of students, differences in perception and perception of each student, differences in student environments, differences in student levels, different and limited student capacities, inability of teachers to learn each student, and differences in hereditary characteristics and environments.For these reasons, teachers believed that all students in a class could not learn all subjects.This finding demonstrates that most of the teachers are not of the same opinion with the the mastery learning model (Bloom, 1981(Bloom, , 1995;;Borich, 2014;Fidan, 1985;Levine, 1985;Senemoğlu, 1997) which advocates the assumption that all learners can achieve all the outcomes they are taught when sufficient time and qualified learning conditions are provided to them.In order to improve this situation, it is necessary to determine the preconditions (cognitive and emotional) for learning, and whether the students have achieved these outcomes, as stated by Senemoglu (1997).Courses should be monitored and assessed constantly.Elements that increase quality of the teaching-learning process (hints and signs, active participation, reinforcements, and feedback and corrections) should be used.Teachers should be given the sense that almost all students can learn if adequate time and qualified teaching are provided.For teachers, the perception that one cannot pass to another topic without the mastery of understanding the outcome related to that topic must be established.
Seven of the participant teachers (T2, T4, T6, T7, T9, T14) believed that they could teach all subjects related to their fields as long as they were competent, make preliminary preparation, implement various methods and techniques, and reserve sufficient time.Nine of the participant teachers (T1, T3, T5, T8, T10, T11, T12, T13) did not believe that they could teach all subjects of a lesson since there were differences in readiness levels, learning deficiencies, and prejudices.They also stated that they did not feel themselves competent in their lessons, and they mentioned the role of personal differences, unwillingness of students and teachers, students' forgetting of what have been taught, age differences among students, and lack of motivation.Despite these negative beliefs and opinions, teachers prepared materials, made preliminary preparations, tried to keep the motivation of the classroom at high levels, attracted their attention with interesting activities, and started the lesson with great enthusiasm to teach.
The results of the current study support the results of many previous studies.Research have indicated that teachers not only hide behind their low expectation of success when students fail in a lesson, but also convey the message that it is inevitable for them to fail.Thus, teachers expect success and certain behaviours from particular students.As a result of these different expectations, teachers behave these students in a different way.High expectations of success affect the success level of students to a great extent.Also, low expectations create low levels of success (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2013;Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968).
As a consequence, expectations of teachers towards their teaching skills and students' learning levels are quite low.Their self-perceptions, environmental conditions, school facilities, and differences in students' personal features and input behaviours are effective on this result.The result of the current study is worrisome in terms of qualified and effective school principles.Besides, it demonstrates that both interdisciplinary and interinstitutional cooperations, trainings, and support activities should be carried out in order to eliminate teachers' negative perceptions towards students' learning levels and their self-efficacy levels about their teaching skills.
As emphasized in the literature, expectations of teachers need to be compatible with the constructivist approach because students are concerned about what their teachers think and expect for themselves.Research shows that teachers think all learners can learn, and their learning is related to teachers' actions and students' achievements.(Braun, 1976;Cooper& Good, 1993;Copper & Tom, 1984;Dusek, 1985;as cited in Rosenthal, 2002;Schunk, 2014).Therefore, teachers should think that all students can learn and are able to carry out their expectations.