Understanding B.S. Bloom's Learning Strategies

B.S. Bloom was an influential educational psychologist known for his work on learning and assessment. His major contributions include Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives and the concept of Mastery Learning.

Mastery Learning is an instructional strategy where the focus is on the student achieving a high level of competence (mastery) in a given subject or unit before moving on to the next level. This approach emphasizes that all students can achieve mastery if given appropriate instruction, sufficient time, and effective feedback and remediation.

Analyzing the Options in Relation to Bloom's Work

Let's examine each option in the context of B.S. Bloom's learning strategies, particularly Mastery Learning:

• Division of contents into units: This is a fundamental step in implementing Mastery Learning. The curriculum is broken down into smaller, manageable units. Learning objectives are defined for each unit, and students work through them sequentially. This aligns with the structured approach advocated by Bloom.
• Diagnose the learning difficulties: A crucial component of Mastery Learning is the use of frequent formative assessments (like quizzes or tests) to diagnose where students are struggling. This diagnosis helps teachers provide targeted remediation or corrective instruction to help students overcome their difficulties and achieve mastery. This is directly linked to Bloom's methodology.
• Attain mastery level by teachers: While teachers certainly need to have mastery of their subject matter and teaching skills, Bloom's concept of "mastery level" in the context of his specific learning strategies (like Mastery Learning) refers to the student's achievement of a predefined level of proficiency or understanding. The strategy focuses on helping students, not teachers, attain mastery in the curriculum content.
• Administering unit test: Unit tests (often called diagnostic-progress tests or formative tests in Mastery Learning) are essential tools used at the end of each unit to assess student learning, identify areas of difficulty, and determine if a student has achieved mastery for that unit before moving on. This is a core practice within the Mastery Learning framework.

Identifying the Strategy Not Attributed to Bloom

Based on the analysis, the strategy that is not typically developed or emphasized by B.S. Bloom in the context of his well-known learning strategies is the attainment of a mastery level specifically by teachers. His work on Mastery Learning centers around structuring instruction and providing support to ensure students attain mastery.