Developmental psychology.pdf

Learning and Instruction 265
Figure 10.5
Computer-Assisted Instruction.
The computer provides variable
feedback, depending on the learner's
prior responses. Here, instructions
are given by a tape recording; the
learner types his responses, and then
he discovers whether it is correct.
Basic Principles Within this framework, the three most relevant principles are the
method of approximations, active responding, and immediate reinforcement. With
respect to the first, a series of graded tasks is used, each task slightly more complex
than the preceding one. In step-by-step fashion, proceeding from the simple to the
complex, the learner is guided toward some well-established goal.
The learner's answer requires active responding. It must be written or recorded
in some mechanical device. Then immediate reinforcement is provided by the
availability of correct answers, which are included with the instructional materials.
The learner simply turns the page or presses a button to find out whether the response
is correct. Knowledge of results, sometimes called feedback, can be reinforcing, for the
learner discovers the outcome of his or her effort (Johnson & Ruskin, 1977).
The step-by-step materials are called a program, or programmed instruction,
and sometimes a device, once popularly known as a teaching machine, is used for presenting
this material. The latter term is a misnomer because the machine is not necessary
for most programs, and the program, not the machine, does the teaching. Such
machines have not met the original expectations of the 1950s, but they do provide
convenient ways of presenting the material and some form of reinforcement, such as
a light, buzzer, or simply the correct answer.
Types of Programs The material in programmed instruction appears in a sequence
of separate items or tasks, each of which is called a frame. After each response the
learner checks the correct answer. In a linear program, the frames are arranged in one
continuous sequence, and the average learner does all of them, although provisions are
made for advanced students to skip certain frames by passing intermittent diagnostic
tests. Within a branching program there are occasional sequences of extra frames for
those who need practice or remedial instruction, and there are shortcuts for those who
can take them.
A modified example of the use of programming principles is found in
computer-assisted instruction (CAI), in which the computer presents the programs directly
to the student. The chief advantage is that the student's prior responses can be
stored in the computer's tremendous memory system and the computer can utilize this
information in deciding what materials the learner should receive next—that is, the
size of the next step (Figure 10.5).