Programmed
Instrcuction (PI)
Programmed learning (PL) is interactive
because the individual user actively responds to viewing and assimilating
information from a non-interactive medium of instruction (e.g., normal
text, filmstrips, television, etc.). Programmed learning is adaptive
because PI are often designed to accommodate individual characteristics
of users, such as background knowledge or the pace at which they learn.
Programmed instruction (PI), as compared with programmed learning,
is concerned only indirectly with what users do. Rather, programmed
instruction refers to the practice of writing programmed materials.
It is therefore concerned with what program writers do. It represents
the teaching side of the teaching/learning distinction. In contrast,
web based instruction uses hypermedia design which focuses on the
needs of the student and the way in which he/she desires to access
information.
Forms
of Programmed Instruction
Text forms look like books, workbooks,
or kits of instructional sheets. This form includes books with an
audiovisual medium (e.g., filmstrip, slides). Information can be recorded
on videodisc or videotape, or in combination with other equipment
and a variety of media. Teaching machines can be a page holder or
a delivery vehicle, anything from simple page turning to complex interactions.
Unique
Characteristics of Programmed Instruction
PI is a method for structuring and
presenting information. The development of programs usually employs
a systematic approach, including a statement of terminal objectives,
task analysis to determine the type of mental/physical activity required
by the objective, and evaluation of learning referenced to those objectives.
Most programs are also characterized
by a structure that includes some sequence which implies a progressive
development of ideas which successively approximates the behavior
stated in the objective, along with some form of active response to
some form of question appearing after each unit of information. It
also includes feedback or confirmation of the correctness or incorrectness
of the response.
Another general characteristic of programs
is evaluation or learner verification and revision: a tenet of programming
which requires the programmer to try out the program with a group
of users, similar to those for whom the program is intended, and then
to revise the program based upon the feedback until it reaches a predictable
level of effectiveness. Traditionally, the accepted success criteria
have been a 90% level of performance with 90% of the users 90% of
the time. The design of computer-assisted instruction packages also
works this way.
