Showing papers on "Instructional design published in 1976"

Components of a Psychology of Instruction: Toward a Science of Design

Abstract: It is a well-known historical fact that two major areas of scientific psychology, psychometrics and general experimental psychology, came out of different traditions and have developed in different ways. Psychometrics has become a major technological application of psychology, with primary effort being devoted to practical techniques and less effort to theoretical concerns. In contrast, the experimental psychology of learning and cognition has been almost exclusively a theoretical endeavor, with little effort devoted to application and the design of practical techniques for assisting in the conduct of human affairs. Although practical work has been carried out in educational

Achievement Treatment Interactions

Abstract: The field of education is currently filled with numerous attempts to inspire educators to implement and researchers to study individualized instruction. But, adapting instruction to the student is hardly new in education. Plato's famous dialogue with the slave boy Meno is an ancient attempt to suit instruction to the student. Cohen (1963) attempted to recast this classic dialogue into a linear program, thus neatly relating the ancient and modern interest in adapting instruction to the student. Despite this persistent interest in individualized instruction, there are few systematic attempts to adapt the method of instruction to student characteristics. Existing adaptations generally consist of varying instructional rate to student needs rather than instructional method. When instructional method has been suited to the student, such adaptations are typically based on the artistry of the practitioner, rather than on a systematically formulated set of precepts that have been verified by empirical research. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the

Research on the Personalized System of Instruction

Abstract: The effectiveness of PSI has been measured with several criteria: end‐of‐course performance, retention, transfer, and student attitudes. By any of these measures, PSI is more effective than conventional methods of college teaching. Recent research also suggests that PSI is an efficient method of learning for students. PSI and conventional courses apparently make equal demands on student time, even though students in PSI courses generally outperform students in conventional courses. Besides making a case for the effectiveness and efficiency of PSI, researchers have also begun to discover the reasons for its effectiveness. The key features of the system appear to be three: small steps, immediate feedback, and a unit‐mastery requirement. While mastery models of instruction suggest that these instructional features will be of most benefit to lower aptitude student, empirical results suggest that the picture is more complex. In some courses, higher aptitude students benefit most from the introduction of these ...

Classroom Techniques in Teaching by the Case Method

Abstract: In this article the author outlines a method, which builds on pervious research on teaching by case method, for conducting a successful classroom discussion in a business policy course. He notes that teaching is largely an individual process; however, building a framework is important, especially for longer courses. The author outlines a three step process for establishing this framework starting with course design, class preparation and finally a method of conducting class discussions. He provides extensive details into each of these areas, essentially presenting an overview on how to conduct a class from beginning to end. He closes by noting that to effectively teach by case method the instructor must be fully prepared.

Learner Control of Lesson Strategy: A Model for PLATO IV System Lessons. Technical Report, November 1973 to June 1975. Final Report.

Abstract: Abstract : The objectives of this research were to develop a technique to facilitate creating computer-based instruction (CBI) with a minimum of effort on the part of the author/coder, and to investigate the feasibility of using a structure which puts control of lesson strategy into the hands of the student learner. It was a major premise that the lesson development technique should be useable over a wide variety of subject matters and should require no special expertise on the part of the author preparing the lesson materials or of the individual encoding them for use. A model was developed in which each CBI lesson is composed of two distinctly separate parts: a strategy section or driver common to all such lessons and a content section peculiar to each lesson. The strategy section of this model puts lesson control in the hands of the student learner by allowing him a free choice of the sequence in which he sees lesson segments (learning objectives) and types of content (rules, examples, practice). The model has been evaluated using several types of subject matter which have demonstrated both the feasibility and flexibility of the approach used.

A Behavioral Perspective on Media Selection.

Abstract: This paper indulges a long-standing urge to present a behavioral, response-oriented view of media selection to a media audience which, in the main, is messageor stimulus-oriented. The paper begins with a description of some of the shortcomings to be found in literature on media selection, then goes on to offer a behavioral orientation to media selection. Although it represents a personal statement, the paper shares some of the views held by other practitioners and researchers in the field of instructional design. Because the purpose of this paper is not to review the literature but to present a particular point of view, other accounts of either the stimulus-oriented or the response-oriented variety are not referenced. Some of the behavioral views presented have appeared previously in partial form and in separate publications (Gropper & Glasgow, 1971; Gropper 1973, 1974, and 1975). This paper is an attempt to bring them together.

Student Participation in Instruction

Abstract: This paper examines the role of the university student as an active decision-maker in instruction. Eight variables in instruction (pacing, reinforcers, contingencies, sequencing, mode, feedback, content and objectives, and discriminative control) are described and discussed in the context of student choice. The paper concludes with a discussion of some critical issues which student choice highlights.

Reducing Instructional Costs: A Survey of the Basic Course in Communication and An Experimental Test of a Proposed Instructional Model.

Abstract: The first part of this article reports the results of a survey of 100 colleges having large multi‐section basic communication courses—a survey designed to discover what non‐traditional instructional models are used or have been used in the basic course. The second part of. the article reports the results of an experimental testing of a modules, self‐instructional model. This model permitted a one‐third reduction in instructional costs while at the same time improving achievement.

The importance of faculty attitudes in the planning for instructional development

Abstract: Instructional development has been a recent innovation in higher education, responding to the needs of the new American model of universal higher education Misconceptions and misapplications of instructional development have been frequent, especially its confusion with media service A fundamental obstacle to success in any instructional improvement program is hypothesized to be lack of concern with faculty attitudes in the planning of methods to serve them This study discusses the background of the problem and reports on a survey designed to investigate faculty attitudes toward instructional development on one campus Tentative conclusions are drawn in order to guide further study The data presented appear to indicate that there is a need to rethink the basic model of instructional development as currently used when applying it to the unique circumstances of higher education

Achieving a Balance between Self-Directed and Required Learning

Abstract: This paper holds the view that professional schools in the future will not include required courses, only required content, in the curriculum. Adult learners will plan and design their own courses. For the present, neither educators nor students are fully prepared for what Malcolm Knowles calls an “andragogical experience.” Meanwhile, the most productive application of adult learning concepts and principles is to strike a balance between that knowledge and responsibility deemed essential by the school and that which the learner considers important. If we can achieve such a balance, professional education will continue to move forward in self-directed learning.

PSI and the Generic Method of Programmed Instruction

Abstract: Responsiveness of higher education to an increasingly heterogeneous student population requires the solution of a series of instructional design problems. When relationships among instructional methods, features of individualized instruction, and design problems are examined, it is apparent that programmed instruction is the generic method from which other methods of individualized instruction are derived. Distinctive contributions of each method to the solution of instructional design problems are identified within the General Model of Individualized

Lessons from a Study of Defense Training Technology

Abstract: The general findings and recommendations of a Defense Science Board Task Force on Training Technology are presented, and eight lessons for the training technology research and development community are drawn.

Message design—graphic display strategies for instruction

Abstract: Message design is concerned with the clarity, accuracy, and conciseness of messages and their design as a visual perception. Because so many variables exist in visualized instruction studies, a single theory to predict learning efficiency and effectiveness is virtually impossible. The effect of instruction seems to be a matter of types of visuals used, methods of cueing, relevant student characteristics, methods of presentation, type of educational objectives achieved, and a whole host of sociological, psychological and environmental factors. Research in this as a behavioral science is thus more useful when it is localized to cater to specific situational requirements. A need also exists to match these with the main criteria of good message design which is a subset of instructional systems design. This article explains what message designers can do to (1) attract learner attention to displays, (2) hold their attention, and (3) provide adequate cueing devices for efficient and effective learning to take place.

A case for humanizing behavioral objectives

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the cognitive and affective responses of students to behavioral objectives for a unit of instruction in a basic speech communication course. The findings indicate that (a) student affective reactions to the instructional process serve as an intervening variable, one usually neglected in the study of behavioral objectives, and (b) in instructional situations when training in the use of behavioral objectives is not possible, students function as well with key concepts as they would with highly specific objectives. Two means of humanizing objectives are suggested: (1) personalizing the language of instructional objectives and (2) focusing on the process rather than the product of learning.

Experimental Evaluation of PLATO IV Technology: Final Report.

Abstract: : This project experimentally evaluated the computer-based instruction (CBI) technology of the PLATO IV system. The approach was to conduct a set of eight research studies in different Navy training application areas. Short titles of the studies were: remedial math, oscilloscope simulation, sine ratio, multimeter simulation, learner control, recipe conversion, oscilloscope guidance, and part-task trainer. The final report summarizes the research design, method, results, and findings of each study. Experience, information, and data obtained from the research is then used to evaluate instructional effectiveness, technical features and characteristics, range of training applications, instructional material development methods and effort, and development and delivery costs. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made about the use of a PLATO IV type system for CBI.