Methods of teaching - Programmed learning

Programmed learning, Origin of Programmed learning, Principles of Programmed learning, Types of programming, Linear programming, branched programming, Limitations of linear programming, Intrinsic styles of programming, Features of branched programming, limitations of branched programming, Developing a programmed learning material, Advantages of using Programmed learning techniques, Difference between learner and branching programming styles

1. Programmed Learning
By
Dr. I. Uma Maheswari
[email protected]

2. Origin of programmed
learning:
Programmed learningisthe
outcome ofB.F.Skinner’s
experimentalstudiesonanimals.
Itwasagreatboontothe
pedagogieswhowerethinkingof
methods to individualist
instruction.

3. Thisitselfwasanewwayof
thinking,theconceptbeingeach
individualcandeveloporlearnat
hiscapacitylevel,unlikeinthe
traditionalclass-rooms.
Programmed instructionhas
beenoneofthemostpopularand
effectiveinnovationsinclassroom
teaching-learningprocessinthe
sixtiesintheeducationally
advancedcountriesoftheworld.

4. Followingthistherehadbeena
seriesofresearchwork.
Inourcountrysomeuniversities
andcentersofhighereducation
aredoingworkintherealmof
developingself-learningmaterials
fordifferentsubjectsatdifferent
levelsofinstruction.

5. Programmed learning:
ProgrammedLearningtechniques
emergedoutoftheexperimental
researches on operant
conditioning.
Thebasicprincipleofoperant
conditioningisthattheprinciple
ofreinforcementbringsabout
behaviouralchangesinsuccessive
approximationtothedesiredgoal.

6. A reinforcerin operant
conditioningisanystimulusof
eventwhich,whenproducedbya
response,makesthatresponse
morelikelytooccurinthefuture.
Reinforcersaresomewhatlike
‘rewards’ineverydayspeech.
Examplesforreinforcerscouldbe
foodforahungryanimal,praise
forachildoranythingsimilarto
it.

7. Skinner had shown that the same
principle could be used in human
learning too! The result is
programmed Instruction.
Here the materials to be learned is
broken up into small, easy steps.
These are known as ‘frames’.

8. Sinceeachframeismadeeasy,this
minimizesthefrustrationthatcan
lowermotivationresultinadislikefor
learning.
Alsoprogrammed learningallows
learnerstoproceedattheirownplace
andtoreceiveimmediateknowledge
aboutthecorrectnessoftheresponses.
Hencethismethodisveryeffectivein
learningfacts,rules,formulateetc.

9. ProgrammedInstructioncouldbe
definedasa“Processofarranging
materialtobelearnedinaseriesof
smallstepsdesignedtoleada
learnerthroughselfinstruction
fromwhatheknowstothe
unknown ofnewandmore
complex knowledge and
principles”.

10. Principles of programmed learning
Programmed learningmakesuseof
fiveimportantprinciples.Theyareas
follows.
1.Principleofsmallsteps:
Thesubjectmatteristhoroughly
analyzedanddividedintomeaningful
segmentsofinformation.
Onesegment ofinformationis
presentedatatimetothelearner.
Thispieceofinformationiscalleda
‘frame’.

11. 2.Principleofactiveresponding:
Asthelearnerreadstheframe,he
ispromptedtogiveanactive
response,eitherbywritingan
answerorbycarryingoutsome-
action.

12. 3. Principles of immediate
confirmationoffeedback:
Thethirdprincipleofprogrammingis
immediateconfirmationofresults.
Thisknowledgeofresultshelpsthe
learnertogetthereinforcement.
Thelearnerhastomakeresponsesin
eachframe,andthenhecancompare
hisresponse,withthatofthe
programmer.

13. Ifthelearner’sresponseiscorrect
heisconfirmedandthanhecan
gotothenextstep.
Iftheresponseiswronghehasto
readtheframeagaintillhecould
givethecorrectresponse.

14. Principle of self-pacing:
It is a very important principle of
programming.
Each individual can progress at
his own level.
To put it in other words, a fast
learner can proceed from one
frame to another fast.

15. Atthesametimeaslowlearneris
notcompelledtoproceedwiththe
fastlearnerandhecango
throughtheframesslowly.
Thusithelpstheindividualto
learnathisownabilityleveland
satisfiestheprincipleofself-
pacing.

16. PrincipleofStudentTesting:
Theteacherregularlyassessthe
students.
Hecan,atthesametimefindout
theweaknessofhisprogramme
andcanmodifyit.
Thestudentalsogetsthe
opportunitytoevaluatehisown
performance.

17. Types of programming:
1.Linearprogramming.
2.Branchingprogramming

18. (i)(a)Learnerprogramming or
ExtrinsicProgramming:
Thisisbasedontheideasput
forthbyB.F.Skinner.
Inalinearprogramme, the
subjectmatterisdividedinto
quitesmallpiecesofknowledge
knownasframes.

19. Eachlearnerhastogothroughall
theframes,inthesamesequence
alongasinglepathorline.
Responseofthefirstframeis
immediatelyconfirmedbeforehe
goestothesecondframe.
Thecorrectresponseofthe
previousframeappearsalongside
theforthcomingframe.

20. Inthistypeofprogrammethe
chances ofgivingcorrect
responsesishigh.
Diagrammatic representation oflinear
programming
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21. Inlinearprogrammingaframewill
havethefollowingthreeaspects.
(i)Stimulus:Thereisstimuluswhich
thelearnerneedsandismotivatedto
respond.
(ii)Response:Afterreadingtheframe
thelearnerresponds,thisresponseis
thesecondcomponentofaframe.
(iii)Reinforcement:Thelearner
compareshisresponsewiththe
responseoftheprogrammerandthus
getsreinforcement.

22. Whenaframeispreparedthe
languageusedshouldbesimple
andtheframeshouldprovide
motivationtothelearner.
Alsonoambiguous statement
shouldbepresentinaframe.
Withalltheseimportantfactsin
mindonlytheprogrammeshould
start-writingtheframesofa
programme.

23. Simpleframe:
Frame1:Thedevicethroughwhich
theinputisgiventothesystemis
calledinputdevice.----------------
deviceisusedforinputtingthe
information. (input)

24. Frame2:Theoutputisgotwith
thehelpofoutputdevicesandthe
devicesthrough which the
informationisgotfromthesystem
iscalled---------------device.
(output)
Frame3:Floppyisan-------------
device. (input/output)
Frame4:Monitorisan------------
device. (output)

25. (i)(b)Feature of Linear
programming:
Alltheprinciplesofoperant
conditioningareincorporatedin
thelinearstyleofprogramming.
Thedistinctivefeaturesoflinear
programmingcanbesummarized
asfollows.

26. 1.Lineararrangement:
Thelearnersadvanceinasingle
seriesofshortstepswhichare
designedtoensureahighrateof
correctresponsetotheframe.
Allthelearnershavetopase
throughthesamefixedsequence
offramesdeterminedbythe
programmer,irrespectiveoftheir
knowledgeinthesubject.

27. 2.Responsesarecontrolled:
Inalinearstyleofprogramming
theprogrammerhascontrolover
theresponses.
Hefixestheresponsesandtheir
order.
Thelearnerhasnochoiceofhis
owntorespond.

28. 3.Responseisemphasized:
Inalinearprogramme the
emphasisisontheresponse.
Thelearnermustrespondtoeach
andeveryframeforlearningto
occur.

29. 4.Immediatefeedback:
Thelinearprogrammeisdesigned
insuchawaythatassoonasthe
learnermakesaresponsehecan
compare hisresponsewith
responseoftheprogrammer.
Thiswillbeprovidedeitheratthe
lefthandsideoratthefootofthe
frame.

30. 5.Prompting:
Apromptingisanadditional
stimulusintheframewhichhelps
thelearnertorespondcorrectly.
Inthebeginningofthe
programmeprompts,hintsand
cuesareintroducedtoavoid
unnecessarywastageoftimeto
findoutthecorrectresponse.

31. 6.ActiveParticipation:
Linearprogrammes involves
activeparticipationonthepartof
thelearner.

32. 7.Self-Pacing:
Eachlearnerproceedsathisown
speedthroughtheprogramme
withoutbeingcompelledtowork
withthespeedofothermembers
oftheclass.

33. 8.Linearprogrammemaybeused
fromthisfirstgrade.
9. Learnercanskipcertainform
providedthathecanrespondcorrectly
toatestitemgivenataparticular
frame.
TestitemskiptoframeNo.6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34. 10.Thelinearprogrammingstyle
isbestsuitedinsubjectareas
wherefactsandinformation’scan
beproperlysequenced.

35. (i)(c)LimitationsofLinearstyle
ofprogramming:
1.Lackofmotivation:
Dullnessandmonotonycan
enterintolearningsinceittakes
moretimetoteachsimpletopics
andmaterials.
Giftedchildrenmayfeelthatit
lackschallengeandinterest.

36. 2.Freedomofchoiceiscurtailed:
Thelearnerhasnochoiceofhis
owntorespondandhencethe
creative imagination and
judgmentalabilityofthelearner
areinhibited.

37. (1)Thelinearprogrammesthe
learnerfindsouttheclueasto
whatistobefilledintheblank
space.
(2)The linearstyleof
programmingcanbeusedonlyin
areaswherethesubjectmatter
canbeproperlysequencedsuch
as Science, Mathematics,
Vocabularydevelopmentetc.

38. (3) SidneyL.Pressleyhascritised
thelinearstyleofprogrammingonthe
groundsthatlearninginactuallife
situationisnotalwaysserialasisthe
casewiththelinearprogrammingand
thatthecreativeabilityisinhibited
(4)Whenthematerialispresented
inthebookformthelearnersare
expectedtobehonest,otherwisethere
ispossibilityofcopying,whichwill
affectlearningitself.

39. (ii)(a)Branching orIntrinsic
styleofprogramming:
Thisstyleofprogrammingowes
credittoNormanACrowder,and
iscalledCrowderianStyle.
BranchingorIntrinsictypeof
programminghasbeendefinedas
“aprogrammewhichadoptstothe
needofthestudentswithoutthe
mediumofextrinsicdevicesuch
ascomputer”.

40. Thisstyleofprogramming is
calledintrinsicbecausethe
learnerwithinhimselfmakesthe
decisiontoadopttheinstruction
tohisneedsaccordingtohis
backgroundofthesubject.
Theprincipleunderlyingthisstyle
ofprogrammingisthatdifferent
students need different
instructionalmaterialsandthat
learningiscommunication.

41. Hefavourslargerareasofmaterialata
timetothelearner.
Histechniqueofcommunicationisquite
differentfromskinner’swhobelievesin
breakingthesubjectmatterintostimulus
responsechains.
Inbranching,thestudent’schoice
determineswhatmaterialhewillsee
next.
Thelearnercontrolstheexactsequence
thathewantstofollowamongthe
availablebranchesintheprogramme.

42. (b)FeaturesofBranchingstyles:
Inbranchingprogrammeaframe
islargerandmoreinformationis
presented.
Astepmayconsistof2to3
paragraphorevenafullpage.
Theprogrammercanshowhis
styleofwriting.

43. Multiplechoicequestionsare
asked.
Ifthelearner’sresponseis
correct,heisconfirmed,ifnothe
istakentotheframewhichtells
himwhyheiswrong.
Crowderviewsthatteachingis
communication andhencehe
concentrateshisattentionupon
the improvement of
communication.

44. 1.Learnerhasfreedomtochoose
hisownpathofactionaccording
tothebackgroundofthesubject
matter.
2.Studentsaremorealertand
concentrationishigh.
3.Crowderbelievesthatmaking
errorsisbasictolearning.So
detectionandcorrectionof
errorsisemphasized.

45. 4.Thecriticalfeatureofbranchingmodel
isthefactthatthematerialpresented
toeachstudentiscontinuously
controlledbythelearner’sperformance
isansweringquestions.
5.Inbranchingprogramme,whenthe
materialsispresentedintheformofa
book,itiscalledascrambledtext-
book.
6.Itisveryusefulinconceptlearningor
wherethematerialisgiveninlarge
steps.

46. (c)Limitations:
1.Thereisthepossibilityof
guessingthecorrectresponse
without understanding the
subjectmatter.
2.Costofpreparationisveryhigh.
3.Infinitebranchingisnotpossible
andhenceitcannotmeetthe
needofallindividuals.

47. 4.Programmesarepreparedbythe
programmer in his own
imaginationanditishewho
decidesthediagnosticquestion
andcontent.
5.Branchingprogrammecouldbe
usedonlyfromthe6
th
gradeorso
whenthelearnershavesecureda
sufficientamountofknowledge.

48. 6.Sincetheprogrammeislarge
questionsmaynotbeaskedfrom
alltheareasandthereisa
possibilityofleavingoutcertain
contentareas.
7.Theprogrammeneedsrevision
afterevery2years.

49. 1.Developing aprogrammed
learningmaterial:
ObviouslywhenaPLMhastobe
developedtheprogrammerhasto
adoptthefollowingthreestages.
(i)Preparation
(ii)Writingtheprogramme
Evaluation.

50. (i)Preparation:
Atthisstagetheprogrammerhasto
adheretothefollowingsteps.
(a)Selectionofcontent.
(b)Writingassumptionsaboutthe
learner.

51. (c) Writingobjectivesin
behaviouralterms.
(d)Definingthepre-requisite
knowledge and skillsin
behaviouralterms.
(e)Preparationofthecriteriontest.
(f)Developingspecificoutlinesof
contenttobeprogrammed.

52. (ii)Writingtheprogramme:
Thesubjectmatterissplitinto
stimulus–responsechains.
Whenevertheprogrammerfeelsthat
thelearnersisinneedofapromptis
given.
Apromptinaframecanbedefinedas
“anadditionalstimulusintheframe
whichraisestheprobabilityofcorrect
responding”.

53. (iii)Evaluation:
Inthe3
rd
stage,theprogrammer
testshismaterialonstudentsto
evaluateisefficiencyand
effectiveness.Aftereditingthe
programme theprogrammer
validatesitinthreephasenamely
(a)individualtryout,(b)small
groupstryoutand(c)Fieldtryout.

54. (a)Individualtryout:
Onerepresentativestudentforwhom
theprogrammeiswrittenistestedata
time.
Individualtryoutgivesanopportunity
totheprogrammers tostudythe
reactionsofthelearnerimmediately
afterthecompletionoftheframe.
Thishelpshimtobringaboutneeded
modificationsintheframe.

55. (b)SmallGrouptryout:
After making necessary
modificationsandweedingoutthe
inadequaciesintheframes,the
programmeistriedoutonasmall
groupof5to10studentsfor
whomtheprogrammeiswritten.
The programmer discuss
difficultiesoftheprogrammewith
thestudentbasedonwhich
modificationsaremadeinthe
programme.

56. (c)FieldTryout:
Heretheprogrammeistestedinactual
classroomsituation.
Theprogramme completeinall
respects,inadministratedtoa
representativegroupof50ormore
studentsofanentireclass.
Thespecificareaswhereimprovement
isneededisgotfromthestudents
basedonwhichtheprogrammeis
againmodified.Nowtheprogrammeis
readyforuse.

57. Advantages ofusingprogrammed
learningtechniques:
1.Therearecertainintellectualabilities
andsomemotorskillswhichare
taughtbyfrequentdrillworkand
memorizing.Insuchareasthey
couldbetaughtefficientlyby
programmedlearning.
2.Itgivesamplescopeforteaching
conceptsinalogicalmannerand
inspiresstudentstothinkcreatively.

58. 3.Goodteachersarefreedfromthe
routineclass-roomteachingandthey
canspendtheirtimeinamore
creativeway.
4.Itimprovesthequalityofeducation.
5.Manyemotionalandsocialproblems
couldbeeliminatedandproblemof
disciplinehavebeenautomatically
solvedbytheuseofthis.

59. 6.Ithelpstodiagnosethe
problemsoftheindividual
learner.
7.Programmed learning provides
an opportunity for the learner to
take up learning as an
interesting game.

60. Differences between linear and Branching
style of Programming
Linear Programme
(Extrinsic)
Branching Programme (Intrinsic)
1.Allthesixpsychologicalprinciplesare
tobefollowedstrictly.
2. Framesarewrittenasbitsof
informationinasimplelanguage.
3.Framesarearrangedinastraightline
sequence.
4.Responseisstructured.
5.Reinforcementimmediatelygiven.
6. Subjectsmatterisgivenaslimited
facts.
7.Itischeap.
8.Errorrateis5%.
9.Itcanbeusedfromelementaryclass.
Threeprinciplesnamelysmallsteps,
Immediate confirmationand Active
respondingarenotmandatory.
Framesarewrittenas3or4sentencesora
evenparagraph.
Framesarescrambled.
ResponseisMultiplechoice.
Notnecessaryultimatecorrectnessof
response.
Itisgivenasbroadconcepts.
Itiscostly.
Errorrateis2%.
CanbeusedbetteronlyafterVIII
Standard.