🚀 go-pugleaf

  When I was in elementary school (I'm now 43) "teaching machines" and
"programmed learning" (which is used by teaching machines) were proclaimed
by major academic journals such as _Popular Science_ (;-)) as the wave of
the future.  Programmed learning consists of a series of short blocks of
text (typically 1 or 2 paragraphs) followed by a multiple choice question.
Depending on the answer given, one was directed to the next section of
text which was remedial for wrong answers (different wrong answers
implying different misunderstandings and pointing to different remedial
texts) and the next concept for right answers.  This was sometimes
implemented as a book.  Teaching machines simply automated this process.

  This seemed like a good idea at the time, it still seems like a good
idea to me, and given the wide availability of computers, seems much more
practical now than then.  Does anyone know what ever happened to this
concept?  Has it been discredited in educational circles, has it fallen
between the cracks, or is it in widespread use, and everyone knows about
it but me?

  Respond to the group or by email, whatever seems most appropriate.

  Thanks!


-- 
David Steffen
Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX 77030
Telephone = (713) 798-6655, FAX = (713) 790-0545
Internet = steffen@bcm.tmc.edu