Unit 6 pedegogy[1]
- 1. unit 6 Topic:- Individualized Instruction and Personalized System of Instruction(PSI) INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION INTRODUCTION Individualized instruction is a method of instruction in which content, instructional technology (such as materials) and pace of learning are based upon the abilities and interests of each individual learners. Mass instruction is the opposite, that is a method in which content materials and pace of learning are the same for all students in a classroom or course. Individualized instruction does not require a one-to-one student/ teacher ratio. Mass instruction began during the French revolution and industrial Revolution, where some citizens were considered equal and large numbers of workers were needed to produce goods in a large scale. The idea was to teach groups of students the same skills at the same time in a classroom, instead of having teachers that had in consideration the previous skills of the students as done for centuries. This method reduced costs and time, two important aspects in the era. Importance and Principles of Individualized Instruments Educational Research Associates has concluded that placing greater reliance upon well designed instructional materials-whether audio, video, multimedia computer assisted instruction (CAI), or simply a good text book may be as effective as the traditional lecture method. More importantly, it may allow some teachers to focus upon the specific needs and problems of individual
- 2. students. However, this often ignore the needs of youth with learning disabilities, and those face other challenges. It this way, individualized instruction is like direct instruction, which also places greater reliance upon carefully prepared instructional materials and explicitly prepared instructional sequences. But where direct instruction is very rigidly structured for use with children in primary school, individualized instruction is recommended only for students of at least Junior high school age, and presumes that they have greater self-discipline to be able to study more independently. Thus, individualized instruction has points of contact with the constructivism movement in education, started by Swiss biologist, Jean Piaget, which states that the student should builds his or her learning and knowledge. Individualized instruction, however, presumes that most students or secondary school age still lack the basic knowledge and skills to direct most of their own curriculum, which must be at least partially directed by schools and teachers. In a traditional classroom setting, time (in the form of classes, quarters, semesters, school years etc) is a constant and achievement in the form of grades and student comprehension is a variable. In a property individualized setting, where students study and progress more independently, achievements becomes more uniform and time to achieve that level of achievements is more variable. Where implemented according to educational Research Associates recommendations, individualized instruction has been found to improve student accomplishment substantially even while reducing cost dramatically. However in recent years, the benefits of social learning in collaborative group settings through place-based and project based learning have been shown to be equally effective.
- 3. The coming of computer and internet based education holds the promise of an enormous increase in the use of individualized instruction methodology. Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) The keller plan, also called the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), was developed by Freds.Keller with J.Gilmour Sherman, Carolina Bori, and Rodolpho Azzi in the middle 1960s as an innovative method of instruction for the then new university of Brazilia. PSI was conceived of as an application of Skinner’s theories of learning, grounded in operant conditioning strategies of behaviorism. PRINCIPLES Keller argued that effective instruction should incorporate five principles, the essential elements of the keller plan. • Written materials: - The primary presentation of new content should be through written texts. • Units of content:- subject matter materials should be broken down into separable, meaningful units. • Self paced instruction:- Students should be allowed to advance through the course materials at their own pace. • Unit Mastery:- Students must satisfy a mastery requirement in one unit before proceeding to the next. • Proctors:- Human proctors are an important part of the Keller plan. The proctors could be “external” to the course (adults or peers brought to the course from external sources) or “internal” (advanced students in the course who are doing well, have completed all units to date, and have good interpersonal skill). Proctors were the arbiters of unit mastery; they
- 4. would “certify” mastery, discuss areas of weakness and direct students to the next units. APPLICATION The keller plan has mainly been used in higher education particularly as a more personalized form of instruction in large classes, but there is nothing inherent in keller’s formulation to restrict its application to particulars grade levels, content or types of courses. There has been a good deal of research on the effectiveness of PSI which indicated that it had robust, significantly positive on learning when compare to more traditional lecture-based formats. Conclusion Individualized instruction is opposite to mass instruction. In individualized instruction content, instructional technology (such as materials) and pace of learning are based upon the abilities and interests of each individual learner. The individualized instruction is more useful in a classroom with individuals having difference in abilities. The keller plan is more personalized form of instruction in large classes, but there is nothing inherent in Keller’s formulation to restrict its application to particular grade levels, content or types of courses. TOPIC : PROGRAMMED INSTRUCTION Programmed Instructions Programmed instructions involves controlled, carefully specified and skillfully arranged learning experiences. Programmed learning applies the principles of psychology and technology in the learning process. The main objectives of programmed learning is to provide individualized instructions.
- 5. Programmed learning is a self instructional and self corrective technique in which all the learning material is presented to the learner stage by stage through sequentially arranged smaller unit called ‘frames’. A programme is the subject matter to be learned by the students. It is an instructional sequence designed to help the students attain certain specific objectives. Programming is the process of arranging the subject matter with a view to facilitate effective learning. The matter is arranged into a series of steps in a logical or psychological sequence based on the principles of reinforcement . Characteristics of Programmed Learning • Subject matter is broken into smaller units or frames. • Subject matter is presented in the sequential order. • Frequent or continuous responses from the student is ensured. • Immediate confirmation of right answers and corrections of wrong answers are made possible. • Each student progresses at his own pace without any threat of being exposed to any humiliation. • Subject matter and sequence are subjected to frequent revision by the programmes on the basis of the feedback gathered from the students. Principles of Programmed Instructions • Goal oriented learning. • Logical sequence. • Optimum step size. • Active participation and responding.
- 6. • Maximizing attention. • Self pacing. • Immediate feedback and reinforcement. • Student testing. Advantage of Programmed Learning • Instruction is individual. • Each student can work at his own convenience. • Student is always kept active and alert. • May emotional problems can be avoided. • Learning of complex subject matters is made easy. • It can be utilized as a supplementary process along with the study of regular text book. • It helps in the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning. • Teacher gets relief from continuous teaching. • Shortage of teachers is compensated. Types of Programmed Instructions These are two common varieties of programming. They are: • Linear • Branching • Linear Programming
- 7. The linear programming was developed by B. F. Skinner. Hence it is called the skinnarian style of programming. According to him, the best way to teach students is to break subject matter into meaningful segments of information and write small steps in such a way that only the correct responses are likely to occur. This would lead to success. Students learn better when they are successful. Linear programmed material consists of carefully thought out questions and answers associated to each simple item. Questions are asked directly and the students is required to think and note down the answer. A linear programme is called a straight line programme as the learner starts from his initial behaviour to the terminal behavior following a straight direction. Linear programming can be represented in the following way. Characteristics of Linear Programming • Linear Arrangement The learner starts from his initial behavior to the terminal behaviuor following the straight – line sequence. • Responses are Controlled The learner has no choice. The responses are fixed by the controller. • Responses is Emphasised The learner must respond to each and every frame for learning to occur. • Immediate Feedback
- 8. As soon as the learner responds to the frame, he can immediately compare his response with the response of the programmer and gain knowledge of result. • Prompting A prompt given in the beginning in the form of clarification regarding the frame helps the learner to respond correctly. This will not only promote learning but also avoid unnecessary wastage of time to find out correct answers. • Active Participation It ensures active participation of the learner. He has to construct responses for every frame. • Self – Pacing Every learner proceeds at his own speed. • Simplicity Mechanism of work involved in linear programme is simple. • Suitability It is best suited in subject areas where facts an information can be properly sequenced. Limitations of Linear Programming • Lack of Motivation Learning becomes dull and monotonous because it takes too much time to teach a few simple points.
- 9. • Limitation of Serial Order Learning Frames are presented in a serial order but learning in actual situation is not always serial. • No Freedom of Choice The learner has no choice of his own to respond. His creative imagination and judgmental ability are inhibited. Instead of discovering answers, the students are forced to follow a rigid line prescribed by the writer. • Limited scope of subject matter It can be used only in limited areas where the subject matter can be properly sequenced. • Absence of differentiation It does not permit differentiation among responses. Branched Programming The branched programming was developed by Norman A Crowder. Hence it is called the crowderian style of programming. It is also known as intrinsic programming. The underlying principle of branching is that different students need different instrumental materials and the students can learn from their own errors. This principle is quite different from that applied in linear programming in which all the student uniformly follow the same sequence of frames irrespective of their background in the subject. Types of Branched Programming • Forward Branching • Backward Branching
- 10. • Forward Branching In this type whether the learner is making correct response or wrong response, he will always be going to new frames. If the response is wrong, he is directed to a remedial frame, where his mistakes are fully explained and followed by another parallel question given in that frame. Then he proceeds from that frame to the next frame in the main stream. Here he is never made to go back to the previous frame. Hence the name forward branching. Backward Branching The learner goes from 1st frame to 2nd frame of the main stream only if he makes correct response. If he makes an error, he is lead to a remedial be directed to the original frame number one. He tries the response again in the light of remediation received. In short, the learners might have to go through the same frame twice – one before the remedial learning and second after it. Hence the name backward branching. Characteristics of Branched Programming • Large Frame In branching programme, a frame is larger compared to the linear scheme and more information is presented at each step. • Multiple Choice Questions In branching programme, multiple choice questions are asked. If the learner selects the correct response, his response is confirmed. If he selects wrong response, then he is routed to a frame that explains as to why he is wrong. • Freedom to Choose
- 11. The learner has freedom to choose his own path according to his background of the subject matter. • Detection and Correction Detection and correction of errors are emphasized. • Contextual Control The material presented to each learners is controlled by his performance judged interms of the answer. • Scrambled Text Book When the material is presented in a book – form the book is said to be scrambled because the pages do not follow the normal sequence. Limitations of Branched Programming • Possibility of Guessing There is every possibility that the learners may guess the correct response without understanding the subject matter of the frame. • Difficulty in providing branches Infinite number of branching cannot be provided. It cannot cater to the needs of all individuals because it is very difficult to find out in advance the total number of branches for all the individual learners. • Diagnostic questions may not suited the need of individual learners. Programmes are the product of a programmer’s imagination and it is he who decides diagnostic questions and level of content. It may not suit the needs of individual learners. • Branched Programme cannot be used by small children
- 12. It can e used only at a comparatively higher stage, say after standard VI, because small children do not follow its mechanism. • Problem of Coverage It is very difficult to ask questions on the whole matter of a frame because frames are too large. Sometimes important subject matter is left out. • Difficulty to Evaluate Learning The fact that a student has reached the last frame of the programme does not necessarily mean that he has learned everything the programme is intended for. • Inability to Control the student The programme has no provision to control the student. It does not shape the behavior of the student as it lacks the personal human proximity. • More Expensive It is more expensive because the cost of preparation is high. INSTRUCTIONAL MODULES The present age of space, together with wide travel facilities and technological facilities has given us a new outlook regarding the basic building blocks of instruction. The term ‘instructional module’ has become the generic name for “a unique unit of study that has been well specified, structured , planned and designed in its totality for the purpose of instructional learning”. Modules carry a wide variety of labels including ‘unipack’, ‘individualized learning package’ and ‘learning activity package’. The philosophy behind instructional module is based on the generally accepted fact that each learner is unique in his background, experience, inherent qualities, habits and learning
- 13. styles, and hence should be allowed to grow and develop in tune with one’s fullest potential MEANING AND DEFINITION An instructional module is a self-contained, self-sufficient unit of instruction for the learner to work on, for achieving a set of pre-determined objectives. A module contains three co ordinated basic elements of instructions.These are objectives, learning activities and evaluation. Modular approach is considered as an effective and economical way of developing specific items of knowledge and skills with minimum authorities direction and supervision by teacher . Modules can be in written from or in the form of slides, tapes, pictures etc A module can be defined as, “a set of learning activities intended to facilitate the students achievements on an objective or a set of objectives”. Thus , a module stands for a part or subsystem of the curriculum or instructional programme. An instructional programme in which module are being used may be said to adopt the modular approach to instruction. CHARACTERISTICS The following are the characteristics of the modular approach: • Each module is developed for a specific target population of learners. • Modules are based on learning objectives stated in behavioural terms. • Modules possess a sequence of key activities developed on the basic of the selected objectives, contents ,learner characteristics and the nature of the discipline. • Each module is prepared based on a particular methodology that will be quite appropriate to the requirements of the learners.
- 14. • An in-built evaluation programme will be attached to each module ,with a view to continuously assess the progress of each learner ADVANTAGES The following are the advantages of the modular approach: • Learners can learn the subject matter according to one’s own pace of learning • Simple and interesting activities can be incorporated in the module and it will enable the students to actively participate in the learning process • Module help the students to do independent thinking , which in turn will lead to the development of creativity among the children • Monotony of routine instruction can be avoided • Remedial programme can be effectively implemented fir the benefit of individual learners. • DISADVANTAGES The following are the disadvantages of the modular approach: • Lack of proper guidance in using the module may spoil the true spirit of the approach • The modular approach is likely to minimize the services given by teachers, which may lead to different emotional problems among the children. • Preparation of effective modules for all topics is a difficult task. CONCLUSION
- 15. The modular approach to instruction is an attempt to make instructions individualized. So that the student can learns. At his own pace according to his interest, capabilities and capacities by involving in the task and learning activities suggested by the module.