Content uploaded by Stephen Petrina
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Stephen Petrina on Mar 23, 2015
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Sidney Pressey and the Automation of Education, 1924-1934
Abstract
Rather than dismiss the case of Sidney Pressey and the Automatic Teacher as just another failure in the history of educational technology and psychology, this article makes an argument for paying attention to the automation of the professions. Produced in the 1920s, the Automatic Teacher automated clerical and diagnostic skills and redefined productivity in terms of individualization. While standardizing education with teaching machines and tests, Pressey claimed to liberate teachers from burdens of drilling and testing and students from conformity in mass education. He nonetheless found out the hard way that his project of individualizing the masses was more easily automated than commercialized. The Welch Manufacturing Company produced 250 Automatic Teachers but shelved the project after selling only about 160.
... Asynchronous instruction is also highly compatible with many forms of behavior-analytic instruction, particularly programmed instruction. Programmed instruction is perhaps best associated with B. F. Skinner, though it existed in various forms prior to his involvement (Petrina, 2004;Pressey, 1950). Programmed instruction refers to a method for designing and presenting instruction with the purpose of bringing specific responses on the part of the learner under the control of specific antecedent stimuli (Skinner, 1968;Vargas & Vargas, 1991). ...
The prevalence of distance education utilizing asynchronous instruction has increased in recent years. Asynchronous instruction differs from the more common synchronous instruction in that learners primarily contact the lessons and educational materials on their own rather than with a live instructor. Though not without its limitations, asynchronous instruction offers a variety of advantages that can make instruction more efficient, produce better outcomes, and increase accessibility to a greater variety of learners if created using known principles of effective instructional design. Though many platforms exist for creating asynchronous instruction, these are often accompanied by barriers to their widespread use. A potential cost-effective and flexible alternative to these is Microsoft® PowerPointTM. The present report serves as a guide for creating interactive and responsive asynchronous instructional sequences with PowerPoint for Microsoft 365® using principles and procedures derived from programmed instruction (Skinner, 1968). Ideas for additional response types are also provided, as are the limitations of designing instructional sequences with this software. Previous papers on the use of PowerPoint as an instructional tool have been primarily geared towards instruction for young learners or learners with autism. As such, the present article expands on the use of PowerPoint specifically to higher education.
... A recurring pedagogical topos is that immediate and consistent feedback supports learning. In the 1920s, Pressey built mechanical devices that let people answer multiple choice questions (for a critical overview see Petrina, 2004), which Skinner developed further to provide automated, immediate, and regular reinforcement, aimed at triggering learning by drill (Skinner, 1958). Already back then debates centered on the technology and the machines used rather than on the underlying pedagogical principles and goals (Fry, 1960;Pressey, 1963). ...
The recent development of education seems to be driven mainly by technology; assigning version numbers is an attempt to tame this development. But education is more complex than buzzwords like “Learning 4.0” may suggest. In this article, we argue for viewing education as a loosely coupled system of two interacting layers, technology and pedagogy: closely connected, but not glued together. Using several examples, we show that sometimes technological innovations trigger pedagogical innovations and sometimes pedagogical needs initiate the development of technological solutions. We intend the model of loosely coupled layers of technology and pedagogy as a starting point for opening an overdue discussion on how to make the best use of technology for teaching and learning. We argue that complementing technology with established and proven principles of situated contextualized pedagogy is a key element for the future development of education.
... In this step we have collected the e-assessment tasks and concepts used by several LMSs to specify and define generic e-assessment activities. Using the reverse engineering [8], we propose a set of transformation from the LMS specific e-assessment tasks to LMS independent e-assessment activities corresponding to our generic eassessment activities. We present the set of the elaborated transformations. ...
... In this step we have collected the e-assessment tasks and concepts used by several LMSs to specify and define generic e-assessment activities. Using the reverse engineering [8], we propose a set of transformation from the LMS specific e-assessment tasks to LMS independent e-assessment activities corresponding to our generic eassessment activities. We present the set of the elaborated transformations. ...
... Tabela 1 -Rezultati PISA testa, OECD 2012 [6] 2015 [7] Početkom XX veka formirana je jedna od paradigmi, da se nauka i tehnologija moraju udružiti da bi se modernizovale neefikasne i nezgrapne procedure konvencionalnog obrazovanja. [8] Sve države u ovom trenutku pokušavaju da izvrše promene u sistemu javnog obrazovanja, iz ekonomskih, ali i kulturoloških razloga. Više nismo u mogućnosti da predvidimo i planiramo izgled ekonomije u budućnosti, a sa druge strane deca treba da zadrže osećaj za kulturu iako će biti deo globalizovanog sveta. ...
U Bosni i Hercegovini, kao i u ostalim državama nastalim na teritoriji bivše Jugoslavije i danas je dominantan model sistema obrazovanja sa kraja XIX i početka XX veka, proistekao iz druge industrijske revolucije čija je osnovna karakteristika bila masovna proizvodnja. Brzi tempo industrijalizacije poljoprivrednog društva, organizacija proizvodnje po sistemu montažne trake uz standardizaciju i eliminaciju ručnog rada su stvorili potrebu za velikim brojem radnika sa ograničenim setom radnih veština. Da bi se zadovoljile potrebe za radnom snagom, obrazovanje je takođe prilagođeno masovnoj proizvodnji kroz sistem osnovnih, srednjih, stručnih i visokih škola, koji je proizvodio kadrove prosečnog kvaliteta i sa ograničenim setom radnih veština. U poslednjih 50 godina, napredak informaciono-komunikacionih tehnologija (IKT), sveopšta digitalizacija i automatizacija proizvodnje, pojava Interneta i međusobno umrežavanje fabričkih postrojenja su eliminisali potrebu za nespecijalizovanom radnom snagom. Nasuprot tome, tempo razvoja novih tehnologija od radnika sa specijalizovanim veštinama zahteva permanentno usavršavanje i usvajanje novih znanja. Nažalost, postojeći obrazovni sistem u državama bivše Jugoslavije nije u stanju da prati tempo koji diktira pojava novih IKT, niti industriji da obezbedi u značajnim količinama radnu snagu koja bi svojim kvalitetom mogla da parira modernim izazovima. Kako IK tehnologije proistekle iz četvrte industrijske revolucije mogu da pomognu da se ovaj problem reši?
... At the beginning of the 20th century, a paradigm was formed that science and technology must come together to modernize inefficient and cumbersome procedures of the conventional education system [9]. Nowadays, more than a century later, many countries worldwide are trying to make changes in the public education system, for economic as well as cultural reasons. ...
System of education in Serbia, as well as in many other European countries, is still based upon the more than a century old model, a product of the 2nd Industrial Revolution. Automatization of the industrial production, products standardization, mass production based on the assembly line model and diminishing need for skilled manual labor, established large demand for work force with limited set of mediocre skills. At the turn of the 20th century, system of education also adopted mass production doctrine in order to produce such work force in needed pace and quantities. However, technological advances, primarily in ICT, computerization and advent of the Internet and network interconnection of production facilities eliminated need for unskilled work force. New technologies and development tempo set as a prerequisite continuous training and permanent education process of already highly specialized workers. In order to follow the pace dictated by emergence of new technologies, or to produce in significant quantities work force ready to take on modern challenges, existing education system needs a general overhaul.
... The algorithmic emulation of a human teacher and its implementation with machines has been firing the imagination of both computer scientists and philosophers. We remember the first attempts of Sidney Pressey [83,87] and the research of Burrhus F. Skinner [10,103]. In the first half of the 20th century Sidney Pressey introduced what he called teaching machines. ...
The raise of so-called artificial intelligence has made people believe that computers may some day be congenial with human beings. In the past computers were regarded as effective but soulless and unintelligent assistants to free humans from routine tasks. Computers were supposed to perform time-consuming but mechanical calculations. Today's computers are universal machines that can execute an almost unlimited variety of software. The increase of processing speed allows us to implement complex software which does not seem to have much in common with past computing machinery.
In the field of education this awakened the desire to build algorithms which didactically support learners or even emulate human-like tutors. However, despite the apparent complexity of today's software, algorithms are step-by-step procedures which in their core are purely mechanical. So before introducing just another approach for technology-enhanced learning let me reconsider a seemingly naive but fundamental question. Given the nature of how computers work on the machine-level, can we emulate human-like tutors with computers?
I believe that we can not because human beings are in possession of abilities which can not be implemented with algorithms due to their mechanical kernel and the formal systems on which algorithms are built. However, there exists a concept with which we can implement a mutual human-machine interaction that enables computers to at least adapt themselves to a learner. The result of this is what we call "adaptive systems". In this work, I present a method based on spatio-temporal data structures and algorithms which enable us to build technically simple but artificially intelligent self-adapting systems. Such systems can be utilized for technology enhanced learning but also for other fields related to human-machine interaction.
The series Ca' Foscari Japanese Studies , strong in the tradition well-established at the Dipartimento di Studi sull’Asia e sull’Africa Mediterranea, aims to be an international benchmark for the studies on Japan. It collects publications of high scientific rigor aimed at documenting the most original and theoretically advanced developments in this field, ranging from classicism to modernity. Its highly multidisciplinary vocation results in a production structured in four thematic areas: Arts and Literature; History and Society; Religion and Thought; Linguistic and Language Education.
Abtract
Learning management system (LMS) is considered as an important means of knowledge acquisition and learning management in the digital era. As users could be seen as the key stakeholders who impact the system’s survival, their attitudes toward system are put in high consideration. The purpose of this study is to explore the factors influencing learner’s satisfaction towards learning management system, specially Blackboard and Edusoft. Blackboard and Edusoft are the two mandatory systems that all students in International University – Vietnam National University HCMC have been using during their college. A quantitative survey is applied to current students at International University to test the influence of 4 factors: Announcement system, Instruction information, Interaction, Technology quality on Learning management system usefulness and the impact of learning management system usefulness on their satisfaction. The findings suggest the significant impact of 5 mentioned factors in learners’ satisfaction including direct and indirect relations. This study also tests the relationship between the interaction provided by learning management tool and students’ satisfaction. For students’ side, they have a chance to raise their voices by ranking the level of which factors make them concern relating to the learning management tools that they have to use day by bay during college. For university’s side, this research contributes to provide information relating to students’ perception which could help the improvement for learning management system afterward.
Introduction
Insufficient educational resources on sports dentistry results in varying lecture implementations across dental schools, which causes knowledge gaps amongst students. Thus, a new interactive sports dentistry‐related computer‐assisted learning (CAL) module was created to facilitate dental school undergraduate students' education. This study compared the CAL module's learning effectiveness with conventional video lectures (VL) and assessed its effectiveness when used over several years at a university, and examined its validation in different university contexts, and students' perceptions.
Methods
Participants were 305 fifth‐year students. Students from a university in Tokyo participated for three years, and those from a university in Saitama for one year. In each year, the students were divided into two groups—CAL and VL. They studied their assigned modules in 20‐minute lessons. A written test was administered to determine their knowledge acquisition levels, along with a questionnaire.
Results
Two hundred sixty‐two consenting participants were included in the statistical analysis. The CAL groups' test scores at both schools were significantly higher than the VL groups' every year (p<0.001). Furthermore, test results from all years revealed no gender differences or repetition of the school years at either school. Most students at both universities evaluated the CAL module as excellent.
Conclusions
The interactive CAL module generated consistently strong results over multiple years, during which it was used by a diverse group of students at two universities. The students highly rated the module's learning process as well as its contents.
Introduction: motives, meanings, and contexts 1. Spirit and science: faith, healing, and mission 2. 'A little child shall lead them': educational evangelism and child study 3. 'Psychological work among the feeble-minded': the medical meaning of 'mental deficiency' 4. Psychological work in the schools: the statistical meaning of 'subnormality' 5. Causes and consequences: the Kallikak family as eugenic parable 6. The biology and sociology of 'prevention': defectives, dependents, and delinquents 7. Psychological work and the state: reformers, professionals, and the public 8. Psychological work and the nation: the political meaning of intelligence 9. Leaving Vineland: popularity, notoriety, and a place in history Epilogue: psychological legacies, historical lessons, and luck.
American testing is in tumult. Traditional, standardized, norm-referenced, multiple choice tests—the policy choice for the past 70 years—are under attack. The most widely touted policy alternative is a national system of examinations which would employ “authentic” assessment techniques. These techniques do not require students to select their answers from given alternatives; rather they require students to construct answers, perform, or produce something for evaluation. Authentic assessments, it is asserted, are worth teaching to; defeat negative test preparation effects associated with multiple choice tests; give teachers clear models of acceptable outcomes; have a positive influence on instruction and learning; measure higher order skills; and lay bare examinees’ thinking processes. Proponents of a national examination system argue that such a system will motivate unmotivated students; all students will meet “world class” standards; our nation’s productivity will be increased, and our global competitiveness restored; and, most importantly from the point of view of this chapter, the assessments will not be unfair to individuals or groups, and will help to improve the academic performance of all students, regardless of race, native language, culture, or gender.2