A history of teaching machines.

Abstract

The development of machines is traced from the patented educational devices of the 19th century through the initial machines of Sidney Pressey in the 1920s to the machines invented by B. F. Skinner in the 1950s. The obscurity of Pressey's pioneering work in this field contrasted with the fame achieved by Skinner is discussed in a historical context. The final sections discuss the short-lived success and eventual failure of classroom machines in the 1950s and 1960s. The latest report from the Dean Concerning the Is that Oedipus Rex Could have learned about sex By and not bothered the Queen. --(cited in Skinner, 1983, p. 200) The December 1957 issue of Contemporary Psychology (CP) marked the completion of the journal 's second year of publication under the editorship of America's premier historian of psychology, Harvard University's Edwin G. Boring. In his monthly column, entitled Speaks, Boring praised the recent publication of a laboratory manual of operant conditioning methods authored by Lloyd Homme and David Klaus. As an aside, he commented that Homme was visiting at Harvard where he was working on another idea that originated with [B. F.] Skinner, the technique for by machine (Boring, 1957, p. 313). Boring, who in his historical writings had cautioned that origins are rarely unequivocal, should have known better than to make such an assertion of priority. What historians call an origin myth might have been in the making except for the action of Ohio State University psychologist Horace English who wrote to Boring on January 30, 1958: When the public press gave Skinner credit for originating teaching by machine, it did not seem worth while to protest. But when the scholarly editor of CP falls into this trap; dear, oh dear. Be it known that Sidney Pressey published descriptions of machines which gave reinforcement by immediate knowledge of results and of one which gave reinforcement in the form of a piece of candy--when the child pressed the right lever, if you please. There have been at least six doctoral dissertations devoted to finding the effectiveness of such machines . . . . Most of this was before our friend Skinner even finished grade school. Originate, indeed! . . . . This note is not for publication but it should lead to some sort of correction. Sidney hasn't said beans in my hearing; maybe he does not know of Skinner's new proposal. Does Skinner have any idea of the wealth of research that has preceded him? In fact, B. E Skinner did know about Pressey's work, and Pressey was familiar with what Skinner was doing. Of the foursome, only Boring was unaware of Pressey's early work, and the letter from English elicited the following prompt response from the embarrassed 71-year-old