Teaching Machines

Abstract

Many thoughtful members of the teaching staff of a department of pediatrics must have wondered whether some mechanical invention could be of assistance in drilling students on essential facts, thus leaving the instructor free to play a more effective role in the cultivation of thinking, which should be the prime objective of education. As what appear to be basic facts become more numerous, the dilemma facing the teacher seems to become more difficult to resolve. How can one get the student to acquire essential facts without interfering with the more important aspect of education—learning to use the mind critically in the evaluation of material and to develop a capacity for integrative and creative thinking? This article on Teaching Machines by a professor of psychology in Harvard University will acquaint the interested reader with developments in machines designed to enable the student to undertake some self instruction. The machines are based on current concepts of the learning process; although mechanical, they require more than passive co-operation from the student. A full discussion of the results thus far achieved, and the limitations which have been encountered, are presented in what appears to be a fair and objective fashion. The machine discussed is supposed to serve as a means of re-enforcement in the learning process. The machine is not intended to replace teachers but to liberate them for greater realization of their indispensable roles in the educational process. The programming of material for the machines and their use seem to allow particularly for the differences in rates of learning of individual students. It would be an interesting experiment if some department of pediatrics would give a trial to the use of teaching machines in the educational program.