Submitted by Lisa Rinsdale
BF Skinner and the Teaching Machine
Its Impact on Distance Learning Today
1951-1960
Submitted by Lisa Rinsdale
Let’s start at the beginning for those of us that have taken any psychology classes we probably remember BF Skinner as a behaviorist. In fact he credited with being the founder of a school of thought called radical behaviorism. He created “Skinner” boxes which were used to study classical and operant conditioning (applied behavioral analysis). His earliest experiments were on rodents, pigeons and primates.
Inspired by a visit to his daughter’s fourth grade class Skinner’s observations were that the method of teaching violated the behavioral principle of shaping. Shaping means that you adapt the level of learning to the current performance level. These students were at all different level of competency, but receiving the exact same lesson. Additionally there was a lack of immediate reinforcement, students did not know if they were right or wrong after a response. In 1958 Skinner wrote an article in Science on the teaching machine. His theory and study was that using the experimental study of learning, devices (or machines) could be developed which arrange optimal conditions for self instruction. The pace would be controlled by the learner’s capacity to absorb cognitive information and material. Skinner believed that the machine was not the actual teacher, but brings the student into contact with the developer of the material to be learned. He viewed the machines as laborsaving because one teacher could be in contact with large numbers of students.
Skinner argued that with good development this would not be mass production, but rather constant interchange between the student and the teacher or program. The machines create activities that are sustained and therefore add to alertness of the learner. Skinner recognized that lectures and textbooks because of their passive nature could be very boring to the learner.
Initially Skinner built the first teaching machine which presented problems in random order and gave the learner immediate feedback. Within three years with the help of a fine team of graduate students he developed programmed instruction for his teaching machines. He eventually used charts, maps, graphs and auditory material as a part of his programmed instruction. To teach foreign language an indexing phonograph was used so that the learner could listen to passages and then transcribe.
What does this mean for distance learning today? Many of the principles of the teaching machines are foundational to educational programs. The technology of the computer and internet turn out to probably (I guess only Skinner could give his own opinion on this) represent the perfect Skinner teaching machine when utilized with well developed programmed instruction. To match Skinner’s model you would need learner responses with each block of information and performance feedback before advancing to a new level. Additionally the sequencing from easy to difficult is critical
Skinner, B.F. (1958). Teaching machines. Science 128, 969-977.
http://www.bfskinner.org/bio.asp
Comments:
DistEd (January 25, 2007. 03:20am)
Submitted by Lisa Rinsdale
Compare and Contrast how the progress of technology in the 1950’s with distance education in the same time period. It is apparent to me that BF Skinner had developed the theories for distance programmed instruction. All the ingredients were there except the technology. While the first computers were being built they were not available to support programmed learning. Yet, Skinner had the vision for how this type of system might work. Take the student step by step. I think Skinner and Bloom (Bloom’s taxonomy) would have agreed with each other. The learner must first identify and then is ready to advance to higher levels such as comprehension and application, etc. So, it seems to me the learning theories were there.
What were missing were the computers. Skinner built his program with what he had access to a rudimentary apparatus. Since computers were becoming available at larger universities at the end of this period there was still a long way before it would become generally accessible. So I see the distance education increasing in front of the technology. So once the technology was available the programs could be built based on learning theories.
Finally during this time period it would have been a radical idea that we would have computers in our homes, on our desks, and in our tote bags. Yet, that has become today’s reality. If we did not have information on human cognition and human learning then developing computers that were accessible to the general public would not have been possible. Computers have been developed based upon knowing how human process information, what is intuitive, and finally how humans learn.