Teaching Machine Dichotomy
Skinner vs. Pressey
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13653398 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Edward F Fry (Loyola Marymount University, corresponding author), Edward Fry (Loyola University, Los Angeles) |
| Year | 1960 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 11-14 |
| Publication date | 1960-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychological Reports (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-2941 • E-ISSN: 1558-691X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2466/pr0.1960.6.1.11 |
| OpenAlex | W2088290987 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 4 |
Even though the field of teaching machines is not very old or very large, there has already developed what appears to be a relatively major dichotomy. On one hand we have the historically older faction headed by Sidney Pressey at Ohio State University, which emphasizes multiple-choice devices; and on the other, a newer faction headed by B. F. Skinner at Harvard University, which emphasizes construction of response devices. Numerous theoretical and practical considerations (amount of error permitted and methods of programming) enter into the dichotomy. The common characteristics of teaching machines may be described simply. These are devices which tutor the student without assistance from a human instructor. They require the student's active participation. He must respond to questions which may be interspersed with graphic or verbal subject matter, or with other techniques as the Socratic method or vanishing (gradually removing part of a word or phrase until the student responds without a cue). Two basic principles are involved: ( a ) complete variability in rate, rate being determined by the student's responses which permit individual differences, and (b ) immediate knowledge of results, i.e., the device rewards the student with the answer immediately after he responds
Cognitive psychology · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Mathematics education · Phrase · Socratic method · Subject (documents · TUTOR · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Evolutionary Algorithms and Applications · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Teaching and Learning Programming
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.08 |
| Citation span | 1988 - 2025 (38) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |