Postlethwait’s Audio-Tutorial method impresses me as an extravagantly complicated method for delivering instruction. The three phases: General Assembly Session (GAS), Independent Study Session (ISS), and Integrated Quiz Session (IQS) left me asking myself if this method isn’t virtually what I did in my old foreign language classes.
Kulik, Kulik, and Cohen (1979) state that “(m)any researchers who compared A-T and conventional teaching concluded that this approach was at least as effective as conventional training.” However, they indicate that “Keller’s Personalized System of Instruction or PSI…has produced much more dramatic results.” PSI “made a substantial contribution to examination performance and also contributed significantly to student ratings of course quality.” They clearly were not as impressed with the A-T approach. They conclude that “A-T does not lead to higher or lower course ratings than conventional teaching methods.
One of the advantages of this system is allegedly to progress through the material at their own pace. This may appear to be an attractive feature, but Kulik, Kulik, and Cohen point out in their monograph that pacing does not appear to ameliorate the differences between the slower and the more efficient learners
This method appears to be what a financially well-endowed school might want to use if it wanted to appear “trendy.” Certainly, under this method, students are no longer sequestered by long-winded, mind-numbingly boring instructors who seem to ramble on and on long after the most astute class member has lost his/her attention span.
As mentioned in the lecture, several barriers appear: students need to be self-directed and must take the responsibility for their own learning, the creation of tapes and other media is time-consuming, and, in the physical “learning lab”, materials had to be organized for student use. Many students, however, adapt well to being self-directed (although not all are) and the internet allows us greater efficiency in organizing, creating, and distributing the learning materials.
Still, it is unlikely that I will use the A-T approach, as the Keller Plan, and especially the Guided Learning method appear to be superior methods of delivery of instruction via internet. I feel that the three phases of the A-T approach make the delivery of online instruction unnecessarily difficult, especially when coordinating small assembly sessions and peer support sessions. Perhaps modifications could be made, but once they were, A-T would closely resemble other more efficient methodologies.
Were this model to be used, audio-visual materials could easily be delivered by YouTube, Ustreem, and mp3 files. Websites such as Dimdim, Elluminate and Come To Meeting could be used for peer tutoring sessions. Quiz sites such as Quia could be used. Certainly Moodle could be used to deliver most if not all of the class materials.
References:
Kulik, J. A., Kulik, C. C., and Cohen, P.A.; Research on Audio-Tutorial Instruction: A Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies. (1979)
I agree with your idea about modifying the model to incorporate more efficient methodologies. I feel that this model is, in a certain sense, a very early form of that eventually became online courses. One aspect of the model that I feel is a positive one is the use of manipulatives and hands on activities, which cannot be achieved in the same manner through multimedia.
ReplyDeleteAl,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that the A-T is similar to what you did in your foreign language classes. That is exactly how I see the A-T being used. Can you see the A-T being brought into the language lessons of the 21st century?
Hi Karen,
ReplyDeleteWell, you've read Jessica's post about her foreign language class, and hopefully that's a worst case scenario, but, face it, millions of people have had similar experiences with the A-T approach over the past couple of decades.
I think efficiency will drive education in the 21st century. We learn language through repetition, but there must also be an understanding of the rules governing the language. Listening to recordings (provided they have been made by indigenous speakers of the language)are of great value, but if one doesn't understand what they are saying, they are a waste of time.
Immediate feedback is so important in foreign language, just as in music. If I mispronounce "ein wenig", I need to be informed then, not a few days later. If the A-T approach allows that kind of feedback, and the principles of repetition and understanding of grammar and diction, then I am at least reservedly in favor of the approach.
Al,
ReplyDeleteI have had two different experiences with foreign language. The first was learning Spanish in high school. Twenty years later, I remember nothing of Spanish. The second was learning to speak German while living in Germany. I was more motivated to learn German because I needed to use it in real world situations. An Audio-Tutorial would have helped in this case because I could have learned phrases that would help me through everyday life.
Unfortunately, speaking a foreign language is like playing a musical instrument. If you don't practice, your skills deteriorate. Since I haven't lived in Germany for almost a year, my German has gone downhill. Maybe I could use an A-T to refresh my memory.