Linear :
Two major types of programs have dominated the field since 1960, but there has been a great deal of variability in these programs. Likewise, PI has been produced in many different forms. In this section, the different types of programs will be discussed. Linear programs were the earliest and most prominent form of programming.
Linear PI usually consists of the following characteristics: Presentation of written material (normally), enclosed in frames, introduces or reviews small increments of information per frame. The information contained in a series of frames is normally graduated from easy to difficult, simple to complex, concrete to abstract (i.e., generally a simple inductive sequence). Users make an active response in each and every frame presented in the same sequence to every user, requiring them to recall information contained in the frame or review and practice information presented in a recent frame. The nature of these responses varies.
The important point is that some response is made. Therefore, linear PI is referred to as response-centered programming. The program provides immediate confirmation of the correctness of the user’s responses which serves to reinforce the particular responding behavior. Following feedback, each and every learner proceeds to the next frame in the sequence regardless of the result of the previous one.
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Learners proceed through the programmed sequence of frames at their own pace. No effort is usually made to check one’s understanding of the material, only to reinforce a particular response set; that is, to make a particular form of behavior more predictable. As the practice of programming evolved, exceptions to these basic characteristics began to appear. These modifications made linear programs appear more like branching programs.
In modified linear programming, programmer continually varies the context of the review materials. Often, if a user answers a review question correctly, she or he will, be directed to skip a sequence of questions. An incorrect response to some review questions will send the user back to repeat a sequence of frames.
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These programs include additional material so that rapid learners, who may become bored with straight linear programming, have an opportunity to learn supplemental information. This supplemental information is contained in linear subprograms which branch out from the main program.
Linear With Criterion Frames :
Criterion frames are used to determine if a user should complete a given sequence within a program. They may also be used to assign users to individual linear tracks within a program.
Branching (Intrinsic) Programs :
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The entire conceptual orientation of branching programming is different from that of linear programming essentially; branching programs test whether communication has succeeded. Branching prograrns generally possess the following features: branching programs are larger, with more coherent segments of text that require users to read and comprehend the information presented. Branching therefore said to be stimulus centered.
Responses are less overt and more intrinsic to the program, and are meant to confirm comprehension of the material or completion of a skill. Users are required to think through the frame and understand where the program is going. User responses are not intended always to be correct. Incorrect responses indicate inadequate comprehension of the material or completion of a skill.
The role of feedback is informative or corrective, not reinforcing as in linear programs. The sequence of frames or text units that learners complete varies with the user’s comprehension of the material. The emphasis is on adapting the sequence to accommodate differences in prior learning or learning ability. The emphasis is on relating the material in the program to prior learning which facilitates comprehension of the material. Branching programs are better adapted to machine (rather than text) presentation. They are not well suited to book format.
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PI has now been in the educational mainstream for forty years, time enough to complete a full development cycle. The initial fervor led to critical analysis, which precipitated skepticism, which resulted in its cyclical decline from prominence. The bandwagon began to rust in the 1970’s. But rather than corroding into extinction, PI now has renewed impetus, albeit in different forms than in its first cycle. Principles and processes of PI appear in generic instructional development models, self-teaching texts, interactive videotape/videodisc projects, and most notably in computer-assisted instruction.
These and other technologies, now evolving, are clearly more powerful than the model can accommodate; so in order to more fully utilize such technologies, educational technologists will be forced to increasingly abandon the PI model in favor of more flexible and powerful design models, no doubt based on principles of artificial intelligence.