Keller+PSI+program

= = =Keller PSI Program=
 * (submitted by Karen Casselman)**

Definition
F red S. Keller first described the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) in 1968. It is often called simply "[|the Keller Method]." PSI was developed a few years earlier by Keller, Gil Sherman, and other professors at the University of Brazilia for college instruction there while Keller was a visiting professor.

PSI is characterized by a well-defined set of objectives, and insistence on mastery of discrete units of content before moving on to new units of instruction. It is thus student-paced. Students take tests as soon as they think they have learned the material, and the tests are immediately graded with immediate feedback. If there is less than mastery, the students review the material in which they are having trouble, and retake the test as often as necessary. PSI is a mastery system since students demonstrate mastery on a given unit before they can proceed to the next unit. Research has shown that mastery learning in general and the Keller system in particular produce superior learning. Instruction relies on written content material, and lecture serves a different role than in typical college teaching, primarily for interaction and motivation. [|The Personalized System of Instruction webpage], * by Bob Allan. Learn about this groundbreaking behavioral approach to learning and teaching pioneered by Fred S. Keller.

Essential Features of a PSI Course: "(1) The go-at-your-own-pace feature, which permits a student to move through the course at a speed commensurate with his ability and other demands upon his time. "(2) The unit-perfection requirement for advance, which lets the student go ahead to new material only after demonstrating mastery of that which preceded. "(3) The use of lectures and demonstrations as vehicles of motivation, rather than sources of critical information. "(4) The related stress upon the written word in teacher-student communications; and, finally: "(5) The use of proctors, which permits repeated testing, immediate scoring, almost unavoidable tutoring, and a marked enhancement of the personal-social aspect of the educational process." (Keller, 1968)

Source: [|Concerns and Criticisms of PSI] [|Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies]

Related Topics
[|Blooms Taxonomy] [| Computer Aided Personalized System of Instruction (CAPSI)] [| Fred S. Keller] [| Mastery Learning]

Links
[|Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies] [|CAPSI - Teaching Large Classes in a Virtual Environment While Still Actively Engaging Students in the Learning Process] [|CAPSI - Teaching and Researching Higher-Order Thinking in a Virtual Environment] [|Personalized System of Instruction] [|Those using PSI (past, present and future)] [|Tribute to Fred Keller] [|Virginia Tech - Educational Programs]