Effects of Computer-Aided Personalized System of Instruction in Developing Knowledge and Critical Thinking in Blended Learning Courses

• Published in: The behavior analyst today Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 34 - 40
• Main Authors: Svenningsen, Louis, Pear, Joseph J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Joseph D. Cautilli 01-12-2011
• Subjects: Blended Learning; Computer Assisted Instruction; Critical Thinking; Curriculum; Educational Objectives; Human; Knowledge Level; Learning Ability; critical thinking; higher-order thinking; Bloom's taxonomy; personalized system of instruction (PSI); blended learning; computer-aided personalized system of instruction (CAPSI); online learning
• ISSN: 1539-4352; 1539-4352
• DOI: 10.1037/h0100709

Two experiments were conducted to assess an online version of Keller's personalized system of instruction, called computer-aided personalized system of instruction (CAPSI), as part of a blended learning design with regard to course knowledge and critical thinking development. In Experiment 1, two lecture sections of an Introduction to University course received a CAPSI assignment while two received an extra paper assignment. In Experiment 2, one lecture section of an Introduction to University course received a CAPSI assignment while another lecture section was assigned a research paper. In the two experiments the CAPSI sections consistently outperformed the sections with which they were compared, indicating that CAPSI is a viable option in higher education.