ocTEL |Week 1: (1.1) Champions & critics of TM : patterns detected?

Teaching Machine plus and minus

What do you think they would like about the Teaching Machines approach?

Both Socrates and Illich would like that Skinner’s Teaching Machine (TM) views learning as not being a chore (pleasurable perhaps), and that this method should also draw out of the individual what they know.  It can be applied to both advanced and standard learners as individually they are able to progress at their own speed whilst covering the same programme of study. Independent learning is accommodated irrespective of the size of the class. The step-by-step or ’chunking��� of learning content and the importance of high quality course materials is also a winner. Hints and suggestions with immediate feedback equates to Socratic guidance and support resulting in formative learning rather than summative.

What would they oppose?

The Socratic method would oppose the prescriptiveness of TM and although undertaken in the classroom not much social discussion/communication was taking place, they all appear to be working separately under test-like conditions – but I could be wrong.  This method of teaching does not appear to allow for independent /original  thought and mirrors a rather robotic/factory production line approach to education.  Illich would see attending only schools for teaching and learning as a mistake with the social agency of other social and or institutions or groups being bypassed as being valid.

What alternatives would they propose?

Socrates would have wanted a more social environment for teaching and learning with the individual’s learning being ‘challenged’ by other students to check the underlying integrity/understanding of ideas being presented. Illich would move the teaching of particular subjects/topics where appropriate outside the school and encourage social activities so as to promulgate learning.   The social and communication elements that are missing from TM would need to be integrated in some aspect into the use of TM both in and around it, with a facilitator/teacher supporting these interchanges.

My findings of the themes I have noticed in others' post are here...

* Communication and the social element is very important and is missing in Skinner's TM approach or need to be more explictly expressed
* We all agree that each of the approaches have some merit to them as well as drawbacks
* They each demonstrate how at a different time in education and discipline educators have tried to use technology to enhance learning, some more successfully than others but always with good intentions
* In all cases the technology used was simply a tool and not the object of the exercise
* There is a need for the role of teacher/facilitator - someone with expertise in that subject, who guides and support and sometimes leads the learner in navigating the learning landscape
* Luckily we don't have to choose one approch and stick to it religiously, we do have the freedom to choose the right technology for the job and part of that choice may be to forego technology - as long as it is a conscious decision!

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