Programmed Instruction in Secondary Education: A Meta-Analysis of Evaluation Finding

Abstract

This review used "meta-analytic," or statistical, techniques to integrate findings from 48 independent evaluations of the effectiveness of programmed instruction in secondary schools. The meta-analysis showed that results from programmed instruction were on the average very similar to those from conventional teaching. Programmed instruction did not typically raise student achievement on final examinations; nor did it make students feel more positively about the subjects they were studying or about the quality of the teaching at their schools. The most favorable evaluation findings on programmed instruction came from recent studies and from applications in the social sciences.