An enquiry into the value of programmed learning in the teaching of reading to slow-learning children

This thesis was conceived as the result of the impression made on me, on my staff at the Milton 3.S.N. Special School, and to some extent on the hundreds of visitors who came to the school, following the introduction of programmed instruction in the teaching of reading. Our pragmatic approach to this, then novel technique, proved so effective that I felt that I should like to see it experimented with more widely in the field of special education for the educationally sub-normal, and with slow learners generally. I sought to further this in a limited way by supplying local teachers, who were interested, with photo-copies of my programs, by describing my methods in articles in educational journals, by lecturing; to teachers and to teachers in training, and in organising courses for teachers In the last I was assisted by the Education Department of the West Riding, Later, under the auspices of the national Association of Remedial Teachers, I was enabled to publish a short book describing my methods and experiments in some detail, (l) The thesis is arranged in three parts; Part 1 is the basis upon which the study is founded and seeks to outline the work at the Hilton E.S.N. School which led to the two evaluation studies with which this part concludes. Both studies are described in detail with some supporting statistics. The first is vis a vis a teacher and the second, a long-term comparison with our normal teaching methods. Part 2, is a review of some of the theories which underlie programmed instruction. It also considers in some detail some of the recent research into programming variables, particularly research wherein the subjects were mentally handicapped or slow learners. Part 3, covers all the original research carried out by me since May 1970, commencing with my main study at the Rossington E.S.N. Special School. This is followed by a further "rate of learning" study at Mexborough College of Further Education and then a series studies into some of the variables considered in Part 2.