The Development and Presentation of Four Different College Courses by Computer Teleprocessing. Interim Report.

A computer-assisted instruction (CAI) project undertaken in 1965 sought to: 1) teach college instructors to prepare quality CAI curricula; 2) ascertain student attitudes toward CAI; 3) compare CAI with the lecture method; and 4) demonstrate prototypical CAI courses. Teachers were successfully trained in the use of Coursewriter and prepared courses in audiology, mathematics, engineering economics, and cost accounting. Posttests administered to small groups of students who took the courses revealed that both performance and attitude correlated positively with aptitude, although the attitude measure was more likely a function of performance than a reaction to CAI as a method. Since aptitude correlated with criterion-referenced achievement, the goal of gaximum criterion achievement for each student via individualized CAI was not atta..ted; likewise, since the number of errors made by students correlated negatively with posttest scores, it appeared that the remedial branches were not serving their intended function. The high incidence of substantially correct answers entered improperly showed the need for building complex answer processing capabilities into the computer. (PB)