Design and Evaluation of an Internet-Based Personalized Instructional System for Social Psychology

Abstract

Two iterations of an Internet-based Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) course are described. The course was designed to capitalize on the unique advantages of the PSI system while using the Internet to overcome some of its noted administrative drawbacks. Unlike previous computer-based PSI courses, the asynchronous nature of the Internet and the automated features built into Blackboard made it possible for students to attend lectures, to take quizzes and examinations, and to communicate with the instructor and other class members at any time from any networked computer. This reduced the labor intensiveness previously associated with PSI while training students to learn through distance education. The combination of PSI and the Internet produced an effective instructional strategy, reviving Keller’s (1968) original PSI model while setting the stage both for more advanced PSI research and Internet-based instruction.