What is Programmed Learning

Because of the failure of the behaviorist tradition in developing the full potential of the individual, there is a shift to a cognitive paradigm which emphasizes the process of learning as against methods of teaching. Each of us has the potential to excel if we have the right opportunities at the right time of our development and backed up with a stimulating environment in the process of learning. The effectiveness of any teaching learning process is measured by the extent to which it has met the individual’s needs and expectations. The cognitive view of learning refers to individual’s mode of thinking, remembering or problem-solving, because learners learn in different ways of absorbing information and demonstrating their knowledge. Individualized instruction is a personalized learning which meaningfully involves only the learner working on his own and at his own pace. On a practical level, a personalized learning environment entails flexibility to enable learners to interact with resources when it is most appropriate for them. There is awareness that many learners today are already creating personalized learning environments using digital resources. Without digital technology, meeting individual learner needs will be practically impossible. The implications of the introduction of technologies in homes and schools have created the problem of reinforcing the existing inequalities in the education system of the developed and developing countries. To arrest this situation, there is the need to ensure that access to digital resources is universal. Without a commitment to this goal, the learning landscape will be easily navigable only by those with the relevant economic and cultural resources. The present evolutionary trend in education technology has enhanced mass education making learning to be more individualized. Innovations in teaching and learning have thus been dominated by computer and the Internet.