REAL TIME FEEDBACK IN PROGRAMMED LEARNING reinforces the learners' expectations and the learning outcomes of the curriculum. Feedback prepares students for better work on future quizzes, tests, writings, and projects, and it increases confidence by helping students see where the instructor wants them to go and what the instructor values as important.

It is also beneficial because the results are immediate, the skills can be practiced in a non-punitive environment, and students can access these practice items anytime and anywhere. This article examines the types of real-time feedback that can be used to improve confidence and knowledge-transfer during the practice and pre-evaluation stages of learning through programmed instruction.

The types of real-time feedback in programmed instruction are tied greatly to the type of question or activity that is performed in the programmed environment. One type of feedback is verification where the answer is simply tested for right and wrong status and the learner is notified immediately. These traditional pen and paper type questions such as true and false question, multiple choice questions, selective questions, and fill in the blank questions can provide hours of practice in the programmed instructional environment. Let’s take a look at the following example of verification sample. 

In the above example, the computerized environment allowed for quick immediate feedback on right and wrong answers. The user was able to learn through trial and error and no score was taken that penalized the learner. Another type of real-time feedback in programmed instruction comes from immediate elaboration of the verified answer. Frequently students can be wrong upon first examination of new material, but that does not mean that the opportunity to learn is lost. In fact, the opposite is true; students can learn from their mistakes in a non-threatening risk free environment that provides immediate elaboration for the choice made whether it is correct or incorrect. Let’s take a look again at the above example, but this time with verification and elaboration. 

In addition to the factual feedback of verification and elaboration, visual feedback is commonly found in programmed instruction. This visual feedback helps learners tie facts to real images from that environment, and it increases understanding, association, and recall. Let's take a look at this example with public domain photos from the Library of Congress and Wikipedia. 

In addition to graphics, sound is frequently used in the immediate feedback of programmed instruction. According to the theory of dual-coding, verbal and visual materials presented together can enhance the interpretation of an environment. This last example includes audio as a form of immediate feedback. You will need to turn on your speakers. 

There are more types and levels to designing real time feedback than are presented in this article. For example, the field of educational simulations is an area that uses highly interactive programmed artificial intelligence to quickly respond to a learner's needs.

It is important to note, though, that designing feedback does require the exploration of a variety of feedback types so that the learners can reach the goals and the objectives of the lesson. Feedback takes many forms, and its design should be viewed from a variety of perspectives. 

Matt Moore, SDSU EDTEC Graduate Student

Moore, M. (2005). Real time feedback in Programmed Learning. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from file:///D:/实验室/eet/articles/realtimefbk/start.htm