Abstract:
The ideal of self-paced learning, which was introduced nearly 50 years ago by Keller in his Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), has not yet been widely adopted. In ...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
The ideal of self-paced learning, which was introduced nearly 50 years ago by Keller in his Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), has not yet been widely adopted. In spite of its perceived promise of helping students to learn at the speed aligned to their individual backgrounds, motivation, and skills, PSI has been challenging to implement. University teaching practice with weekly plans means that instructors expect students to learn at the same pace. Against this backdrop, this paper reports experiences from deploying PSI in multiple offerings of an introductory programming course at a Scandinavian university over five years. These include variations, such as a buddy system, rightsizing modules, encouraging pacing, alternative targets, intermediate milestones, active coaching, and time management, all primarily aimed at overcoming a key concern associated with PSI, namely, procrastination. The lessons associated with each are described with a view to providing fellow instructors with strategies and options that they can consider for implementing PSI into introductory programming courses.
Published in: IEEE Transactions on Education ( Volume: 60, Issue: 2, May 2017)
Funding Agency:
Bentley University, Waltham, MA, USA
Sandeep Purao (M'05) received the Ph.D. degree in management
information systems from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
He is currently a Trustee Professor with the Information and Process Management, Bentley University, Waltham, MA,
USA. His research focuses on the design of techno-organizational systems and the sciences of design. His work has been
published in journals, such as Management...Show More
Sandeep Purao (M'05) received the Ph.D. degree in management
information systems from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
He is currently a Trustee Professor with the Information and Process Management, Bentley University, Waltham, MA,
USA. His research focuses on the design of techno-organizational systems and the sciences of design. His work has been
published in journals, such as Management...View more
University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
Maung Sein received the Ph.D. degree from Indiana University,
Indianapolis, IN, USA.
He was with the Indiana University, the Florida International University, University Park, FL, USA, and the Georgia
State University, Atlanta, GA, USA, and he was an Adjunct Professor with the University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. He
is a Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway, and a Visitin...Show More
Maung Sein received the Ph.D. degree from Indiana University,
Indianapolis, IN, USA.
He was with the Indiana University, the Florida International University, University Park, FL, USA, and the Georgia
State University, Atlanta, GA, USA, and he was an Adjunct Professor with the University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. He
is a Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway, and a Visitin...View more
University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
Hallgeir Nilsen received the master's degree in informatics from the
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
He is an Associate Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. Prior to
joining the University of Agder, he worked with Andersen Consulting. His research interests include motivation and
learning strategies, end-user computing, and pedagogical strategies.
Hallgeir Nilsen received the master's degree in informatics from the
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
He is an Associate Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. Prior to
joining the University of Agder, he worked with Andersen Consulting. His research interests include motivation and
learning strategies, end-user computing, and pedagogical strategies.View more
University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
Even Åby Larsen received the master's degree in computer
science from the University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
He is an Associate Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. He worked in
applied research with the Norwegian Computing Center, for eight years, and then as a System Development Consultant and
Software Architect, before joining the University of Agder, in 2002. His resea...Show More
Even Åby Larsen received the master's degree in computer
science from the University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
He is an Associate Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. He worked in
applied research with the Norwegian Computing Center, for eight years, and then as a System Development Consultant and
Software Architect, before joining the University of Agder, in 2002. His resea...View more
Contents Bentley University, Waltham, MA, USA
Sandeep Purao (M'05) received the Ph.D. degree in management
information systems from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
He is currently a Trustee Professor with the Information and Process Management, Bentley University, Waltham, MA,
USA. His research focuses on the design of techno-organizational systems and the sciences of design. His work has been
published in journals, such as Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ), Information
Systems Research (ISR), ACM Computing Surveys, Communications of the ACM,
IEEE Transactions, Computer Supported Cooperative Work, and the Journal of the
American Medical Informatics Association. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation,
Industry Consortia, private foundations, and private industry.
Dr. Purao has served on Editorial Boards of MISQ, ISR, and the Journal of
the Association for Information Systems.
Sandeep Purao (M'05) received the Ph.D. degree in management
information systems from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
He is currently a Trustee Professor with the Information and Process Management, Bentley University, Waltham, MA,
USA. His research focuses on the design of techno-organizational systems and the sciences of design. His work has been
published in journals, such as Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ), Information
Systems Research (ISR), ACM Computing Surveys, Communications of the ACM,
IEEE Transactions, Computer Supported Cooperative Work, and the Journal of the
American Medical Informatics Association. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation,
Industry Consortia, private foundations, and private industry.
Dr. Purao has served on Editorial Boards of MISQ, ISR, and the Journal of
the Association for Information Systems.View more
University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
Maung Sein received the Ph.D. degree from Indiana University,
Indianapolis, IN, USA.
He was with the Indiana University, the Florida International University, University Park, FL, USA, and the Georgia
State University, Atlanta, GA, USA, and he was an Adjunct Professor with the University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. He
is a Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway, and a Visiting Professor with
the Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden. He has published in Management Information
Systems Quarterly (MISQ), Information Systems Research, Information Systems Journal
, Communications of the ACM, The Information Society, and Human
Computer Interaction, and he has widely presented his research.
Dr. Sein has served on Editorial Boards of MISQ, MISQ Executive, the
Communications of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), the Journal of the AIS, the
Information Systems Journal, the e-Service Journal, the Electronic Journal of
e-Government, and Information Technology for Development. He has chaired/served on program
committees of several conferences.
Maung Sein received the Ph.D. degree from Indiana University,
Indianapolis, IN, USA.
He was with the Indiana University, the Florida International University, University Park, FL, USA, and the Georgia
State University, Atlanta, GA, USA, and he was an Adjunct Professor with the University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. He
is a Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway, and a Visiting Professor with
the Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden. He has published in Management Information
Systems Quarterly (MISQ), Information Systems Research, Information Systems Journal
, Communications of the ACM, The Information Society, and Human
Computer Interaction, and he has widely presented his research.
Dr. Sein has served on Editorial Boards of MISQ, MISQ Executive, the
Communications of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), the Journal of the AIS, the
Information Systems Journal, the e-Service Journal, the Electronic Journal of
e-Government, and Information Technology for Development. He has chaired/served on program
committees of several conferences.View more
University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
Hallgeir Nilsen received the master's degree in informatics from the
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
He is an Associate Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. Prior to
joining the University of Agder, he worked with Andersen Consulting. His research interests include motivation and
learning strategies, end-user computing, and pedagogical strategies.
Hallgeir Nilsen received the master's degree in informatics from the
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
He is an Associate Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. Prior to
joining the University of Agder, he worked with Andersen Consulting. His research interests include motivation and
learning strategies, end-user computing, and pedagogical strategies.View more
University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
Even Åby Larsen received the master's degree in computer
science from the University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
He is an Associate Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. He worked in
applied research with the Norwegian Computing Center, for eight years, and then as a System Development Consultant and
Software Architect, before joining the University of Agder, in 2002. His research interests include the information
system development process and system development education.
Even Åby Larsen received the master's degree in computer
science from the University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
He is an Associate Professor in information systems with the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. He worked in
applied research with the Norwegian Computing Center, for eight years, and then as a System Development Consultant and
Software Architect, before joining the University of Agder, in 2002. His research interests include the information
system development process and system development education.View more
