Page 254 - Making Instruction Work

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240 making instruction work

Instructor-Controlled Instruction
In this traditional format the instructor is the primary
source of information, usually offered to students in the form
of presentations (lectures). The main advantage is that a single
instructor can present information to as many students as can
be brought within eye- and earshot, which, through the use of
television and satellites, can amount to millions.
The main disadvantages are that instructors need to be
taught, though often they are not, how to be good presenters;
individual attention is difficult (and in some cases, even
impossible) to maintain; all students must receive the same
instruction in the same way and at the same pace; and students
cannot practice individually for as long as they need to become
proficient in each of the objectives.

Performance-Controlled Instruction
In this format students’ progress is controlled by their own
performance. Students exert some control over their learning
activities, in that when they have mastered one objective, they
are encouraged to move to the next. This is a highly flexible
format that can accommodate instructor-led presentations as
well as group sessions when they are called for by the objec-
tives. Performance-controlled instruction is usually conducted
in a self-paced mode.
The advantages of this format are that (a) each student has
the opportunity to study and practice until all objectives are
accomplished, (b) students often have some control over the
sequence in which they address the modules, (c) instructors
can devote most of their time to coaching individual students,
and (d) all principles of learning can be applied toward effec-
tive performance. Another advantage is that the instruction
can be guaranteed to accomplish the objectives that analysis
has revealed to be important.