Self- versus instructor-pacing: Achievement, evaluations, and retention

Student procrastination is an important concern in personalized systems of instruction. The present study compared progress made on course work by 2 groups of students--one self-paced (75 Ss) and one instructor-paced (74 Ss)--in a course taught using the personalized system of instruction. Ss were a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of educational psychology 1978-04, Vol.70 (2), p.224-230
Main Authors: Morris, Edward K, Surber, Colleen F, Bijou, Sidney W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College Academic Achievement
College Students
Course Evaluation
Educational Objectives
Human
Individualized Instruction
Retention
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Summary:Student procrastination is an important concern in personalized systems of instruction. The present study compared progress made on course work by 2 groups of students--one self-paced (75 Ss) and one instructor-paced (74 Ss)--in a course taught using the personalized system of instruction. Ss were also compared on measures of course achievement and evaluations and a 9-mo content retention test. Results show that even though the self-paced group procrastinated while the instructor-paced group did not, both scored similarly on pre-, post-, and retention tests and were equally satisfied with the course. Moreover, no differences were found in the number of units completed, final grade distributions, or course withdrawal rates. The withdrawal rate data and the tendency for the self-paced group to score better on the retention test are discussed in terms of educational objectives. (29 ref)
ISSN:0022-0663
1939-2176
DOI:10.1037/0022-0663.70.2.224