Reviews the concepts and techniques used in developing textual materials that teach, focusing on those that have evolved during the trend toward programmed instruction. The possible application of cognitive psychology concepts to instructional material design is discussed. (21 references) (CLB)

Increases in class size, time constraints, and class material have pressured educators to develop better ways to present instructional material; this pressure has led to numerous teaching innovations, including many in the area of individualized instruction. This paper focuses on a history of critiques of individualized instruction in the 20th…

This personal account of the development of computer-based learning from the 1960s to the present argues that the 1960s were a period of gestation. Instructional applications of computers at that time included efforts to simulate physics experiments and the debut of the PLATO system, which already had the ability to deliver interactive instruction…