THE STATE OF THE ART OF AUTOINSTRUCTION AND TEACHING DEVICES IS SUMMARIZED, AND INSTRUCTIONAL DEVICES DEVELOPED THROUGH APRIL 1961 ARE CATALOGED WITH THE AIM OF SUGGESTING POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS TO LOCAL TRAINING OR EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS. IN THE FIRST SECTION, AN OVERVIEW OF AUTOINSTRUCTION IS PRESENTED. THE INSTRUCTIONAL PRESENTATION IS AIMED AT THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENT. IT INVOLVES A CLOSED LOOP WITH FEEDBACK CONTROL OVER THE LEARNING PROCESS, PROVIDES CONSTANT TESTING OF THE PROFICIENCY BEING ATTAINED BY THE LEARNER, AND ALLOW FOR MODIFICATION ON THE BASIS OF STUDENT ERRORS. ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT A NEW CONCEPT, ITS NOVELTY DERIVES FROM THE SYSTEMATIC APPLICATION OF LEARNING PRINCIPLES. PRACTICAL BENEFITS ARE PRESENTED UNDER THE CATEGORIES OF EFFICIENCY, ECONOMY, AND FLEXIBILITY OF OPERATION. SUCH SPECIALIZED TERMINOLOGY AS PROGRAMING, LINEAR AND BRANCHING TECHNIQUES, FRAMES, AND TYPES OF RESPONSES ARE DEFINED. THE PROGRAMING FORMATS INVOLVED IN THE MAJOR SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT (THE PRESSEY, SKINNER, CROWDER, AND PASK FORMATS) ARE DISCUSSED. EVALUATION CRITERIA ARE DIVIDED INTO FOUR ASPECTS CONSIDERING THE LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY TO BE EXPECTED, THE COMPOSITION OF THE GROUP FOR WHICH THE EFFICACY OF THE PROGRAM IS DEMONSTRATED, THE AMOUNT OF TIME REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE SPECIFIED LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY, AND THE COST PER STUDENT-HOUR. AMONG THE CONSIDERED FUTURE DIRECTIONS OF PROGRAMING ARE THE CONTINUED EMPHASIS ON VERBAL OR SYMBOLIC TYPES OF LEARNING ALONG WITH APPLICATION OF THE TECHNIQUES TO MOTOR SKILLS, AND THE GREATER ROLE TO BE PLAYED BY DIGITAL COMPUTERS. IN THE SECOND SECTION AUTOINSTRUCTIONAL DEVICES OF MAJOR IMPORTANCE AS OF 1961 ARE CATALOGED AND DESCRIBED. THESE INCLUDE SKINNER MACHINES, PRESSEY MACHINES, CROWDER TECHNIQUE, SELF-ORGANIZING SYSTEMS, AUDIOVISUAL MACHINES, DIGITAL COMPUTERS AS TEACHING MACHINES, AND MISCELLANEOUS DEVICES. A LIST OF TEACHING MACHINE PATENTS IS GIVEN.