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ERIC Number: ED210961
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1976-Jul
Pages: 71
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Using the Computer to Teach Methods and Interpretative Skills in the Humanities: Implementing a Project.
Jones, Bruce William
The results of implementing computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in two religion courses and a logic course at California State College, Bakersfield, are examined along with student responses. The main purpose of the CAI project was to teach interpretive skills. The most positive results came in the logic course. The programs in the New Testament did not receive adequate testing, and the programs in an introduction to religion were not typical examples of the programs for which the project was designed. Programs were prepared in the EXBASIC language, and in 1976, with the installation of a new PDP-11 minicomputer, they were converted to BASIC-PLUS and tested with students. The so-called synoptic problem was taught both by lecture and CAI in the new testament course. Programs in the introduction to religion course concerned Hinduism: one asked students a variety of questions about the caste system in India, while the other dealt with the four traditional stages in a man's ideal life in Hinduism. The programs in introductory religion were evaluated by unsolicited comments from students, student evaluations and comments solicited by a questionnaire, and student performance on the final examination. In evaluating the logic course, which taught the concept of generalization, it was found that many students were repeating the exercises several times until they felt that they knew the material thoroughly. It is concluded that the computer is a valuable teaching tool in the humanities, and that its applications can be extended. Descriptions of the programs and statistical analysis of student evaluations are appended. (SW)
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A