Franco G
Dipartimento di Medicina preventiva, Università di Pavia.
G Ital Med Lav. 1988 May;10(3):135-40.
Recent trends of pedagogy point out the importance of self-learning, which represents one of the applied models of mastery learning. This article reviews the characteristics of self-learning methods based on the use of computer. Computer aided instruction (CAI) systems include tutorials, drill & practice, evaluation, simulation programs. Particularly, tutorials are considered and compared with other learning methods. Their basic requirements are defined, especially the necessity to be interactive so that students could participate in the instructional process. Other aspects, regarding quality, help facilities, retrieval facilities, utilization easiness, interest of students, efficacy are considered. However, CAI systems do not completely substitute traditional teaching methods: they are regarded as being complementary to them and innovative, and as making learning more interesting and gratifying for the students.