WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:38.019 --> 00:00:43.730 [Fred Keller] It's very hard to get started after a an introduction like that. Because I'm gonna 00:00:43.730 --> 00:00:50.300 be very sober about things now, and tell you that a year or so ago I was struck 00:00:50.300 --> 00:00:56.979 by the idea that I had become a sort of a born-again, itinerant preacher in the 00:00:56.979 --> 00:01:06.650 field of education. I had confessed the error of my early ways. I had found a 00:01:06.650 --> 00:01:13.880 better way of life, and I was telling folks about it. And also, I dreamed of 00:01:13.880 --> 00:01:21.380 wonderful things to come. When I told a friend about this, he smiled said, 'Don't 00:01:21.380 --> 00:01:25.939 be too sure. Perhaps you're just a huckster. You 00:01:25.939 --> 00:01:32.149 really think you have a panacea, don't you? And you're trying to sell it 00:01:32.149 --> 00:01:42.469 everywhere.' I have forgotten my reply. But I did remember Dr. Verpalatte. When I was 00:01:42.469 --> 00:01:47.899 a boy, I lived for a period of time in Madrid, New York. We had never heard of 00:01:47.899 --> 00:01:57.859 Madrid for several years. One year, Dr. Verpalette came to our town to give 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:06.109 a wonderful speech in the town hall, which we all attended free. He started 00:02:06.109 --> 00:02:15.590 out by throwing nickels and dimes to all us kids up front. Then he told us about 00:02:15.590 --> 00:02:25.490 his early youth in the great city where he lived a life of sin and shame. He told 00:02:25.490 --> 00:02:30.519 us how early one morning, after a night of debauchery, 00:02:30.519 --> 00:02:36.050 he found salvation. I think it was on the steps 00:02:36.050 --> 00:02:42.530 of some municipal building. He said it was how he decided, then and there, to 00:02:42.530 --> 00:02:49.730 spend the rest of his life working for the good of mankind. Then he told about a 00:02:49.730 --> 00:02:58.220 secret remedy he had discovered, something in a large bottle. I think he 00:02:58.220 --> 00:03:01.900 said he got it from some Indians. A 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:10.790 remedy there was a cure for many ills. In another bottle, he showed us the tapeworm 00:03:10.790 --> 00:03:17.680 that had come out of Willie Adams's stomach after Willie drank the remedy. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:24.470 All of us kids knew that Willie wasn't very bright, and now we understood why it 00:03:24.470 --> 00:03:30.530 must have been a tapeworm that he carried in his stomach. Then Dr. 00:03:30.530 --> 00:03:36.250 Verpalette let almost everyone in the town hall have a bottle of his remedy 00:03:36.250 --> 00:03:47.270 for $1. Some of the early buyers even got $10 back. My father said next morning 00:03:47.270 --> 00:03:54.050 that the remedy tasted pretty good but he didn't give any to me. Tonight, I'm 00:03:54.050 --> 00:04:00.400 going to tell you, first, of all my early vices as a teacher, a college teacher. 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:07.040 Then, I'll describe my conversion to a better way of life. After that, 00:04:07.040 --> 00:04:12.500 I'll tell you about the remedy I discovered, some of its effects. And 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:18.980 finally, I'll discuss a missionary work and treat you to a few of my dreams 00:04:18.980 --> 00:04:28.520 about the future. 45 years of my life were spent as a faculty member in six 00:04:28.520 --> 00:04:35.570 different institutions, and for the most part, as a classroom teacher. In that time, 00:04:35.570 --> 00:04:44.510 I did many things that I now perceive as evil. Of which I feel ashamed, all of 00:04:44.510 --> 00:04:49.100 which I cannot be proud. And they all stemmed 00:04:49.100 --> 00:05:00.940 the worship of false gods, particularly John Comenius (1592-1670). So-called 00:05:00.940 --> 00:05:09.050 educational reformer, whom I followed blindly for many years. According to this 00:05:09.050 --> 00:05:14.480 great Moravian, 'A teacher should never concern himself with individual 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:22.360 instruction. Rather he should stand before his class on an elevated platform, 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:29.290 keeping all the students within his sight and forcing them to pay attention. 00:05:29.290 --> 00:05:35.240 At the beginning of his talk, he should present his topic briefly in an 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:43.580 attractive manner or by asking a set of questions. Later on, within the lecture, he 00:05:43.580 --> 00:05:49.490 should bring up interesting items and practical examples to engage the 00:05:49.490 --> 00:05:55.100 interests of his scholars. And he [shouldn't] interrupt his discourse, now and 00:05:55.100 --> 00:06:00.460 then, with questions like, "How did I get to this point?". 00:06:00.460 --> 00:06:06.770 He should praise the student who gives the best answer, so that others will try 00:06:06.770 --> 00:06:13.580 to emulate him. Finally when the lecture is ended I quote, "the scholar will be 00:06:13.580 --> 00:06:20.030 given leave to ask questions on any point they wish explained."' For years, I 00:06:20.030 --> 00:06:25.040 tried to follow this prescription. I lectured to my classes from a place 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:31.700 where I could see each face before me. I gave an outline in advance or I posed 00:06:31.700 --> 00:06:39.280 some critical questions. I included amusing items and practical examples. I 00:06:39.280 --> 00:06:47.120 asked a question, now and then, to keep my class alert. I summarized when I was done, 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:54.500 and sometimes, offered to answer questions. I did everything that Comenius 00:06:54.500 --> 00:06:59.600 suggested. There were some things that Comenius 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:06.080 didn't cover. He didn't tell us, for example, about the outcome of his 00:07:06.080 --> 00:07:13.120 teaching, about the distribution of his scholars grades from A to F, or the 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:19.280 number of those who achieved distinction later on, or how they ranked him as a 00:07:19.280 --> 00:07:27.980 teacher on some questionnaire. The Golden Age of pupil and teacher evaluation had 00:07:27.980 --> 00:07:34.640 not yet been ushered in. So maybe I am wrong in keeping and tracing some of my 00:07:34.640 --> 00:07:40.850 own immoral conduct to his door. Perhaps I ought to blame it on the people who 00:07:40.850 --> 00:07:47.630 came later in the history of education. However that may be, I did a lot of 00:07:47.630 --> 00:07:54.910 sinning. Some of my sins were little ones. When I lectured to my classes, for 00:07:54.910 --> 00:08:00.710 example, I occasionally permitted the impression to be gathered that I knew 00:08:00.710 --> 00:08:10.610 things which I really didn't. Sometimes, I played down issues or made light of 00:08:10.610 --> 00:08:17.840 problems on which I was really unprepared to speak. And some of the 00:08:17.840 --> 00:08:25.400 quotation marks in my lectures came to be neglected with repeated use. Nothing 00:08:25.400 --> 00:08:31.940 very serious, sometimes when I saw a question coming in the classroom which 00:08:31.940 --> 00:08:38.660 might disclose my lack of knowledge, I would look the other way. If the 00:08:38.660 --> 00:08:45.350 questioner insisted, I might put him off till after class suggesting that the 00:08:45.350 --> 00:08:52.610 matter was so esoteric or so complicated as to be unsuitable for general 00:08:52.610 --> 00:08:59.350 discussion. By the time the class was done, he might have to hurry to another, 00:08:59.350 --> 00:09:04.640 perhaps I would thought of a better answer, or I would have found some other 00:09:04.640 --> 00:09:10.920 method of escape. I lied to my students from time to time. 00:09:10.920 --> 00:09:17.399 I said that 'I expected all of them to pass my course,' when I knew this would 00:09:17.399 --> 00:09:24.630 not happen. I told them 'I would like it if they all got A's,' when I wouldn't have 00:09:24.630 --> 00:09:32.970 liked it at all. I said that 'anyone could understand, excuse me, the content of the 00:09:32.970 --> 00:09:37.800 course,' when I knew that there were sections of the textbook that I couldn't 00:09:37.800 --> 00:09:45.990 understand myself. I told them I would 'treat them fairly,' after which I tampered 00:09:45.990 --> 00:09:52.560 with a distribution of their grades, making ABCDEF discriminations 00:09:52.560 --> 00:10:01.529 that I could not possibly defend. I used tricky questions, now and then, to 00:10:01.529 --> 00:10:07.560 separate the sheep from the goats, an interesting figure to apply to students. 00:10:07.560 --> 00:10:16.410 And I denied my pupils the opportunity to defend their answers or I used a 00:10:16.410 --> 00:10:23.449 classroom vote to decide upon the changing of an individual students grade. 00:10:23.449 --> 00:10:27.510 There are other things I did of which I cannot be proud. 00:10:27.510 --> 00:10:36.029 I used histrionics more and more as the years went by. And the factual material 00:10:36.029 --> 00:10:43.800 of my lectures was diluted. I left out more of the hard parts and I placed a 00:10:43.800 --> 00:10:50.040 greater stress upon the textbook, even though this meant that I, or at least or 00:10:50.040 --> 00:10:57.449 more commonly my assistant, would have to read it with more care. I introduced more 00:10:57.449 --> 00:11:05.839 demonstrations too within the classroom hour. And I provided outside speakers 00:11:05.839 --> 00:11:13.370 whenever I was able. The evaluation of my pupils work was not a simple matter. 00:11:13.370 --> 00:11:19.410 There were administrative guidelines that I had to follow. There was the good 00:11:19.410 --> 00:11:25.670 opinion of my colleagues to consider. There was my own predisposition with 00:11:25.670 --> 00:11:30.140 respect to students whom I knew quite well. And finally, there was the actual 00:11:30.140 --> 00:11:37.670 performance of the students on the examination. It may be that the letter 00:11:37.670 --> 00:11:45.350 grades which I finally assigned did not conform precisely to what my students 00:11:45.350 --> 00:11:52.970 knew about their courses. In addition to my immoral or unethical behavior, I 00:11:52.970 --> 00:12:00.740 engaged in self-deception. I assumed that I was a successful teacher if 10% of my 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:08.210 class received an A. If I send a student, now and then, to graduate school. If 00:12:08.210 --> 00:12:14.720 enrollment in my class continued to be large. Or if I came out well on some 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:22.430 popularity poll. I closed my eyes to evidence of my failure, and I listened 00:12:22.430 --> 00:12:31.010 avidly to stories told of teachers who were obviously worse than I was. Worst of 00:12:31.010 --> 00:12:39.140 all, was the effect I had upon my pupils. I taught a number of them to cheat, to 00:12:39.140 --> 00:12:52.279 lie, to steal, to bribe, to wheedle, and to plagiarize on various occasions. I taught 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:57.740 some of them to hate the educational process and everything connected with it. 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:05.750 I taught a few of them to be show-offish and pedantic. These were sometimes my 00:13:05.750 --> 00:13:08.770 potential teachers. 00:13:08.970 --> 00:13:14.850 And I led many of them to feel inferior for many years to come. 00:13:14.850 --> 00:13:22.949 All this, I did in the name of service to society from which when I retired I 00:13:22.949 --> 00:13:29.629 would receive a pension and the sunshine of an occasional letter of appreciation, 00:13:29.629 --> 00:13:38.579 which would make it all worthwhile. My conversion from this way of life to one 00:13:38.579 --> 00:13:47.579 of greater usefulness came in 1963, when I was almost ready for retirement. It 00:13:47.579 --> 00:13:53.279 came as the result of freedom given by the University of Brasilia to four 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:59.040 Psychology professors to give up older ways of teaching and to develop 00:13:59.040 --> 00:14:05.720 something better. One evening by my fireside in the New York City suburb, 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:11.430 exhausted by our efforts to come up with something new, the four of us ,the two 00:14:11.430 --> 00:14:17.879 Brazilians and the two North Americans, experienced a vision a sort of [fully a 00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:26.279 cot.] We imagined a course of study in which each student could advance step by 00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:32.670 step through successive elements of knowledge or of skill from the beginning 00:14:32.670 --> 00:14:40.800 of the course until it ended. We saw him moving at his own pace, rather than in 00:14:40.800 --> 00:14:47.970 lockstep, but meeting our requirements fully as they went along. As shown by his 00:14:47.970 --> 00:14:55.559 performance on a unit test. And all his work was done when each unit had been 00:14:55.559 --> 00:15:02.399 mastered, no matter how much time it took or how many tests were needed. We saw the 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:11.550 student as successful, worthy of an A, or its equivalent. This meant only that the 00:15:11.550 --> 00:15:17.730 course requirements had been met. No attempt was made to find what else the 00:15:17.730 --> 00:15:23.690 student knew, beyond that which the course had called for. 00:15:23.690 --> 00:15:30.329 We saw the classroom lecture in our vision. Not as something to be swallowed 00:15:30.329 --> 00:15:36.449 by the student two or three times weekly and coughed up later in half-digested 00:15:36.449 --> 00:15:44.250 form, but as something to be used on rare occasions to display the teacher style 00:15:44.250 --> 00:15:52.410 and dealing with his subject matter to impress or to inspire his pupils. No 00:15:52.410 --> 00:15:57.899 student would be tested on the content of these lectures or on that of any 00:15:57.899 --> 00:16:07.829 demonstrations that the instructor might provide. In 1964 and 65, our dream was 00:16:07.829 --> 00:16:14.370 realized in part at the University of Brasilia in an introductory laboratory 00:16:14.370 --> 00:16:21.569 course on the Principles of Behavior. And plans were underway for its extension to 00:16:21.569 --> 00:16:28.560 higher level courses, first in Physics, then Mathematics, and to other disciplines 00:16:28.560 --> 00:16:37.949 than ours. Then the program was suddenly halted by governmental action. 250 or 00:16:37.949 --> 00:16:45.540 more professors were dismissed or left the university in protest. Our two 00:16:45.540 --> 00:16:53.209 Brazilian collaborators were among the first. At Arizona State University in 00:16:53.209 --> 00:17:00.480 1965, the two Americans of the group had better luck. The dream came true for them 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:07.589 in another elementary course of study. Again, it was a one-term, self-paced 00:17:07.589 --> 00:17:15.120 course composed of 20 units where the unit mastery requirement, and again the 00:17:15.120 --> 00:17:22.520 grade of A, was given to every student who completed all the units with success. 00:17:22.520 --> 00:17:27.870 Lectures and demonstrations were now and then provided, but the students were not 00:17:27.870 --> 00:17:33.870 compelled to attend them or to be examined on their content. A new and 00:17:33.870 --> 00:17:38.790 vital feature of this course was the addition of the student 00:17:38.790 --> 00:17:45.870 proctor to the teaching staff. Undergraduate aids drawn from earlier 00:17:45.870 --> 00:17:52.620 classes, and under careful supervision, were employed to help evaluate the 00:17:52.620 --> 00:17:59.130 readiness of our pupils to move up within the course. And to provide the 00:17:59.130 --> 00:18:07.530 kind of encouragement, understanding, and direction that were needed by them. The 00:18:07.530 --> 00:18:13.470 effects of our conversion to a different way of teaching were even better than we 00:18:13.470 --> 00:18:21.240 expected. Student lying, cheating, whining, and complaining rapidly decreased in 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:29.730 volume. Alibis, objections, and reports of unfair treatment were replaced by signs 00:18:29.730 --> 00:18:37.920 of satisfaction, self-respect, and self-reliance; As well as interest in the 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:43.650 subject matter taught. The students reported that they had to work much 00:18:43.650 --> 00:18:49.700 harder than in lecture courses, but received more personal consideration, 00:18:49.700 --> 00:18:56.010 experienced greater satisfaction, and achieved a better understanding of the 00:18:56.010 --> 00:19:01.050 concepts treated. When we met these students in the hallways on the campus 00:19:01.050 --> 00:19:06.150 or in the classroom where they came to study or be tested, 00:19:06.150 --> 00:19:14.600 we found smiles and friendly greetings. Approach behavior, rather than avoidance. 00:19:14.600 --> 00:19:21.240 As for the teachers of this course, my colleagues and myself, no longer was 00:19:21.240 --> 00:19:28.320 there need for self-deception, compromise of principle, or distortion of our 00:19:28.320 --> 00:19:36.720 records. No longer was there need for showmanship or classroom tricks. We knew 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:42.660 what everyone else was doing in the system, and what was expected of him or 00:19:42.660 --> 00:19:49.200 her at any given time. We knew exactly what was studied by our pupils, 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:55.080 and the difficulties with it. Ours as well as theirs. We knew each student 00:19:55.080 --> 00:20:01.049 individually through the unit tests, the proctor's records and reports, and 00:20:01.049 --> 00:20:07.019 through personal encounters, even when there were as many as a hundred students 00:20:07.019 --> 00:20:13.679 in the class. And we knew our proctor's best of all by virtue of our weekly 00:20:13.679 --> 00:20:21.630 meetings, our daily interactions, and our regular inspection of their work. This 00:20:21.630 --> 00:20:29.960 was intoxicating stuff for a long time podium performer. I became a missionary, 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:36.450 as did my young companion. We began to spread the word about our conversion 00:20:36.450 --> 00:20:42.720 everywhere. Through articles and journals, through papers read at meetings, even 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:50.490 from the vantage point that Comenius had suggested. A name was given to the new 00:20:50.490 --> 00:20:58.559 religion, PSI - a Personalized System of Instruction, and commandments were handed 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:05.700 down to those who wish to follow in our footsteps. Ralph Waldo Emerson is 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:11.450 reported to have said, 'If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or 00:21:11.450 --> 00:21:17.070 will make a better mousetrap than his neighbor though he builds his house in 00:21:17.070 --> 00:21:23.490 the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.' I was certain that we 00:21:23.490 --> 00:21:29.490 had a better mousetrap, we were living in a desert version of the woods, and I 00:21:29.490 --> 00:21:34.080 thought that we can now expect the academic world to be the pathway to our 00:21:34.080 --> 00:21:41.299 door. I was naive. The academic world they'd scant attention. 00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:49.440 There was no pilgrimage to Arizona State to see the magic formula applied, just a 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:54.279 lady from Cuyahoga Community College in Ohio. 00:21:54.279 --> 00:22:01.539 I wasn't overwhelmed with telephone calls and I didn't need a secretary to 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:09.309 answer all my mail. Except for half a dozen friends, one relative, and some 00:22:09.309 --> 00:22:17.169 former pupils, no one paid much attention to us. At about this time the president 00:22:17.169 --> 00:22:26.349 of the University asked us to talk about our system at a faculty assembly. I might 00:22:26.349 --> 00:22:31.450 add here that he called this assembly solely for the purpose of letting us 00:22:31.450 --> 00:22:38.830 report, which was a mistake as far as I was concerned. Everyone came there angry 00:22:38.830 --> 00:22:47.200 at me to begin with. We were to speak at a faculty assembly with an education 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:51.580 teacher there as a discussant. I was delighted. 00:22:51.580 --> 00:22:57.639 I should have been suspicious. Not only could we tell our colleagues how to 00:22:57.639 --> 00:23:03.609 teach, but we could also make contact with a School of Education. I was sure 00:23:03.609 --> 00:23:10.839 they would then investigate our project and give us their support. Again, I was 00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:17.619 naive. The meeting was a non-success. The man from Education disposed of us in 00:23:17.619 --> 00:23:25.026 less than 30 seconds. He said he'd 'never heard of Joseph Lancaster and the Monitorial Plan,'' 00:23:25.026 --> 00:23:30.339 to which I had referred in hopes of getting support from him. Then 00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:34.839 he talked about some other local projects in which his interest was much 00:23:34.840 --> 00:23:41.340 greater than in ours. The audience was equally supportive. 00:23:41.340 --> 00:23:42.860 [Audience laughter] 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:47.640 One professor made objection to a careless statement I had made about Mark 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:54.390 Hopkins. Another asked if what we were doing was anything like programmed 00:23:54.390 --> 00:24:01.380 instruction. If so, he said, he didn't like it. A third one, famous on the campus 00:24:01.380 --> 00:24:06.270 for his wit, asked the name of our control group teacher who would use the 00:24:06.270 --> 00:24:11.820 standard lecture method, so that in the future he'd know where to send his 00:24:11.820 --> 00:24:20.760 student advisees. my faith in the mousetrap theory was by then becoming 00:24:20.760 --> 00:24:29.880 weaker along with some of my enthusiasm for Arizona State but my faith in psi 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:36.450 remained unshaken so I left the desert scene and what East to seek my fortune 00:24:36.450 --> 00:24:44.660 I took my panacea with me along with Willie Adams as tapeworm in the bottle 00:24:44.660 --> 00:24:50.910 the Big Brother theory was the next one I adopted in my attempt to convert the 00:24:50.910 --> 00:24:57.360 world to psi this was suggested to me when Professor Sherman my colleague at 00:24:57.360 --> 00:25:03.500 Brasilia and at Arizona State and professor Ben green a physicist from MIT 00:25:03.500 --> 00:25:08.280 received support from the United States Office of Education and from the 00:25:08.280 --> 00:25:14.610 Carnegie Foundation of New York for establishing a Center for personalized 00:25:14.610 --> 00:25:19.950 instruction at Georgetown University in Washington DC funds were given to the 00:25:19.950 --> 00:25:25.830 center solely for the purpose of spreading news of psi throughout the 00:25:25.830 --> 00:25:32.580 realm of higher education in this country the prestige and power of these 00:25:32.580 --> 00:25:39.690 two organizations seemed to me to be exactly what was needed I felt that it 00:25:39.690 --> 00:25:42.510 would certainly bring about the conversion of those teachers and 00:25:42.510 --> 00:25:49.410 administrators who had not responded to our earlier appeals once more however I 00:25:49.410 --> 00:25:55.260 was simple-minded first of all I overlooked the cardinal 00:25:55.260 --> 00:26:02.010 rule of all such agencies and institutions never support a project 00:26:02.010 --> 00:26:07.410 unless you can be certain that its failure or near failure can be 00:26:07.410 --> 00:26:16.140 guaranteed otherwise the agency may lose its reason for existence and we'll have 00:26:16.140 --> 00:26:23.250 to start all over in some new sphere of benefaction now in the case of research 00:26:23.250 --> 00:26:29.880 projects this is easily achieved this is done by the kind of research design that 00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:35.190 you will accept there's no problem there as for the dissemination of some 00:26:35.190 --> 00:26:41.250 established good like PSI by some Institute or Center such as the 00:26:41.250 --> 00:26:48.260 Georgetown Center the problem is more complicated but it can still be solved 00:26:48.260 --> 00:26:53.850 you simply ask the center to be self-supporting within a given period of 00:26:53.850 --> 00:27:02.370 time this is a sensible requirement on the surface asking only for the exercise 00:27:02.370 --> 00:27:09.450 of such well accepted virtues as competency and thrift but in order to 00:27:09.450 --> 00:27:16.020 continue operation the center must make money and this restricts the number of 00:27:16.020 --> 00:27:21.120 those who will get the message limiting it to those who can afford to go to 00:27:21.120 --> 00:27:27.840 lectures conferences and workshops to learn about the new system you can put 00:27:27.840 --> 00:27:34.650 the center into business so to speak and guarantee is failure in achieving the 00:27:34.650 --> 00:27:41.310 objective you supported the second item that I overlooked was the establishment 00:27:41.310 --> 00:27:48.120 itself the bureaucracy of Education the principal purpose of which is to survive 00:27:48.120 --> 00:27:53.930 I did not fully recognize the group instruction and individual instruction 00:27:53.930 --> 00:28:00.690 call for different supporting frameworks different dispositions of both space and 00:28:00.690 --> 00:28:05.280 time and different functions of both clerical and 00:28:05.280 --> 00:28:11.340 straight-a personnel within the educational institution since the older 00:28:11.340 --> 00:28:16.230 system is the one in power this means that the teachers who may wish to try 00:28:16.230 --> 00:28:22.680 out psi are generally compelled to change the plan in one or more respects 00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:29.700 to make it fit within the old supporting structure with each successive tryout 00:28:29.700 --> 00:28:35.400 the course may come a little closer to what was there before it may therefore 00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:41.100 come as no surprise to you when I say that I've never heard of any course in 00:28:41.100 --> 00:28:47.550 any university or college that has been taught with psi in the way is founders 00:28:47.550 --> 00:28:54.090 intended that it should be there's always been some modification of the 00:28:54.090 --> 00:29:00.060 plan however small in order to avoid an open conflict at some point within the 00:29:00.060 --> 00:29:07.410 larger system this may be related to the fact that the educational establishment 00:29:07.410 --> 00:29:19.860 like the Hydra has many heads or like the amoeba it has none at all the the 00:29:19.860 --> 00:29:26.310 power exercised by any element of the whole the president the Dean the faculty 00:29:26.310 --> 00:29:33.360 or any other is highly overrated that's what my experience tells me the 00:29:33.360 --> 00:29:40.160 would-be pedagogical reformer has no point of entry into such an institution 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:48.000 the Dean for example doesn't dare to tell the faculty how to teach nor does 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:53.970 the president the faculty can't agree and even if it could there are the deans 00:29:53.970 --> 00:30:00.870 and the president to be considered even the trustees also there's the Registrar 00:30:00.870 --> 00:30:08.280 whom no one dares offend the bursar - and at one time or another the students 00:30:08.280 --> 00:30:13.680 may be heard from to say this in another way there is no apparent interface 00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:18.870 between the technology of teaching and the educational organization 00:30:18.870 --> 00:30:27.030 they would like to serve in spite of all these obstacles and others progress has 00:30:27.030 --> 00:30:32.700 been made the Georgetown Center for personalized instruction has now been in 00:30:32.700 --> 00:30:39.800 operation for about six years as time is running out it's not completely 00:30:39.800 --> 00:30:46.920 self-supporting and will probably not become so although it could attract new 00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:54.060 money from some other sources in its lifetime conferences and workshops have 00:30:54.060 --> 00:31:01.820 been held a newsletter has been sent out a successful journal has been founded 00:31:01.820 --> 00:31:09.180 many speeches have been delivered films and manuals have been constructed and a 00:31:09.180 --> 00:31:14.970 clearinghouse of information on the system has been set up in large part 00:31:14.970 --> 00:31:22.140 through the efforts of Professor Sherman and his dedicated staff it is mainly 00:31:22.140 --> 00:31:27.270 through the efforts of the center that psi is known throughout the educational 00:31:27.270 --> 00:31:33.810 world today not just in colleges and universities but in high schools great 00:31:33.810 --> 00:31:39.000 schools trade schools military training centers and in other 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:45.690 places it is known not only in Brazil and the United States but in every major 00:31:45.690 --> 00:31:52.530 country of the world many teachers have been led to psi or some variation of it 00:31:52.530 --> 00:31:58.170 and some of the users have been influential in getting other teachers to 00:31:58.170 --> 00:32:05.270 follow in their footsteps the intrinsic merits of the system even when diluted 00:32:05.270 --> 00:32:11.000 have apparently been sufficient to attract a growing number of disciples in 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:16.290 spite of the obstructions and constraints that I have mentioned maybe 00:32:16.290 --> 00:32:23.870 it was a combination of the Big Brother and the mousetrap theory did the job 00:32:24.210 --> 00:32:31.110 a born-again teacher is likely to have some visions of the future when group 00:32:31.110 --> 00:32:37.560 instruction is no longer with us except in certain cases such as those of music 00:32:37.560 --> 00:32:44.570 and of sport excuse me 00:32:54.170 --> 00:32:59.580 we're group instruction is no longer with us I am no exception 00:32:59.580 --> 00:33:06.240 I often dream about the consequences of introducing such a system as BSI at 00:33:06.240 --> 00:33:12.150 every level of education and in every sphere making use of all we know about 00:33:12.150 --> 00:33:20.460 the teaching-learning process what would be the effect on students teachers and 00:33:20.460 --> 00:33:28.320 administrators of our schools on the policies of admission on our curricular 00:33:28.320 --> 00:33:34.950 requirements on the content and the structure of our textbooks and on our 00:33:34.950 --> 00:33:40.650 methods of evaluation and record-keeping even on the structure of our classrooms 00:33:40.650 --> 00:33:48.690 and our schools obviously I cannot answer all these questions but my 00:33:48.690 --> 00:33:54.180 evangelistic status together with the data that we now possess enable me to 00:33:54.180 --> 00:34:01.380 touch upon a few first of all I see a student who does not need to be 00:34:01.380 --> 00:34:08.310 compelled to study or to go to school these behaviors stem from opportunity 00:34:08.310 --> 00:34:16.290 and desire opportunity is supplied by parents the community the government 00:34:16.290 --> 00:34:23.220 perhaps desire is the outcome of challenge and success within the 00:34:23.220 --> 00:34:33.240 learning situation well planned contingencies of reward lead to willing 00:34:33.240 --> 00:34:40.770 school attendance to a concentrated study and to a liking for the subject 00:34:40.770 --> 00:34:48.390 matter taught truancy occurs and compulsion is required only when 00:34:48.390 --> 00:34:55.950 positive contingencies are weak or absent I see a student who has never 00:34:55.950 --> 00:35:03.810 known the meaning of long termed long continued academic failure his skills 00:35:03.810 --> 00:35:08.040 have been assessed all along the line and the tasks 00:35:08.040 --> 00:35:16.430 assigned to him are not beyond his reach every step that he has made has been 00:35:16.430 --> 00:35:23.580 successful although not always at the first attempt he has not been passed 00:35:23.580 --> 00:35:30.650 along from course to course from stage to stage with half completed work 00:35:30.650 --> 00:35:36.200 compounding ignorance and building up resentment our feelings of inferiority 00:35:36.200 --> 00:35:45.360 as he goes I see a student who has never been subjected to invidious comparison 00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:54.030 with other students or pointed out to them as deserving emulation who has 00:35:54.030 --> 00:35:59.760 never struggled to keep up with those around him or been held back by them 00:35:59.760 --> 00:36:08.100 from advancing who has never seen his name upon a posted list with a number or 00:36:08.100 --> 00:36:16.290 a letter showing his position on some arbitrary scale I see a student who 00:36:16.290 --> 00:36:23.480 isn't handicapped in academic ways because of his participation in athletic 00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:31.140 dramatic or musical endeavors sponsored by his school because of physical 00:36:31.140 --> 00:36:38.610 advantages disadvantage or of illness or because of other interruptions that is a 00:36:38.610 --> 00:36:44.150 student who may discontinue any course of study at any point within it as 00:36:44.150 --> 00:36:50.730 determined by a change of interest a need for other knowledge or for any 00:36:50.730 --> 00:36:57.030 other reason a student who may return to his course again and go ahead within it 00:36:57.030 --> 00:37:05.190 after suitable review or other preparation I see a student who because 00:37:05.190 --> 00:37:10.530 of his accomplishments from early childhood on likes many kinds of 00:37:10.530 --> 00:37:16.970 knowledge or skill and may readily be turned through available instruction or 00:37:16.970 --> 00:37:22.529 through the needs of his munity restate or his nation into any 00:37:22.529 --> 00:37:30.839 one of several satisfying occupations finally I see a student who because he 00:37:30.839 --> 00:37:36.089 has been guided encouraged and called upon to meet high standards of 00:37:36.089 --> 00:37:42.630 performance comes to like and to respect the field of education and those 00:37:42.630 --> 00:37:51.869 associated with it as for the teacher of the future I see a person with a fresh 00:37:51.869 --> 00:37:58.019 awareness of the teaching function one who facilitates the learning process in 00:37:58.019 --> 00:38:04.739 others who has examined carefully and in detail the content of his courses and 00:38:04.739 --> 00:38:12.900 knows more about their strengths and weaknesses than he usually did before he 00:38:12.900 --> 00:38:17.939 knows more about his pupils about the problems that they face and the progress 00:38:17.939 --> 00:38:24.359 they are making I see a teacher who's teaching is exposed not only to his 00:38:24.359 --> 00:38:30.809 pupils and his Proctor's but to anyone who may inspect his work assignments his 00:38:30.809 --> 00:38:38.249 study questions and his examinations his materials may be taken from journals or 00:38:38.249 --> 00:38:43.739 from textbooks or from other common sources but they represent his 00:38:43.739 --> 00:38:50.159 expectations from his pupils and are open to assessment by his colleagues who 00:38:50.159 --> 00:38:57.419 may want to start where he left off I see a teacher who may write a textbook 00:38:57.419 --> 00:39:03.809 of his own bit-by-bit while his course is going on replacing 00:39:03.809 --> 00:39:10.650 parts that do not work and testing out the new all within the regular working 00:39:10.650 --> 00:39:18.659 days rather than in times for rest and Recreation I see a teacher who isn't 00:39:18.659 --> 00:39:24.269 loaded down with irrelevant or non instructional duties such as vocational 00:39:24.269 --> 00:39:31.019 guidance personal counseling occupational placement or administrative 00:39:31.019 --> 00:39:34.480 work a teacher's obligations will be thought 00:39:34.480 --> 00:39:41.230 of as fulfilled when he has done his teaching I see a teacher with a greater 00:39:41.230 --> 00:39:45.880 interest in the technology of teaching in the practical contribution of 00:39:45.880 --> 00:39:51.160 behavior science through our understanding of his art the principles 00:39:51.160 --> 00:39:57.190 that are applied today although basic are of the simplest sort with further 00:39:57.190 --> 00:40:02.830 laboratory research we may expect a finer grained analysis of the teachers 00:40:02.830 --> 00:40:10.810 functions finally I see a happier better paid and more efficient teacher who is 00:40:10.810 --> 00:40:17.010 respected and admired by students colleagues and administrators even 00:40:17.010 --> 00:40:24.400 parents not because of his charisma of his scholarly or scientific 00:40:24.400 --> 00:40:29.680 contributions only his qualities as a public speaker or a classroom 00:40:29.680 --> 00:40:38.230 entertainer but because of his success as a teacher my vision is less clear 00:40:38.230 --> 00:40:42.910 when I look into the future of administrative function the work of 00:40:42.910 --> 00:40:48.960 presidents Dean's and so on I do however feel quite sure of one effect that 00:40:48.960 --> 00:40:55.030 individualized instruction such as BSI will have upon them they will no longer 00:40:55.030 --> 00:41:00.520 need to deal with some of the problems that currently fill so many of their 00:41:00.520 --> 00:41:06.840 working hours for example they will spend less time in arbitration over 00:41:06.840 --> 00:41:13.870 instances of plagiarism cheating alleged in justices of grading and absences from 00:41:13.870 --> 00:41:20.260 class of students or professors they will not be called upon to deal with 00:41:20.260 --> 00:41:26.140 toga parties sit-down strikes panty raids marches on the Office of the 00:41:26.140 --> 00:41:31.570 President or dunkings of the Dean in the campus fountain they 00:41:31.570 --> 00:41:38.040 will not be badgered with positive petitions to change degree requirements 00:41:38.040 --> 00:41:44.800 fire the football coach smoked marijuana in the lounges cold political assemblies 00:41:44.800 --> 00:41:49.400 in the gym play hard rock in the chapel reinstate 00:41:49.400 --> 00:41:55.160 some controversial professor or eliminate the sexual bias and the 00:41:55.160 --> 00:42:04.250 Masters and the bachelors degrees these are not the only changes that my version 00:42:04.250 --> 00:42:10.550 my vision of a better world suggested courses of study for example will differ 00:42:10.550 --> 00:42:16.910 greatly in the amount of content to be mastered textbooks too will come in 00:42:16.910 --> 00:42:21.770 different sizes and will probably have a different format more flexible to 00:42:21.770 --> 00:42:29.120 revision interdisciplinary study and problem oriented projects will increase 00:42:29.120 --> 00:42:35.810 in volume new descriptions of accomplishment will be needed as well as 00:42:35.810 --> 00:42:43.060 new procedures for guiding students in their programs rules of matriculation 00:42:43.060 --> 00:42:51.530 practices of registration record-keeping and tuition payment may be altered large 00:42:51.530 --> 00:42:56.860 gatherings of students will be rare except perhaps at games and 00:42:56.860 --> 00:43:02.030 entertainments corresponding changes will be made in the structure of the 00:43:02.030 --> 00:43:07.990 schoolhouse and the classroom in order to accommodate a steady flow of 00:43:07.990 --> 00:43:14.720 individual students throughout the working day this dream has been 00:43:14.720 --> 00:43:18.620 restricted mainly to the field of higher education so-called 00:43:18.620 --> 00:43:26.540 this is where I work for many years and feel at home or used to and which I dare 00:43:26.540 --> 00:43:32.990 to criticize since I am now retired but it's not the only area of Education or 00:43:32.990 --> 00:43:37.700 the most important there are currently fields of elementary 00:43:37.700 --> 00:43:44.420 and secondary education also where the need for pedagogical reform is just as 00:43:44.420 --> 00:43:52.670 great or greater what would happen if psi or something like it or employed at 00:43:52.670 --> 00:44:00.180 every teaching level we know today the system will work with children and the 00:44:00.180 --> 00:44:04.560 earliest grades and it is said that a project is presently underway to 00:44:04.560 --> 00:44:09.180 introduce the system or a variation of it throughout the schools of Washington 00:44:09.180 --> 00:44:19.580 DC k K through 12 the story says to a hundred and sixteen thousand students I 00:44:19.580 --> 00:44:25.800 really cannot believe this suppose that every child from the first day of his 00:44:25.800 --> 00:44:32.040 schooling on was taught in such a manner how fast would he go through all the 00:44:32.040 --> 00:44:37.950 current stages what direction would his studies take once the fundamentals were 00:44:37.950 --> 00:44:43.890 acquired what genetic differences would suggest themselves if any when equal 00:44:43.890 --> 00:44:49.290 opportunities for learning were presented what creative products would 00:44:49.290 --> 00:44:53.850 emerge when the individuality of each student was assured 00:44:53.850 --> 00:44:58.940 what kind of academic leaders would appear within our schools 00:44:58.940 --> 00:45:06.990 what sort of citizen would emerge I shall not tax your tolerance any further 00:45:06.990 --> 00:45:12.870 with my dreams or with my missionary zeal when dr. varlet 00:45:12.870 --> 00:45:19.080 shared his panacea with us with the citizens of Madrid on that unforgettable 00:45:19.080 --> 00:45:26.270 evening back in nineteen nine he left our village early in the morning 00:45:26.480 --> 00:45:33.720 he took his magic formula with him and this tape for him in a bottle he left 00:45:33.720 --> 00:45:40.140 many of our families poorer than they were before he came and none of us kids 00:45:40.140 --> 00:45:46.670 could see a change in Willie Adams I'm just a little worried or what you'll say 00:45:46.670 --> 00:46:14.660 when I am gone we have a few questions is there somebody Z something 00:46:43.870 --> 00:46:50.720 that's isn't that nice for that kind of a statement the country yes I never saw 00:46:50.720 --> 00:47:03.050 her before thank you thank you very much this reminds me of something I once was 00:47:03.050 --> 00:47:14.090 asked to speak before a very educational foundation it was did Dan Danforth 00:47:14.090 --> 00:47:19.220 there would have been Danforth Danforth foundation up near that near Lake 00:47:19.220 --> 00:47:25.160 Michigan and I went there and I I gave a I thought a very good talk 00:47:25.160 --> 00:47:29.690 and then there was supposed to be the next morning there was supposed to be a 00:47:29.690 --> 00:47:36.950 panel in which we would discuss what I had talked about the night before well 00:47:36.950 --> 00:47:40.970 there wasn't any panel there was a gentleman who was more articulate than I 00:47:40.970 --> 00:47:44.180 could ever hope to be who was wiser than I could ever imagine 00:47:44.180 --> 00:47:53.750 being and who had it in for psi he demolished me and the system practically 00:47:53.750 --> 00:48:02.200 entirely until a very lovely young lady like yourself stood up and said well I 00:48:02.200 --> 00:48:07.610 understand I think what you're saying but I took a course that way and it was 00:48:07.610 --> 00:48:12.050 the best course I ever had I thank them profusely I had nothing else to say 00:48:12.050 --> 00:48:15.340 because I couldn't answer him 00:48:28.660 --> 00:48:35.510 yes I can't report much on them these have happened is you probably know as 00:48:35.510 --> 00:48:42.549 much as I the college four of our University and Grand Rapids Michigan 00:48:42.549 --> 00:48:51.020 it teaches entirely by psi I know the Dean of that College talked I think his 00:48:51.020 --> 00:48:57.380 name is Bob talked I think his name it I have never been to the place I've heard 00:48:57.380 --> 00:49:02.450 about it and it keeps on going which is at least something but I can't 00:49:02.450 --> 00:49:09.980 tell you much about it there's also at the Texas University of Texas and the 00:49:09.980 --> 00:49:18.349 Permian Basin it is possible to go through the university a la psi or it's 00:49:18.349 --> 00:49:22.700 possible to go through in more standard fashion there which is related to a 00:49:22.700 --> 00:49:24.500 question that was asked me this afternoon 00:49:24.500 --> 00:49:28.279 can you have the two work together they apparently do there they can go through 00:49:28.279 --> 00:49:34.220 students can go through with psi and I believe this I can't say for sure but I 00:49:34.220 --> 00:49:38.240 believe it's possible for them upon the completion of a single course to move to 00:49:38.240 --> 00:49:49.789 the next at that time now again I I wish I'm I'm very sorry but I can't I don't 00:49:49.789 --> 00:49:53.809 keep up with things very well I can't I live in Aiken South Carolina I never get 00:49:53.809 --> 00:49:58.970 any news from anywhere that's the best I can do 00:49:58.970 --> 00:50:05.299 there may be other places I pray there are we had a department of physics at at 00:50:05.299 --> 00:50:10.279 Brasilia where it was entirely psi I don't know what happened to it because 00:50:10.279 --> 00:50:18.549 they lost a lot of teachers too and that explosion down there yes 00:50:36.630 --> 00:50:42.160 well you know psy is them is the is the symbol for psychology and I felt very 00:50:42.160 --> 00:50:46.510 self-conscious when when I got that psi there everybody goes for some kind of an 00:50:46.510 --> 00:50:50.830 acronym these days and I thought that's very good now they'll say sigh and it'll 00:50:50.830 --> 00:50:54.550 be lots easier than personalized system of instruction and I never liked 00:50:54.550 --> 00:51:45.150 personalized anyway I found it in a book 00:52:07.470 --> 00:52:11.650 well you know I think I've learned something in giving speech and at first 00:52:11.650 --> 00:52:15.040 I used to talk about psi in a way that sent people to sleep and they learn 00:52:15.040 --> 00:52:19.420 nothing I finally decided that they ought to make it more like a sermon that 00:52:19.420 --> 00:52:23.170 I ought to deal with things that are extremely that everybody will surely 00:52:23.170 --> 00:52:28.540 understand and repeat it frequently and it just kind of get in there and and and 00:52:28.540 --> 00:52:32.710 be inspiring tell little stories with it and people would pay a lot more 00:52:32.710 --> 00:52:37.450 attention and would keep awake they might not learn this much but they would 00:52:37.450 --> 00:52:42.130 be an incited to look further and I think maybe that's the way a lecture 00:52:42.130 --> 00:52:50.589 ought to work now that's I know I think it is more like I'd really begin to 00:52:50.589 --> 00:52:56.410 think of myself as a kind of a as a kind of a of a preacher you know you make it 00:52:56.410 --> 00:53:02.500 simple and so many people will understand I didn't that's not a 00:53:02.500 --> 00:53:09.190 Christmas well I tell you Comenius I there was a man I got an office when I 00:53:09.190 --> 00:53:12.010 went to Arizona State they gave me an office that had been it had been 00:53:12.010 --> 00:53:16.270 occupied by an education professor and he had a lot of books that he left there 00:53:16.270 --> 00:53:22.390 and one of them was called the history of education I've forgotten by whom it 00:53:22.390 --> 00:53:28.119 was written but I I looked into it and I I saw pictures in it and I stopped and I 00:53:28.119 --> 00:53:32.079 read the under the pictures and I read about the mana toriel plan by Joseph 00:53:32.079 --> 00:53:39.460 Lancaster I read about Andrew somebody else and and I and I read about Comenius 00:53:39.460 --> 00:53:44.200 and it gave a list of all those things that I mentioned and this is what he 00:53:44.200 --> 00:53:50.470 prescribed in 1638 he said if you do it this way that's the best way never do 00:53:50.470 --> 00:53:55.119 anything individualized teach to all your students just like this and I talk 00:53:55.119 --> 00:53:59.410 just exactly like that and I was doing the best I knew how to do but I wasn't 00:53:59.410 --> 00:54:03.910 very if I think now that I was a failure but 00:54:03.910 --> 00:54:09.040 it took me quite a while quite a while to come to that conclusion I resisted 00:54:09.040 --> 00:54:12.450 that as long as I could 00:54:13.920 --> 00:54:22.450 well it depends what you're comparing me with it but but now no I think I was a 00:54:22.450 --> 00:54:26.680 failure I think I could have managed eight out of an eight or nine out of ten 00:54:26.680 --> 00:54:32.080 rather than one out of ten with a degree of understanding that I got them because 00:54:32.080 --> 00:54:36.609 I had a very select group of students they were selected from the very upper 00:54:36.609 --> 00:54:40.810 crust of the of the high school population and the prep school 00:54:40.810 --> 00:54:45.760 population and even with all that lovely selection and the heredity and 00:54:45.760 --> 00:54:50.170 everything that went with it I only got about 10% of them that got up to the 00:54:50.170 --> 00:54:56.020 a-level in my course and that was year after year and it wasn't they weren't 00:54:56.020 --> 00:55:01.540 motivated when they came in they appeared to be they lost it very soon 00:55:01.540 --> 00:55:07.060 after they got in I guess but anyway they should have done better and I think 00:55:07.060 --> 00:55:11.230 I would do better now I would say or that same group now I'll get nine out of 00:55:11.230 --> 00:55:19.000 ten and they won't all know the same degree because kids learn more than you 00:55:19.000 --> 00:55:23.950 teach them about the course and about the subject matter you know that we know 00:55:23.950 --> 00:55:29.380 that they learn more than that and on any anybody's estimation some other 00:55:29.380 --> 00:55:33.670 person's estimation they may be better but in terms of meeting the requirements 00:55:33.670 --> 00:55:38.859 of the course they were there and I would now give them full credit I would 00:55:38.859 --> 00:55:43.089 not try to estimate anything beyond that not for the benefit of Phi Beta Kappa 00:55:43.089 --> 00:55:45.660 even 00:56:06.140 --> 00:56:12.450 yes yeah the answer is yes but I think what we ought to do is to start earlier 00:56:12.450 --> 00:56:15.989 and they would find it many more satisfactions in other places than 00:56:15.989 --> 00:56:20.519 attempting to go to graduate education I think if we taught many things if many 00:56:20.519 --> 00:56:24.180 things were taught with success in either direction you go there no longer 00:56:24.180 --> 00:56:30.779 be that the feeling that I failed to get up there I chose to do this I decided to 00:56:30.779 --> 00:56:36.269 do that I preferred this I think we would eliminate a lot more failures to 00:56:36.269 --> 00:56:41.430 go on to our people who desire to go on to graduate school if we gave proper 00:56:41.430 --> 00:56:48.119 education and and and and Phil I think many jobs are just as good jobs in the 00:56:48.119 --> 00:56:54.960 world as being a PhD and teaching or whatever one does now instead of 00:56:54.960 --> 00:57:02.400 teaching with a PhD but but but I I think that if we did have no 00:57:02.400 --> 00:57:07.680 discrimination of the sort that says you're in a lowly occupation because you 00:57:07.680 --> 00:57:12.779 couldn't make it in a better one I think things would be a lot different 00:57:12.779 --> 00:57:17.819 maybe maybe we would choose different things and go in that direction or in 00:57:17.819 --> 00:57:22.200 some other direction why should we necessarily feel that we must go where 00:57:22.200 --> 00:57:28.049 some elite little group would go or maybe you only a few would want to go on 00:57:28.049 --> 00:57:34.859 to graduate what we call graduate school that's a guess I don't know I can't of 00:57:34.859 --> 00:57:38.390 course I can't answer your question