Improving student learning using the personalised system of instruction

The approaches to studying of mathematics and computer-science students were compared in the context of two courses in mathematics: one was a conventional, lecture-based course, and the second was a course that had been developed as a multimedia variant of the Personalised System of Instruction (or ‘Keller Plan’). The students were asked to complete the Approaches to Studying Inventory with regard to both of the courses. On the latter course students obtained higher scores on meaning orientation. This is consistent with the idea that appropriate interventions can bring about qualitative improvements in approaches to studying. The effect was only obtained in mathematics students using a between-subjects comparison that was vulnerable to sampling bias. However, the effect was significant in computer-science students, regardless of the nature of the comparison.