Goodbye formal education. Personalized System of Instruction revisited

The topic of our research focuses on distance learning application to a Master course at the Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education in Mons, initially provided through the Personalized System of Instruction (P.S.I.) developed by Keller (1968). This system, based on student self-pacing, structures the course in several small units rythmed by formative evaluations supervised by proctors. Adapted to distance learning using a training platform (Esprit), the same course was followed by two groups of students during a semester: one part in the traditional form, the other part in a distance learning context. The aim of this research was to assess the relevance of the use of new technology applied to the Personalized System of Instruction. In this context, the two groups were compared through the results of a common final exam and answers to a questionnaire according to satisfaction, involvement. Finally, the students-proctors' exchanges were analysed. Results show no difference in terms of assessment scores. Both groups were satisfied by their respective chosen module. The content analysis reveals differences in exchanges (quality and quantity) according to the related modality (distance versus traditional).