Programmed instruction and interteaching applications to teaching Java TM : A systematic replication

Students in a Java computer programming course completed a programmed instruction tutor and an interteaching session to learn a Java computer program as the first technical training exercise. The program presented a text string in a browser window. Prior to the interteaching session, students completed a tutorial that included exemplars of a test of rule-governed performance that was administered on three different occasions during this initial learning. Students showed progressive improvements in test performance and software self confidence, although the gains observed during interteaching did not always transfer to a subsequent quiz. The reported backgrounds of the students were found to relate to the knowledge acquired from the several instructional tactics. The replication shows the value of using several different instructional media successively to help students achieve skill and confidence.