To reduce medication errors, medical educators must nurture the early development of rational and safe prescribing. Teaching pharmacology is challenging because it requires knowledge integration across disciplines, including physiology and pathology. Traditionally, pharmacology has been taught using lecture-based learning, which conveys consistent…

Students in an undergraduate psychology course on Learning and Cognition used SKO (formerly AutoTutor Lite), an Intelligent Tutoring System, to create interactive lessons in which a pedagogic agent (animated avatar) engages users in a tutorial dialogue. After briefly describing the technology and underlying psychological theory, data from an…

This article reviews five modes of computer-assisted software so that teachers will be more aware of them and use computers more in their classrooms. The five modes are the following: (1) drill and practice; (2) tutorial; (3) simulation; (4) demonstration; and (5) instructional games. Teachers should review softwares and choose those that meet…

Investigates the effects of preservice teachers working in paired-learning conditions versus working independently on a computer-based tutorial/simulation designed to teach users about an electronic-mail system. Findings support previous research on the positive effects of paired learning using computer-based instruction designed for individual…

The current state of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in kindergarten through grade 12 is discussed. Four formats for CAI--drill, practice, tutorial, and simulation--are defined, and a set of criteria for distinguishing between effective and ineffective CAI are described. Comparisons are made between human and computer tutors. In response to…