Reflection on Audio-Tutorial Approach

What are your initial reactions to this theory/model? What are barriers to its use? What benefits might be expected for those who overcome the barriers?

My first thought about the Audio-Tutorial Approach was that it is a thing of the past.  It just seems so antiquated to sit in study carrel and listen to instructions while looking through a workbook or trying an experiment.  I think this approach made a lot of sense before camcorders and video screen capture software was widely available, but now that videos can be produced and shared so quickly and inexpensively, it doesn't make much sense to just have audio recordings.




I think the main barrier to the use of this method in today's world would be maintaining attention of learners with just audio and whatever visuals are packaged with it.  For better or worse, we've become a very ADD society, and most learners are going to be more engaged with video.  (Even our class lectures are accompanied by slides and sometimes include movement on the screen.)  A challenge for the instructor would be the upfront time for preparing the audio recordings and corresponding materials. 


One benefit of this method over the Personalized System of Instruction, however, is the weekly interactions with other classmates.  If a student is able to stay on track with the audio recordings during the Independent Study Sessions (ISS), then the Small Assembly Sessions (SAS) would be a great way to process the new information by talking about it with classmates and the student assistant. 

Would you attempt to use this theory/model with the students you are currently teaching or hope to teach in the future? Why or why not? Could elements of the theory/model be modified so that it would work with your current/future students?




Although I don't prepare audio instruction for my elementary school students, they do listen to recorded readings while they read along with books and poems to help improve their reading fluency.  Students also record themselves reading on iPods and listen to themselves as they read through the text again.  The audio competent is there, but not exactly the tutorial piece. 


I did find the research in the Kozma, Belle, and Williams article about using the AT method with elementary students on spelling and word pattern skills to be interesting, since they found AT approach to be more successful than the traditional teaching.  I still think in this day and time though (over 30 years after the article was written), the audiovisual approach would trump just audio.

Since we're taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?

Podcasts are a natural way to support audio-tutorial learning with current technology.  There still would be a large time investment for an instructor to create audio for an entire course, but podcasts can be easily shared with students in various locations.  I think screen-capture programs like Jing and CamStudio can also allow audio to easily be supplemented with video or other visuals. 





Sources:
Kozma, R.B., Belle, L.W. and Williams, G.W. (1978) Instructional Techniques in Higher Education. Educational Technology Publications, New Jersey.

Kulik, J. A., Kulik, C. C., & Cohen, P. A. (1979). Research on audio-tutorial instruction: A meta-analysis of comparative studies. Research in Higher Education, 11(4), 321-341.