Thoughts about the Keller Plan

When I first read about the Keller Plan, it reminded me of training programs companies implemented years ago (back when the dinosaurs roamed….you know about the late 80’s to mid ‘90’s) where an employee would work through the "program" a module at a time, having to pass some form of assessment before being able to move onto the next module.  These types of trainings had little buy-in from employees and there was little motivation for completion.  T & D departments had a reputation for spending money on programs that had little impact (the ROI was negligible at best).  In fact online training in the corporate world has had to battle a bias against it in large part due to these types of programs.  But once I read about how it was implemented in the 6 Sigma program, it hit me that like many plans, the pedagogical basis can be sound but if it is not implemented correctly then it will not have the intended impact. 

So as always I come back to basics: “Learning is basically an asynchronous, creative adventure”.   In this the core aspects of the Keller plan naturally lend themself to online learning and thus the best aspects of online learning:

o   Clear educational objectives

o   Small learning modules with associated achievement tests and immediate feedback

o   Student self-pacing

o   Positive reinforcement

o   Student emphasis on doing rather than listening

If looked at in a traditional mode: “Keller (1968) outlined five basic components that he deemed to be essential for a PSI class: (1) mastery of course material, (2) the use of proctors, (3) self-pacing, (4) stress upon the written word, and (5) use of lectures and demonstrations primarily for motivational purposes”, then the PSI or Keller model fits the worst case scenario.  When looking at Bloom’s Taxonomy, it might achieve at best the first three levels but it will not advance the learner’s abilitiies to reach higher levels of learning.  But if looked at from how it was incorporated with the Six Sigma program, then it goes beyond those three levels and looks at higher levels of learning.

If e-learning focuses on the instructor being a facilatator of the learning process instead of the focus of the learning process then the Keller model might be an avenue to reach this.  One of the possibilities that online learning offers is a new look at colloborative efforts that more closely mirror what students will expereince in the work place.  What was clear from the Davis article was that students prefer to be at the focus of the educational process as opposed to instructors being at the focus!

Reference 

Davis, R. L. & Ragsdell, K. M. (2000). Design of an effective, web-based, global learning environment using the Keller Plan.