We are in the midst of a "publishing explosion" in programmed texts that is now involving every field of knowledge. The concept of a handy, portable, self-teaching device that automatically corrects for error and is designed to provide sufficient repetition to entrench significant data firmly in one's mind is most attractive. But all too often the promise is not fulfilled.
The problems in such a text are formidable. When one deals with subject material with limited variables, all of which are measurable, the result can be most satisfactory. Indeed, the arithmetic workbooks of elementary school are classic examples of the value of such programs. Several generations of students and teachers have used them with a measurable increase of facility on the part of the student.
The recent increase in the use of programmed texts, however, has gone far beyond fields of knowledge with unequivocal yes or no answers into