A Cybernetic Metric Approach to Course Preparation

This paper reviews and unifies 15 papers and book chapters written by the author over the past decade. The paper shows that an underlying commonality of all the author's approaches to a wide variety of pedagogical problems relies on three pillars: (a) a cybernetic approach that is independent o...

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Main Author: Russell Jay Hendel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: International Institute of Informatics and Cybernetics 2024-12-01
Series:Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.iiisci.org/Journal/PDV/sci/pdfs/SA504LE24.pdf
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author Russell Jay Hendel
author_facet Russell Jay Hendel
author_sort Russell Jay Hendel
collection DOAJ
description This paper reviews and unifies 15 papers and book chapters written by the author over the past decade. The paper shows that an underlying commonality of all the author's approaches to a wide variety of pedagogical problems relies on three pillars: (a) a cybernetic approach that is independent of discipline and does not rely on specific content areas, (b) direct referral to established processes of the mind, and (c) a metric approach whereby a new pedagogic tool is formulated in terms of measurement enabling newcomers to instantly apply the new method. These three pillars are useful in improving all aspects of course pedagogy: delivery, retention, performance, and satisfaction. The use of a metric approach is often superior (easier to implement) than traditional approaches; the appeal to direct processes of the mind supplements reliance on experiments and surveys which focus on methods rather than on their underlying psychological basis. The three pillars apply to such diverse areas as pedagogic challenge, syllabus construction, computer assisted instruction (CAI), dealing with hard course components, formulating challenging practice exercises, enriching syllabus modules, and defining levels of problem difficulty. The mental processes on which the theory is based are executive function, atomic habit formation, Stroop interference, controllability (attribution) theory, and self-efficacy.
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spelling doaj-art-ab6637620d0c4d868a0ba33abe171d7f2025-08-20T03:13:37ZengInternational Institute of Informatics and CyberneticsJournal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics1690-45242024-12-012276370A Cybernetic Metric Approach to Course PreparationRussell Jay HendelThis paper reviews and unifies 15 papers and book chapters written by the author over the past decade. The paper shows that an underlying commonality of all the author's approaches to a wide variety of pedagogical problems relies on three pillars: (a) a cybernetic approach that is independent of discipline and does not rely on specific content areas, (b) direct referral to established processes of the mind, and (c) a metric approach whereby a new pedagogic tool is formulated in terms of measurement enabling newcomers to instantly apply the new method. These three pillars are useful in improving all aspects of course pedagogy: delivery, retention, performance, and satisfaction. The use of a metric approach is often superior (easier to implement) than traditional approaches; the appeal to direct processes of the mind supplements reliance on experiments and surveys which focus on methods rather than on their underlying psychological basis. The three pillars apply to such diverse areas as pedagogic challenge, syllabus construction, computer assisted instruction (CAI), dealing with hard course components, formulating challenging practice exercises, enriching syllabus modules, and defining levels of problem difficulty. The mental processes on which the theory is based are executive function, atomic habit formation, Stroop interference, controllability (attribution) theory, and self-efficacy.http://www.iiisci.org/Journal/PDV/sci/pdfs/SA504LE24.pdf pedagogical hierarchycyberneticexecutive functionhabit formationself-efficacysyllabuspedagogic challengecomputer assisted instructioncaiattribution theorystroop interference
spellingShingle Russell Jay Hendel
A Cybernetic Metric Approach to Course Preparation
Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics
pedagogical hierarchy
cybernetic
executive function
habit formation
self-efficacy
syllabus
pedagogic challenge
computer assisted instruction
cai
attribution theory
stroop interference
title A Cybernetic Metric Approach to Course Preparation
title_full A Cybernetic Metric Approach to Course Preparation
title_fullStr A Cybernetic Metric Approach to Course Preparation
title_full_unstemmed A Cybernetic Metric Approach to Course Preparation
title_short A Cybernetic Metric Approach to Course Preparation
title_sort cybernetic metric approach to course preparation
topic pedagogical hierarchy
cybernetic
executive function
habit formation
self-efficacy
syllabus
pedagogic challenge
computer assisted instruction
cai
attribution theory
stroop interference
url http://www.iiisci.org/Journal/PDV/sci/pdfs/SA504LE24.pdf
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