Teaching in Our Instructional System the descriptior isshown to the This section discusses the teaching methods which solution of the problem and may consist of a number of we use in our instructional system steps.In demonstration,a solution is presented to the student. Teaching A Command In p the ice and test,the stud nts associated with each ste of the Leaming to an too solution and provided upon the student request.Feedback functions.To actively involve a student in leamning teaching of a command onsists of the five instructiona Pract pe and Merrill et al 199 Demonstration. Simulation informs the student of the learning The most effectiv objective:what the student can do after he/she completes on to the leaming objective n to pe hot th asists of a provided as hotwords so that the student can click them parser.The simulated screen could be exactly the same as to revi w these prerequisites may not all the of the comm nand to he taugh for king on command open files in WordPerfect,presentation gives a from the student and checks for f com text description of all steps of executing the file open the response of the software system is printed on the imulated scree and some rein orcement me age to illus ate the mnle of the erro the open file command,Demonstration shows how to open a specific file step by step the error is available from our instructional system pro mns to then the are system serve s the pur 5e0 simulated.Problems can be solved with or without h simulated svste is under the guidance,the system shows the studen instructional system.For example,when the student Withou guida he studen for system knows hat kin on the re of the of fo student.Feedback is provided after each problem is solved Teaching in a subtopic checks the level mastery the stude A module is organized as a hierarchy of subtopics passes the command or not Test questions may be A subtopic may consists of a number of subtopics or a performance questions or concept questions A stu the enters performan question is 1m1 to the n be taught and a few problems which hel/she can solve Only the after completing the study of the subtopic.He/she are matchin also displayed buttons for a list of next level subtopics or questions questions and fill-in-blank comm t f actice in teaching a command and provides the student with the ractice and test share a nool of access to an actual software system.Although a problems.These problems are used differently by these simulated software system is avail ble most of the tim activities.A problem consists of several subcomponents description,solution,hints,and feedback.Description is Teaching in Our Instructional System This section discusses the teaching methods which we use in our instructional system. Teaching A Command Learning to use an application software tool involves learning of the use of a set of commands or functions. To actively involve a student in learning, teaching of a command consists of the five instructional activities: Preview, Presentation, Demonstration, Practice, and Test. (Merrill, et al., 1991). Preview informs the student of the learning objective: what the student can do after he/she completes the learning of the command. In addition to the learning objective, the student is also informed of the prerequisites: what the student must know before he/she can start learning the command. The prerequisites are provided as hotwords so that the student can click them to review these prerequisites. Presentation displays all the material for mastery of the command to be taught. For example, for the command open files in WordPerfect, presentation gives a text description of all steps of executing the file open command. Demonstration uses examples to illustrate the material presented in presentation. For the example of the open file command, Demonstration shows how to open a specific file step by step. Practice assigns some problems to the student and then the student solves the problems assigned on the simulated. Problems can be solved with or without guidance. With guidance, the system shows the student what to do at each step. Without guidance, the student solves problems on his/her own. Hints for solving a problem are always available upon the request of the student. Feedback is provided after each problem is solved. Test checks the level of mastery the student has attained for the command and determines if the student passes the command or not. Test questions may be performance questions or concept questions. A performance question is similar to the problem in practice. Neither hints nor feedback is provided in test. Only the score is given to the student. Concept questions are multiple questions, true/false questions, matching questions, sequencing questions, and fill-in-blank questions. The student is informed if he/she passes or not. Demonstration, practice, and test share a pool of problems. These problems are used differently by these activities. A problem consists of several subcomponents: description, solution, hints, and feedback. Description is the description of the problem and is shown to the student in all of these activities. Solution is the correct solution of the problem and may consist of a number of steps. In demonstration, a solution is presented to the student. In practice and test, the student's solution is compared with the stored solution to determine if it is correct. Hints are associated with each step of the solution and provided upon the student request. Feedback is associated with correct answers as well as errors and is provided for the student once a solution is entered. Simulation The most effective way to learn a software application is to watch demonstrations and practice. Simulation of a software system provides an environment for our instructional system to perform demonstrations and for the student to practice. A simulated software system consists of a simulated screen and a simple parser. The simulated screen could be exactly the same as the actual software system and hence the student may not know whether he/she is working on a simulated or an actual software system. The parser receives the input from the student and checks for correctness. If correct, the response of the software system is printed on the simulated screen and some reinforcement message is given by our instructional system. If not correct, the error message generated by the software system is printed on the simulated screen and more detailed feedback about the error is available from our instructional system. A simulated software system serves the purpose of instruction better than an actual software system, because the simulated system is under the control of the instructional system. For example, when the student makes an error, the instructional system knows what kind of error the student makes. This kind of information could be used to guide the future instruction. Teaching in A Subtopic A module is organized as a hierarchy of subtopics. A subtopic may consists of a number of subtopics or a number of commands. When the student enters a subtopic, he/she is displayed a summary of the content to be taught and a few problems which he/she can solve after completing the study of the subtopic. He/she are also displayed buttons for a list of next level subtopics or commands and buttons for practice and test. Practice in a subtopic is different from practice in teaching a command and provides the student with the access to an actual software system. Although a simulated software system is available most of the time for demonstration, practice, and test in teaching commands, it is still worthwhile to let the student use the