§ 4. Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science which local education authorities have introduced programmed teaching machines into schools and other educational institutions; and to what extent.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Education and Science (Mr. Edward Redhead)There are at least 73 local education authorities in England and Wales which are making use of programmed learning in varying degrees, and the number is steadily growing.
§ Mr. Biggs-DavisonIs it no longer true, despite the shortage of teachers, that the education authorities and the teaching profession are showing less interest in these machines than are the Armed Forces and industry?
§ Mr. RedheadI do not think that one should draw that conclusion from any Answer. Teaching machines provide only one means of presenting programmed learning. There are other methods, and research has not gone far enough to establish the superiority of machines.
§ 5. Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science to what extent independent and direct grant schools are making use of programmed teaching machines.
§ Mr. RedheadI regret that this information is not available.