IMPLEMENTING PROCESS-BASED INSTRUCTION IN REGULAR UNIVERSITY TEACHING- CONCEPTUAL, METHODOLOGICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES

This paper reports an experimental field study aimed at examining whet her a process-oriented form of instruction (combining program planning and interactive teaching) which produced outstanding results when imp lemented by a tutor/researcher (see Volet, 1991) could be wed successf ully by regular university tutors given detailed guidelines but minima l training A second aim of the study was to establish the respective c ontribution of the two sub-components of the instructional package. Th e results of the study were inconclusive and mise a number of conceptu al, methodological and practical issues. As in the initial study, expe rimental students were more satisfied with their learning and for thos e who had the choice, more inclined to undertake further studies in co mputing but the intervention did not affect students' achievement. The results of the study are discussed in relation to the earlier work, a nd suggestions are made for bridging the gap between educational resea rch and educational practice in higher education.