Teaching technique in which a learner is presented with a small chunk of information, and is asked to answer a question after understanding it. If the answer is correct, the learner may proceed to the next chunk, otherwise go back to a previous piece of information and proceed from there. Programmed learning is based on the principles of small steps, self-pacing, and immediate feedback.

Programmed learning or programmed instruction is a method of education that behaviorist B. F. Skinner proposed in 1958[1] to "manage human learning under controlled conditions".[2][page needed] Programmed learning has three elements: (1) it delivers information in small bites, (2) it is self-paced by the learner, and (3) it provides immediate feedback, both positive and negative, to the learner.[3] It was popular in the late 1960s and through the 1970s, but pedagogical interest was lost in the early 1980s as it was difficult to implement and its limitations were not well understood by practitioners. It was revived in the 1990s in the computerized integrated learning systems (ILS),[2] primarily in business management education.[4] Programmed learning remains popular in self-teaching textbooks.

The methodology involves self-administered and self-paced learning, in which the student is presented with information in small steps often referred to as "frames".[2] Each frame contains a small segment of the information to be learned, followed by a question which the student must answer. After each frame the student uncovers, or is directed to, additional information based on an incorrect answer, or positive feedback for a correct answer and advancing to the next frame.