ABSTRACT
A good definition of a system is a set of elements which uses processes to transform inputs into outputs. Thus an engineering system, say a generating plant, has coal as its principal input, and transforms it into electric power as output. In an open loop system, the input depends only on the inputs and the processes. In fact navigation systems have closed loops. The output is made to depend not only on the inputs and processes, but also on a sample of the output to date, which is fed back as an input. There are real difficulties, and much of the training manager's energy and ingenuity is spent on overcoming them. This chapter examines what, then, are the underlying concepts or principles which can be used in training generally. The principles of instructional technology have emerged partly as a result of the efficiency and technical success of programmed instruction.
