Put simply, teachers talk and students listen. Textbooks and other learning resources are used to complement the lecture. After several days, weeks, or even months of taking notes over Lectures, students are required to take tests over the material, which leads to the second characteristic of traditional classes. Students are socialized into the perspective that school is all about success and failure. Mastery is usually defined by some pre-determined score on a test or quiz.
Some students are able to achieve mastery over concepts quicker than others.
Accordingly, the PSI approach also uses self pacing. Some students may learn information very quickly and move through the units at a faster pace while other students take more time on some or all of the units. An important by-product of self pacing is that the course cannot be based on the traditional lecture format. For that reason, the textbook and other written materials are the primary resources for learning. The speaking assignments, something essential for a basic communication course, is the modified component of the Keller Plan used in COMM 109.