Distributed Education - Theories and Models (2)

Distributed Education -Theories and Models (2) A. Frank, T. Sharon A.Frank - T.Sharon

Contents • DE Challenges • Prominent Theories • Proven Technology Models A.Frank - T.Sharon

DE Prominent Theories 0. Pre-Industrial (until mid 20th century) • "Written Correspondence Study" - (1900s) 1. Industrial (3rd quarter 20th century) • "Independent Study" - C. Wedemeyer (60s) • "Industrial Production" - O. Peters (60s) • "Guided Didactic Conversation" - B. Holmberg (70s) 2. Post-Industrial (4th quarter 20th century onwards) • "Transactional Distance" - M. Moore (70s) • "Transactional Control" - R. Garrison (80s) • "Collaborative Learning" - F. Henri (90s) A.Frank - T.Sharon

Industrial Production (1) • Peters, O. (1994). Distance education and industrial production: A comparative interpretation in outline (1973). In Keegan, D. (Ed.), Otto Peters on distance education: The industrialization of teaching and learning (pp. 107-127). London: Routledge. • Most coherent, rigorous and pervasive example of DE theory to date. • Adopts industrial approaches & production techniques: division of labor, mass production, and organization. • Organizes the educational process to realize economies of scale and reduce unit costs. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Industrial Production (2) • Peters, O. (2000). The transformation of the university into an institution of independent learning. In T. Evans & D. Nation (Eds.), Changing university teaching: Reflections on creating educational technologies (pp.10-23). • Communications technology and lifelong learning demands will precipitate a “transformation of the traditional university into an institution of self-study and distance teaching”. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Industrial Production (3) • Offers a new structure for university education to include three basic forms of academic learning:self-learning, tele-learning and social intercourse. • Self-learning and tele-learning are very much autonomous approaches to learning. • Social intercourse supports a general social presence among learners rather than an academic critical discourse. • While social intercourse is a new recognition of interaction, there is still a strong identification with the ideal of independent self-study. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Industrial Production (4) • Difficulty of replicating face-to-face interaction by mediated means. • Face-to-face interaction cannot be reproduced in whole within a text-based environment. • Text-based environment can support critical discourse in a community of inquiry. • Need to study characteristics of spoken and written communication for use in Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) for educational purposes. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Guided Didactic Conversation (1) • Holmberg, B. (1989). Theory and practice of distance education. London: Routledge. • “Guided didactic conversation” refers to both real and simulated conversations, although the reliance is upon simulated conversation. • Course developer create simulated conversation through well-written materials. • Emphasis is on the content and conversational character of the written pre-produced course package and clearly within the industrial paradigm. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Guided Didactic Conversation(2) • Posits “Friendly conversation [fostered by] well-developed self-instructional materials [resulting in] feelings of personal relation ... intellectual pleasure [and] study motivation“. • Structural assumptions and the central role of the self-study learning package limit teaching to one-way communication. • Real conversation with the tutor is, by economic necessity, supplementary to the pre-produced course. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Guided Didactic Conversation (3) • The role of the teacher was largely simulated by way of written instructions and commentary. • No recognition that written communication may be qualitatively different from verbal discourse when guiding students. • Organizational assumptions and principles of the industrial model and the dependence upon written communication seriously constrain and limit the role of conversation and the full emergence of a transactional perspective. A.Frank - T.Sharon

2. Post-Industrial Era(4th quarter 20th century onwards) • Similar Terms • Transactional (teaching and learning) • Pedagogical • Constructivism • Prominent Theories • "Transactional Distance" - M. Moore (70s) • "Transactional Control" - R. Garrison (80s) • "Collaborative Learning" - F. Henri (90s) A.Frank - T.Sharon

Transactional Distance (1) • Moore, M. (1993). Theory of transactional distance. In D. Keegan (Ed.), Theoretical principles of distance education (pp. 22-38) London: Routledge. • Recognizes the limitation of the structure of the independent learning package by including dialogue as a second variable. • Moves the field towards the realization of a pedagogical theory. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Transactional Distance (2) • Necessitates “special organizations and teaching procedures” composed of 2 variables: structure and dialogue. • Structure reflects the course's design and is largely a function of the teaching organization and communications media employed. • Dialogue is also associated with the medium of communication and may include either real two-way communication or guided didactic conversation. • Most distant program has low dialogue and low structure while the least distant has high dialogue and high structure. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Transactional Distance (3) • Also adds another dimension - learner autonomy. • Autonomy appears to be associated with a personality characteristic - that being personal responsibility associated with self-directedness. • The greater the transactional distance the greater responsibility is placed on the learner. • Also defines autonomy as “the extent to which in a programme the learner determines objectives, implementation procedures, and resources and evaluation”. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Transactional Distance (4) • Incorporates the structure of the industrial approach with the interaction of the transactional approach. • Extends the pedagogical perspective but appears to retain the dominant structural features of the industrial model. • Exact nature of the interrelationships among structure, dialog and autonomy is not made clear. • There is confusion around whether structure and dialogue are variables, clusters or dimensions. • Is autonomy a psychological or educational variable? A.Frank - T.Sharon

Transactional Control (1) • Garrison, D. R. (1989). Understanding distance education: A framework for the future. London: Routledge. • CMC is a defining characteristic of DE and an important design concern. • Places sustained real two-way communication at the core of the educational experience, regardless of the separation of teacher and learner. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Transactional Control (2) • Avoid the restrictive trap of describing distance education based upon its existing forms and structures. • Focuses on the functional basis of education first by placing the teaching and learning transaction at the core of distance education practice. • A clear attempt to break loose of the organizational assumptions of the industrial model. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Transactional Control (3) • Proposes a paradigmatic shift. • Concept of control is at the center of the transaction. • Control was defined as the opportunity and ability to influence the educational transaction. • Shared control is reflective of the transactional nature of an educational experience. • Share control of the educational transaction through frequent two-way communication in the context of a community of learners. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Collaborative Learning (1) • Henri, F. (1992). Computer conferencing and content analysis. In A. R. Kaye (Ed.), Collaborative learning through computer conferencing: The Najaden papers, (pp. 117-136). Berlin: Springer-Verlag. • Collaborative learning by way of CMC. • Provides a collaborative educational perspective. • Consists of 5 dimensions of the learning process: participation, interaction, social, cognitive, meta-cognitive. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Collaborative Learning (2) • Emphasizes a collaborative view of teaching. • Facilitates interaction for collaborative learning. • Provides a psychosocial, transactional perspective focusing specifically on teaching and learning facilitated through CMC. • Silent with regard to structural or distance constraints. • Focuses on educational and transactional issues and, therefore, is a significant shift away from the industrial model. A.Frank - T.Sharon

Distributed Education - Theories and Models (2)