A.Frank - T.Sharon 1 Distributed Education - Theories and Models (2) A. Frank, T. Sharon

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

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

4 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 ). 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.

5 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”.

6 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.

7 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.

8 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.

9 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.

10 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.

11 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)

12 A.Frank - T.Sharon Transactional Distance (1)  Moore, M. (1993). Theory of transactional distance. In D. Keegan (Ed.), Theoretical principles of distance education (pp ) 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.

13 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.

14 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”.

15 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?

16 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.

17 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.

18 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.

19 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 ). 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.

20 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.