Anderson (2003) did a wonderful job of clearly and concisely breaking down interaction, a word that is so simple and assumed in most educational settings but sometimes overlooked regarding quality. In this article, Anderson list three main categories of interaction: student-student, student-teacher and student-content (Modes of Interaction). Furthermore, he distinguishes teacher-teacher, teacher-content and content-content interactions (Modes of Interaction). Based on these modes, he proposes an equivalency theorem that states “Deep and meaningful formal learning is supported as long as one of the three forms of interaction … is at a high level” thus being able to substitute one type of interaction for another at the same level without loss of effective instruction (Equivalency of Interaction).
For a teacher, his theorem provides a lot of options and freedom in the classroom. As Anderson notes, the modes of interaction and their levels will depend on the instructional delivery (Examples of Applying the Equivalency Theorem to Popular Education Delivery modes). A teacher can look at their personal educational philosophy and instructional goals and determine which interaction they want to emphasize. Then they can use various delivery methods and tools to obtain the desired type and level of interaction. By shifting the types of interactions to more student-student or student-content (learner-centered instruction), there will be less teacher-student interaction (Conclusion). I suppose this would allow teachers to be more on the “sidelines” playing the role of a facilitator or coach instead of the traditional “director” of the classroom. This would then open the doors for a more community based, communicative learning environment. From my experience with online learning at IU, I have definitely experienced this shift of teacher roles. The focus on student-student and student-content interaction in my online courses has provided me deeper learning of the material than a traditional lecture classroom.
Although I favor less emphasis on student-teacher interactions in order to help create more communicative learning opportunities, I’m not sure how well this method will work with students who lack the metacognitive awareness of their own learning. Introducing technology also brings in additional literacy skills that some students need to master. I don’t think these are obstacles but rather factors that need to be considered and planned for by the teacher.
Overall, I think the modes of interactions used in the classroom are constantly changing depending on factors such as subject matter, teacher, students and resources available. However, I feel it is the overall essence of the class that is important. When I look back to the classes where I learned the most or to the teachers whom I was most influenced, I don’t remember one specific thing but rather something wonderful that was present in all the different interactions that took place.
REFERENCE:
Anderson, T. (2003) Getting the Mix Right Again: An update and theoretical rationale for interaction. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 4 (2).
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4 comments:
You're right. The students have to be prepared (your reference to metacognitive skills) in order to really be good participants.
Students need to be socialized into this form of learning from an early age. We can't take them at age 16 and say, "Ok, you guys solve this problem."
However, this is no excuse. We can take small steps to encourage learners to change their way of thinking. We can (and should) explicitly teach metacognitive skills. We need to teach them to be problem solvers and not just memorizers.
Dan
Hi Dan,
This area really interests me. Some of my ESL students have fewer than three years of formal schooling in their L1. Sometimes, this makes it difficult to have them stay focus on task, work with groups or even understand why we are doing an exercise or activity. I'm looking for ways of teaching this within the lesson. Peer assistance sometimes works but at other times it can be detrimental to the overall learning environment. Metacognitive skills are equally important for young learners as well as adolescents. These skills will help them not only in the classroom but in many areas of life.
Stefanie
Stefanie
Hi Stefanie, that was a very nice reflection. You say that you have seen the shift from more student-teacher interaction to more student/student and student/content. You talk about how this has been a positive thing for you. Have you experienced anything negative as a result of this shift? Do you feel like you are missing out on anything?
John,
I think the only negative aspect I see in this shift is the lack of accessibility to the teacher in terms of mentoring, "little side bars" … you know, more of the informal learning that can happen from time to time. Honestly the biggest problem I've had in being a distance student is more limited access to administrative resources (i.e. advising, updating degree plans, GI Bill). The process can be confusing at times but the faculty and student assistants are always very helpful.
Stefanie
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