CALL Reflection #2

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).