Whether interaction is defined as “reciprocal events that require two objects and two actions” (Wagner, 1994, p. 8) or “activities where the student is in two way contact with another person” (Daniel & Marquis, 1998, p. 339) or between students and content (Moore, 1989; Juler, 1990), it is evident that learning cannot occur without interaction. Anderson’s (2003) equivalency theorem that “deep and meaningful formal learning is supported as long as one of the three forms of interaction (student-teacher; student-student; student-content) is at a high level” and that “the other two may be offered at minimal levels, or even eliminated, without degrading the educational experience” made me question the role of the teacher. I understand that he is not saying that having high levels of student-student or student-content interactions would eliminate the need for the teacher, but I think it shows that a well-designed course (at the university level), that incorporates synchronous and asynchronous experiences, allows the teacher to take a step back.
I like the way Anderson analyzed the role of interactions in various educational settings. Personally, I do not enjoy classes that are solely lectures. While I am a highly motivated learner, having this type of student-teacher interaction does not encourage me to learn. My greatest learning comes from student-student interactions. I need to be able to hear (or read) my peers’ perspectives in order to reflect on my own. Having the ability to see things from another’s point of view allows me to challenge my own thinking. Of course I also learn from student-content interactions, but without hearing the opinions of others it is easy to take the information at face value and not critically evaluate the information, for example, Anderson’s mention of the absence of ‘side talk’ in settings where the learning takes place in the home and how the side talk is a valuable aspect of student-student interaction.
Anderson’s description of the interaction-based model of e-learning where all “three of the major actors interact with each other” seems fascinating, but time consuming. It sounds like an online learning environment that is trying to replicate the face-to-face classroom as much as possible, although with the convenience of being available while sitting on your couch at home. I have never taken a class in this format. I wonder if they are popular or widely used? I would be interested to see the logistics behind this type of course.
While reflecting on the role of the teacher in the various learning environments (lectures, distance education, audio/video conferencing, etc.) at higher education settings, I was trying to imagine how Anderson would apply his theorem to elementary education. Some of the ideas of interaction would be directly valid for high school, but I think several of his points would also pertain to the elementary level. In general, student-student interaction (or collaboration) and student-content interactions are both key principles of constructivism, which lead to meaningful learning.
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Kristie,
ReplyDeleteWe are opposites when it comes to our learning styles. I myself am a learner prefers a nice mix of student-teacher and student-content types of learning. I find that the both are the best methods that allow me to truly understand a subject. As for student-student types of learning, I find that the content learned is also quickly forgotten.
Kristie,
ReplyDeleteI too was interested by Anderson's comments on the "lecture." How amazing that education is still so tied to a system originally designed because there were so few copies of books in print that a lecture was truly a lecture or reading!
I have to say, though, that in the right hands, a good lecture can be really enjoyable and informative, especially if the instructor takes some dramatic license with his art. I think this is especially true if the teacher views his job as "the ultimate performance art," as a colleague once described our profession to me.
However, I do agree with you when you say that more student-content or student-student based courses force the student to become more independent. I just would not want to lose the ability to get lost in someone's awesome performance!
Kristie,
ReplyDeleteI have never thought about CALL for elementary school. Well, in terms of the types of interactions, I am guessing student-content interactions are more dominant over others. This is solely based on my personal experience with my 6-year-old son. He likes to visit pbskids.org and play with several characters he meets on TV. And he enjoyes interacting witht he characters--contents. However, I can't imagine he could interact with other kids online for several reasons, mainly because of his typing skills on keyboards--he wouldn't have any means of communication. And of course, for older students, the typing shouldn't be an issue ^^;
Hi Kristie,
ReplyDeleteYour post made me really think about teacher-student interaction. While I am not a fan of a lengthy lecture, I do find that a well-thought out and thought-proving lecture by an expert in the field is often necessary to get discussion going between students. So, while I am a fan of the student-centered classroom that encourages a maximum amount of student-student interaction, I don't think we can discount teacher-student interaction altogether.
With that said, my most memorable teacher-student interactions were not in the classroom, they occurred during a professor's office hours when I was struggling with a piece of material. Even beyond the classroom discussions among my peers, these interactions with the expert taught me a great deal about the material and forced me to stretch my mind. I would always leave these meetings with a renewed sense of interest in the subject.
One thing I miss in my online classes is this interaction with the professor's. It's not like I can go sit outside the professor's door waiting for office hours to begin - I live too far away!
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