Divine Mbong Eseh OMDE 601 Section 9040 August 11, 2012 Assignment 03

The impact of early distance education theories on current DE practice (Andragogy, Transactional Distance, and Industrialization) Introduction
The purpose of this essay is to discuss how earlier distance education theories such as transactional distance, andragogy, and/or industrialization have influenced current DE practice. Some prominent scholars have made the argument that distance education has not fully embraced the collaborative potential of online learning. This paper will argue that this is not entirely true because some of those defining characteristics of DE have not changed and that some practices of the past are still being used in the online environment today. To really understand this, we must first examine the long history of DE. Understanding the historical development of DE within its larger context is a prerequisite for understanding the potential of distance education for its present and future applications. A study of the history of distance education will reveal the driving forces for the development of an accessible route to knowledge as well as the theories, and institutions. Haughey (2010) summarized this sentiment very well when she said that , "The culture of the times shaped what learning meant..." (p. 46). In the first wave the primary goal for DE was to provide access to education. But this all changed with the advent of the second wave.

Divine Mbong Eseh OMDE 601 Section 9040 August 11, 2012 Assignment 03 Wave 2 was a time of rapid change in DE and was characterized by three important principles:

Access, allowing for the advancement of the democratization of education Independence, providing the student with more freedom to decide when, where, and how to study

Interaction, increasing and accelerating student-instructor interaction (Miller, 2010)

These principles grew out of three theories that explained the protocol for good practice in DE during those times. They are as follows:

1. Andragogy 2. Transactional Distance and 3. Industrialization

Defining: Andragogy and Transactional Distance

Andragogy The concept of andragogy was made popular by Malcolm Knowles in the 1970s. Knowles' ideas stemmed from the belief that teaching and learning approaches for adults should be fundamentally different from those for children and are based on the belief that the more mature a learner becomes, the more self-directed the learner will be in his or her own learning. This approach was comprised of the following six principles:

1. Learner's need to know: Adult learners want to decide what will be learned, and when and how it will be learned.

Divine Mbong Eseh OMDE 601 Section 9040 August 11, 2012 Assignment 03 2. Self-concept of the learner: Adult learners want to plan and direct their learning.

3. Prior experience of the learner: Adult learners have a wide range of past experiences to draw from in understanding and applying what they learn.

4. Readiness to learn: Adult learners want to understand the relevance of what they are learning to them and to their environment.

5. Orientation to learning: Adult learners prefer a problem-centered approach to learning.

6. Motivation to learn: Adult learners are internally, rather than externally, motivated to learn (Knowles, Swanson, & Holton, 2011, p. 3)

Transactional Distance According to Moore's theory of transactional distance, the interrelation between dialogue, structure, and autonomy influenced transactional distance, which is the mental or psychological distance experienced by students learning in a distance education environment. For example, Moore's theory states that in a course where there are high levels of dialogue, transactional distance tends to be lower, whereas a higher level of transactional distance often exists in courses where there are low levels of dialogue.

(Moore & Kearsley, 2012, pp. 209-214)

Why were these theories necessary?

During the second wave, as DE became an important and recognized form of education thousands of individuals who did not previously have the opportunity to gain a post-secondary

Divine Mbong Eseh OMDE 601 Section 9040 August 11, 2012 Assignment 03 credential enrolled in DE programs worldwide. The challenge for governments and researchers of the times was to come up with solutions that could help meet this increased demand for education.

Institutions and the Theory of Industrialization

During the second wave, it can be argued that DE also became further industrialized, as new institutional forms such as large open universities emerged and the systems approach to development and delivery of DE courses was fully established with specialized roles within course development teams, and tutors for delivery of courses on a mass scale to take advantage of economies of scale. In this respect the Peters (2010) theory of Industrialization of DE became a very useful solution educate the masses. Governments were now able to educate the most students at the least cost due to the benefits of economies of scale. Teaching and Learning Andragogy theory

Even if the single-mode distance teaching institutions could accommodate the high enrollments, the question then remained: how were they to be taught effectively? This concern gave rise to the theory of Andragogy since the student population consisted of working adults who had a purpose for enrollment in higher education. During the second wave of DE, many adult educators were drawn to open universities because of the appeal of offering post-secondary opportunities to adults who would not otherwise be able to have access to education.

Divine Mbong Eseh OMDE 601 Section 9040 August 11, 2012 Assignment 03 Student Interaction, Isolation and Transactional Distance

Moore & Kearsley, (2012) theory of transactional distance (TD) provided a solution here. Since teaching and learning were separated geographically in time and space to provide e form of interaction and prevent isolation course development experts applied the theory of TD when designing courses then.

The Third Wave: Impact of early DE theories on current DE practice

A driving force within the third wave of DE development was the widespread availability of mass media technology with it the arrival of the Internet, and the merging of synchronous with asynchronous communication forms within one web-based delivery platform. Some prominent scholars have made the argument that distance education has not fully embraced the collaborative potential of online learning. For instance, in his article on the implications of online learning for DE practice, Garrison (2009) identifies two fundamental approaches to online learning: 1) self-directedness (as an individual learner), and 2) collaborative construction of new knowledge (as a group of learners). The first approach has been characteristic of DE since its origins in independent study, while the second is a significant outgrowth from online learning. In effect causing a conflict and that old theories of DE are in need of alignment in the online environment. On the other hand , Peters (2010) disagrees and actually considers online learning as further supporting the self-directedness and self-determination of learners in both regulated and non-regulated learning environments.

Divine Mbong Eseh OMDE 601 Section 9040 August 11, 2012 Assignment 03

In Conclusion: Are the theories of DE still relevant today in the online learning environment? 1. Yes, the role of the teacher and the role of the learner is conceptualized in all forms of distance education is still the same. The technology changed but teaching and is still separate in the asynchronous mode of sturdy. 2. Correspondence education is still prominent in some parts of the world, even though the transactions are more frequent and spontaneous. 3. The kinds of learner support (tutoring, advising, counseling) implemented by colleges and universities to personalize and individualize an otherwise uniform system of education are based on anagogical principles.

Divine Mbong Eseh OMDE 601 Section 9040 August 11, 2012 Assignment 03 Reference

Garrison, R. (2009). Implications of online learning for the conceptual development and practice

of distance education. Journal of Distance Education, 23(2), 93-104.

Haughey, M. (2010). Teaching and learning in distance education before the digital age. In M. F.

Cleveland-Innes & D. R. Garrison, An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era (pp. 46-66). New York and London: Routledge.

Knowles, M. S., Swanson, M. A., & Holton, E. F. (2011). The adult learner: The definitive

classic in adult education and human resource development (7th ed.). Taylor & Francis.

Miller, G. E. (2010). Organization and technology of distance education. In M. F. Cleveland-

Innes & D. R. Garrison, D.R. (Eds.), An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era (pp. 26-45). New York & London: Routledge.

Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2012). Distance education: A systems view of online learning (pp. 23-43). USA: Wadsworth-Cengage Learning.

Divine Mbong Eseh OMDE 601 Section 9040 August 11, 2012 Assignment 03 Peters, O. (2010). Digitized learning environments: New chances and opportunities. In O. Peters,

Distance education in transition: Developments and issues (5th edition) (pp. 141-153). Oldenburg, Germany: BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky Universitt Oldenburg. Available from http://www.box.com/shared/ktx7ipccetotqrr11mct

Divine Mbong Eseh OMDE 601 Section 9040 August 11, 2012 Assignment 03

Reference

Anderson, T., & Dron, J. (2011). Three generations of distance education pedagogy.

International Review of Research in Online and Distance Learning (IRRODL), 12(3), 8097. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/890

Garrison, R. (2009). Implications of online learning for the conceptual development and practice

of distance education. Journal of Distance Education, 23(2), 93-104. Retrieved from http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/471/889

Divine Mbong Eseh OMDE 601 Section 9040 August 11, 2012 Assignment 03 Peters, O. (2010). Digitized learning environments: New chances and opportunities. In O. Peters,

Distance education in transition: Developments and issues (5th edition) (pp. 141-153). Oldenburg, Germany: BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky Universitt Oldenburg. Available from http://www.box.com/shared/ktx7ipccetotqrr11mct

Vaughan, N. D. (2010). Blended learning. In M. F. Cleveland-Innes & D. R. Garrison (Eds.),

An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era (pp. 165-178). New York & London: Routledge.