According to the Sloan Consortium (2005), a non-profit association self-described as “committed to quality online education,” more than 1.6 million students took at least one online course at colleges and universities in the United States in 2002. By the fall semester of 2004, the number of online enrollments increased to a staggering 2.35 million. This impressive growth shows no signs of ceasing and speaks to the increasing acceptance of distance learning as a viable alternative to traditional, face-to-face education.
This recent rise in popularity of distance learning challenges many long-held assumptions about the role and responsibilities of the student and the teacher. In order for learners to have a meaningful learning experience and instructors to facilitate an environment in which this learning experience can take place, they must both be willing and able to shift their existing paradigms.
The Student in the Traditional Classroom
Terms such as “listener”, “receiver”, “novice”, “passive learners”, and “reliant on instructor for assessment of learning” (McLoughlin & Oliver, 1999) have been used to describe the roles that students play in the traditional classroom. In this (admittedly “worst case scenario”) view of education, students passively receive the wisdom disseminated by teachers and textbooks. The teacher is the all-powerful, all-knowing authority, in control of the delivery of information. Utilizing a “one-size-fits-all” approach, standardized content is the norm, usually delivered in a lecture format (Wind & Reibstein, 2000). Virtually no consideration is given to the individual needs or preferences of students. The dialogue that takes place, if any at all, is between the instructor and a student; rarely is there dialogue among students. Furthermore, assessment may or may not be aligned with instructional goals and usually has limited meaning for the student.
This “transmission” model of the teaching and learning process occurs in a discrete time and place and dominates educational settings (Lin, et al, 1996). It also explains the phrase “sage on the stage.” This refers to the notion that it is the teacher who is the focus of the educational process. The “sage on the stage” is responsible for all learning and it is up to the students to “absorb” as much as possible from the instructor.
In the 21st century, it can be argued that this approach to education is both inefficient and ineffective. Today’s learners are expected to think for themselves, engage in complex problem solving, and act as generators of knowledge rather than regurgitators of it.
References
Lin, X., Bransford, J., Hmelo, C., Kantor, R., Hickey, D., Schules, T., Oetrisubo, A., Goldman, S. (1996). Instructional design and development of learning communities: An invitation to a dialogue, in Wilson, B. (ed) Constructivist Learning Environments, Case Studies in Instructional Design, Englewood Cliffs: Educational Technology Publications Inc.
McLoughlin, C. & Oliver, R. (1999). Pedagogic roles and dynamics in telematics environments. In Selinger, M., & Pearson, J. (Eds.) Telematics in Education: Trends and Issues (pp.32-50). Oxford: Pergamon.
Sloan Consortium. (2005) Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States. Retrieved May 20, 2006, from http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/growing_by_degrees.pdf.
Wind, J. & Reibstein, D. (2000). “Reinventing Training for the Global Information Age” Knowledge@Wharton, August ‘00. Retrieved May 20, 2006, from
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&id=236.