Scholarship of Distance Education Progressing

¶ … Scholarship of Distance Education

Progressing from home study and correspondence courses to theories of both one-to-one and one-to-many-based models of distance instruction an analysis of the Theory of Scholarship of Distance Education illustrates how theories of distance education scholarship have significantly changed over the last eighty-two years. The first studies conducted by Noffsinger (1926) of distance education were based purely on correspondence courses that universities at the time piloted to see what long-term learning could be achieved. From an initial reliance on traditional mail delivery services progressing through the use of more interactive technologies including teleconferences and eventually the Internet, theories of scholarship relating to distance education have continually changed reflecting the immediacy of instructor and student communication.

Analysis of Key Points Made

The chronological approach the authors have taken in presenting empirical and theoretical research pertaining to scholarship and self-efficacy of students in distance education programs eventually leads to the current state-of-the-art programs of distance learning theory and scaffolding (Najjar, 2008). In addition, a critical analysis of transaction theory as it relates to the autonomy of students and that attributes' correlation to greater levels of success in distance education programs is assessed. Most interesting in the analysis presented in this article is the didactic conversation approach vs. using scaffolding and individualized instruction strategies that educators have empirically found to be effective in teaching students across broad distances (Najjar, 2008).

The catalyst of significant change in the accumulated research on the theory of scholarship of distance education also illustrates how cause-and-effect-based models originally published in the American Journal of Distance Education published by the American Center for the Study of Distance Education (Scalise, Bernbaum, Timms, Harrell, Burmester, Kennedy, Wilson, 2007) have given way to more transaction-based theories. Transactional distance is seen in these theories as a continuous, not discrete variable, thereby making the analysis of learning effectiveness more dependent on understanding the motivations and values of the students involved.

This article takes a journey from explaining the theories of scholarship of distance education from an external perspective with regard to student and teacher interaction to more of an internalized one specific to students. The progression of the research to concentrating on the triad of distance education, instructor approach and strategies, and the extent of student autonomy all factor into how effective distance learning is. This triad of factors only emerged within the last fifty years of research, which is one of the critical aspects of how much additional empirical research is required to continue defining how individualized instruction in the form of scaffolding (Najjar, 2008) contributes or detracts from distance learning achievement.

The article progresses through an entire series of analyses of how didactically-oriented teaching delivered over distance learning platforms can be effective. This is counter to the points made later in the article regarding distance education theory (Najjar, 2008) and its impact on a more individualized approach to distance instruction. Arguably the impact of higher-speed collaborative technologies of which the Internet is the most pervasive are shifting these theories and making dialogue-based theories, including social networking-based concepts of shared collaboration more relevant and effective. The use of collaborative classrooms online for distance learning is forcing the development of entirely new frameworks regarding the theories of scholarship in distance education.

One notable exception from this article is the work of Dr. Badrul Kahn (2003) and his eight dimensions of distance learning. These dimensions fully integrate the role of technology in enabling less didactic and more scaffolding-based or individualized plans and approaches to distance education (Khan, 2003). The integration of pedagogical strategies on the part of instructors with assessment of the extent of autonomy on the part of students provides a means to interpolate which specific scaffolding strategies will deliver the greatest benefit. Kahn (2003) has also quantified the impact of varying from purely didactical instruction to more participative approaches, further refining the body of research regarding theories of distance education. To have omitted Kahn (2003) is to have not covered the topic of theories of scholarship in distance education as thoroughly as the authors could have.