Gerald R. Getalado Assignment 1

Master in Distance Education

U.P. Open University

BRIDGING TRANSACTIONAL DISTANCE

I thought that learning in a distance education (DE) institution is easier compared to a regular

classroom/face-to-face stup. It is because everything seems to be very convenient on the

surface - online quizzes, discussion forums, and assignments - these are all done in my room

without the need to go out of the house or let go of my other commitments. However, as

weeks pass, I came to feel the real weight of the quizzes, forums, and assignments, as the

readings become lengthier and the questions demanding greater reading comprehension.

Little by little I feel that I get less motivated to study. That is when I thought of how

motivation becomes a factor in distance education.

In one of the discussion forums we had in EDDE 201, I asked one of my classmates about

how teachers in a DE setup measure or gauge students' motivations, the premise being the

teachersncannot observe their students physically. I did not expect our faculty-in-charge

(FIC) to respond, but she put my mind back to where it should be. Her answer? Motivation is

one of the factors that affect performance.

With this, I would like to touch on the topic or issue of student/learner motivation in distance

education, because this is an issue that I personally face right now. In particular, I feel less

motivated because: 1) I feel very much separated from my teacher and even my classmates,

and 2) I am left to do things on my own, and most of the time I procastinate, and then

eventually cram.

TRANSACTIONAL DISTANCE AND INTERACTION

The idea of separation in distance education is explained through transactional distance.

Moore (1997) defined transactional distnce as the psychological and communications space

that teachers and learners need to cross. This definition implies that because of physical

separation, special patterns of teacher and learner behaviors develop, and so there might be a

possibility of misunderstanding between teachers and learners. In my case, I was

overwhelmed by the idea of studying in a virtual environment, and that everything, from

quizzes to assignments, seem to be very easy. I began to develop the habit of doing the

prescribed activities during the deadline set, because I think I can easily do it right in front of

my computer.

In addition to this, since I feel that I am not "really" studying as everything is in the virtual

world (I am used in a traditional classroom setup), the distance between me and my teachers

and co-learners became very evident for me. However, that feeling changed when we began

exchanging ideas with each other, together with our FIC. This is where interaction comes in

to bridge the gap that is transactional distance. Moore (1989) discussed three types of

interaction, namely: learner-content, learner-instructor, and learner-learner.

In a learner-content type of interaction, Holmberg (in Moore, 1989) described this as learners

talking "to themselves" about any information they encounter within a text or elsewhere, and

analyze it. The learner-instructor type is described as interaction between the learner and the

expert or teacher, wherein the latter influences the former through frequent communication.

Lastly, in a learner-learner interaction, learners interact with each other about the lessons

discussed and share their insights.

In a virtual environment where, like me, one may feel that learning is not "real", interaction

among co-learners and with the teacher can make it "more real." This is because connecting

and conversing with each other makes the learning in a DE environment more personal, as if

learners and together with their teachers are in a regular classroom setup. Holmberg (2007)

recommends that interaction must be in a form of dialogue that is conversational.

Furthermore, Holmberg stated that feelings of a personal relation between the learners and

teachers can promote study, pleasure, and motivation. This reflected in my experience in

interacting with my classmates. I feel that there is something that I look forward every week,

like checking myportal to see if a classmate has already replied to my ideas, or if they replied

to my questions. The kind of interaction in our classes arer engaging enough to keep me

posted. As Anderson pointed out, increasing the level of dialogue will decrease transactional

distance. (Anderson, 2007).

INDEPENDENT LEARNING

Since college, I feel lazy when I am left alone to study, i.e. there are no teachers checking me,

as compared to a classroom setup where I engage with my classmates and teachers. I suppose

that is also the reason why I feel less motivated in studying in DE mode because most of the

time, it is just me and my computer and tablet. I can say that I am still adjusting to the DE

environment because I am not yet used to being independent and studying at my own pace, or

I have not yet reached the level of adult learning, of which two factors are iinvolved: personal

autonomy and freedom of choice.

Anderson, quoting Boyd, said that adult learners no longer need to be told, nor require the

approval and reward from persons in authority. In my case, as I have mentioned already, I

feel the need to be checked in order to perform well in my studies. However, since I chose

distance education as the mode for learning, I have to "learn how to learn", as Thelen

describes what an autonomous learner (Anderson, 2007).

Learning in a distance is not easy, as I have previously thought. One may feel the

psychological and communications space transactional distance is all about, or may feel lax

just like me. If I were to advise future DE learners, I would like to tell them to constantly

interact with their co-learners and teachers, and be more independent in studying. Based from

what I have learned, independent learning is knowing how you perform and developing

habits that will help you achieve your learning goals. It may include being faithful to the

schedule set by the teachers and alloting time to study, among others. In the end, I can say

that learning in a distance education setup is "learning to learn alone, with others."

References:

Moore, M. (1997). Theory of transactional distance. In Keegan, D. (ed.). Theoretical

Principles of Distance Education. Routledge, pp. 22-38.

Moore, M. (1989). Three types of interaction. The American Journal of Distance Education 3

(2) : 1-7.

Holmberg, B. (2007). A theory of teaching-learning conversations. In Moore, MG. (Ed.).

(2007a). Handbook of Distance Education. New Jersey and London: Lawrence Erbaum

Associates, Publishers. pp. 69-75.

Anderson, W. (2007). Independent learning. In Moore, MG. (Ed.). (2007a). Handbook of

Distance Education. New Jersey and London: Lawrence Erbaum Associates, Publishers.

pp. 109-122.