EL7004+Learner+Relationships


 * ** EL7004-8 ** ||  ||
 * ** The Online Learner ** || ** 1 Learner Relationships ** ||
 * Comprehensive analysis of learner relationships! Please read my comments. I look forward to working with you as well. **
 * ** The Online Learner ** || ** 1 Learner Relationships ** ||
 * Comprehensive analysis of learner relationships! Please read my comments. I look forward to working with you as well. **
 * Comprehensive analysis of learner relationships! Please read my comments. I look forward to working with you as well. **

=Learner Relationships= Humans are mostly social creatures who require frequent contact with others. Modern technology affords multiple means for humans to communicate and connect with each other. By utilizing affordances of technology, students can conveniently take courses anytime, anywhere.* Need for interaction and connection with others varies between students and is a major factor determining how a student will best learn. Learning for some students is a growing and satisfying experience, for others a necessary evil, and for still others a disagreeable chore. Learning requires only one relationship, but generally is constituted of several relationships. The required relationship in learning is between the student and the material to be learned; without the student addressing content, learning cannot take place. This material may be in the form of written materials, the example of others, or experience, but without it there is no learning. Other relationships that have been shown to be efficacious and encouraging of learning are the relationship of the student to his or her instructor, and the student to his or her peers. Finally, if technology is used to convey information or material to the student, the student must have a positive relationship with that technology for learning to occur.

Need to Connect
Maslow (1970) presented a hierarchy of human needs that describes his theory of what motivates human beings. While the hierarchy is too rigid, it does identify that most people require a sense of belonging, of being loved, and of feeling recognized. Knowles (1984) assumed that adult learners are independent, self-directed, and self-motivated,* but “most adult learners require the motivation provided by teachers for effective learning to take place” ( Abela, 2009, p. 12 ). In a distance education environment students are physically separated from each other and the instructor, but the need for connection remains. If social factors are not addressed in an online setting students may feel a sense of isolation ( Wright, Dhamarajan, & Reju, 2009 ), which is a major factor in the high dropout rate of distance education ( Al-Fahad, 2010; Antonis, Daradoumis, Papadakis, & Simos, 2011; Bhuasiri, Xaymoungkhoun, Zo, Rho, & Ciganek, 2011; Hoic-Bozic, 2009; Ismail, Gunasegaran, & Idrus, 2010; Muilenburg & Berge, 2005; Park & Choi, 2009; Pigliapoco & Bogliolo, 2008 ). Student isolation and lack of face-to-face communication are two of the most often cited challenges of e-learning courses ( Watts, 2012a ). In traditional settings, students can attend class and be the passive recipients of the wisdom and knowledge dispensed by the expert at the lectern with little or no interaction with either teacher or other students. In an online class, this passivity can result in a drop in interest and motivation by the student often resulting in dropout.* From a constructivist view, the biggest challenge for the online student is to overcome years of traditional experience and expectation and accept that responsibility for learning rests squarely on the learner ( Watts, 2012a ). Students in e-learning courses are more likely to be successful if they are independent, self-directed, and task-oriented ( Yang & Cornelious, 2005 ). Feelings of isolation by the learner are perceived in many ways. Al-Fahad (2010) reported that students “ feel isolated from the instructor ” ( p. 69 ), while Strang (2009) acknowledged student feelings of “ social isolation ” ( p. 36 ). Muilenburg and Berge (2005) identified a lack of social interactions as one of eight factors the can prevent distance education success. In each of these articles the solutions for feelings of perceived isolation was the building of interaction and relationships in the online class.* “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">No matter how one defines interaction, based on recent research it is clear that when the level of interaction is inadequate or nonexistent, learners often feel isolated and an overall degradation of the learning experience can take place <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( Rhode, 2009, Introduction, para. 2 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">).

Learner Relationships
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Bradley (2009) identified four types of interactions that are required to “promote higher order learning, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, rather than rote memorization” ( p. 21 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). *To get the most positive results from students in distance education, learners must be encouraged to interact with other learners ( Abrami, Bernard, Bures, Borokhovski, & Tamim, 2010; Ali & Ahmad, 2011; Bradley, 2009; Cercone, 2008; Commonwealth of Learning, 2000; Ferguson & DeFelice, 2010; Gunawardena, Linder-VanBerschot, LaPointe, & Rao, 2010; Lee, Redmond, & Dolan, 2008; Levine, 2005; Martinez-Caro, 2011; Omar, Kalulu, & Belmasrour, 2011; Pelz, 2010; Shea, Fredericksen, & Pickett, 2006 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Several studies show that interactivity between learners alone does not provide sufficient motivation and satisfaction to optimize student learning and performance ( Watts, 2012b <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Jackson, Jones, and Rodriguez (2010) found “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">the most important variable in the online classroom is the instructor’s level of interaction with students <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 80 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), and Martinez-Caro (2011) established “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">teacher-student interaction [is] the strongest predictor of learning in e-learning <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 578 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Levine (2005) and Bradley (2009) included two additional relationships that facilitate learning in online classes;* the interaction between student and content, and student and technology.

Learner to Instructor
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">“ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Development of the student-teacher relationship [is] the key to the success of distance education <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( Simonson, Schlosser, & Hanson, 1999, p. 63 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Student-centered learning is the prevailing philosophy of e-learning, which relegates the instructor to the role of mentor, or facilitator ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Blanchard, 2011; Levine, 2005 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), providing the necessary scaffolding to promote learning and self-reliance in the learner ( Cercone, 2008 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Martinez-Caro (2011) found the “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">strongest predictor of learning <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 578 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) is the amount of interaction between teacher and learner. Chyung and Vachon (2005), identified that four of the seven most significant factors contributing to a learner’s satisfaction were directly related to an instructor’s skills or their interaction with the student, while Donovant (2009) identified the lack of face-to-face interactions as the single most significant contributor to learner dissatisfaction with online education ( Watts, 2011 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). It* is in this supportive and nurturing relationship students have shown greater satisfaction with online courses ( Ali & Ahmad, 2011; Jackson et al., 2010; Shea et al., 2006 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), increased motivation in learning ( Al-Fahad, 2010; Omar et al., 2011; Park & Choi, 2009; Pigliapoco & Bogliolo, 2008; Varvel, 2001 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), and greater learning outcomes ( Abrami et al., 2010; Boling, Hough, Krinsky, Saleem, & Stevens, 2011; Jackson et al., 2010; Martinez-Caro, 2011; Pelz, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">).

Learner to Learner
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">In the literature, one major factor that appears in multiple studies is the importance of collaboration between learners in the virtual classroom ( Abrami et al., 2010; Boling et al., 2011; Jackson et al., 2010; Ke & Xie, 2009; Pelz, 2010; Ruey, 2010; Shea et al., 2006 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Students show greater dissatisfaction with online learning as interactivity between learners decreases ( Al-Fahad, 2010; Lam & Bordia, 2008 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Ferguson and DeFelice (2010) found that interactions between learners were significantly more related to learner satisfaction than was the amount of interaction between the learner and the instructor. Gunawardena et al. (2010) found that higher levels of student satisfaction results in more participation and “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">greater learning gains <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 209 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), which is confirmed in Cabrera-Lozoya, Cerdan, Cano, Garcia-Sanchez, & Lujan (2012) who found that “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">collaboration among learners has a significant impact on learning outcome <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 618; see also Allen, Crosky, McAlpine, Hoffman, & Munroe, 2009; Chen & Lien, 2011; Hurtado & Guerrero, 2009 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Levine (2005) posited that the learner-learner relationship “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">forms a powerful foundation for the instruction <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 21 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">).

Learner to Content
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">“ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">A lecture is the best way to get information from the professor’s notebook into the student’s notebook without passing through either brain <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">”* ( Pelz, 2010, p. 103 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Rather than distributing knowledge in a lecture format “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">most online courses can benefit from the addition of e-learning activities that expand or enhance the learners’ understanding of course-related content <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( Watkins, 2005, p. 145 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). The relationship of learner to content is the only required link in learning*, it is generally facilitated and motivated by interaction with the instructor. To enhance learning, the concepts and objectives of the course need to be clearly presented in a lively form so that the learner spends more time-on-task and engaged with the content ( Ali & Ahmad, 2011; Alshare, Freeze, Lane, & Wen, 2011; Lam & Bordia, 2008 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Without a relationship with content there is no purpose to learning.

Learner to Technology
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">For students to successfully learn online they must be able to “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">successfully interact with the mediating technology <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( Bradley, 2009, p. 24 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Courses taught online should not be virtual versions of traditional in-classroom courses. The affordances of electronic delivery provide greater opportunities for learning than the regular classroom can ( So & Bonk, 2010; Watkins, 2005 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). The benefits to the student of learning online are numerous, but a number of studies have shown one bad experience can inhibit students from taking additional online courses ( Martinez-Caro, 2009; Thompson, Jeffries, & Topping, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). For this reason, Levine (2005) identified helping establish a meaningful relationship between learner and technology as “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">an essential activity for the educator, [for in so doing] instructors can then expect viable learning to take place <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 23 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). =Instructor Relationship Encouragement Techniques= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The literature contains many suggestions regarding techniques that can engender learner relationships. Cercone (2008) identified the need for instructors to provide scaffolding for adult students, while facilitating learning that focuses on “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">issues that directly concern them <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 157 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), and is learner-centered. She also suggested collaborative activities that force students to work and interact with other students. Palloff and Pratt (2003) said that the best way of impacting all student learning styles is through collaborative activities. Jackson et al. (2010) discovered that the use of immediacy behaviors increase student satisfaction and learner-instructor relationships; these behaviors include “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">prompt feedback, use of humor or emoticons, referring to the student by name in written communication, discussion prompts, and sharing of personal examples <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 81 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Ke (2010) identified “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">two key traits of the desirable facilitation by an instructor: social presence and fair attention to individual students <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 814 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) that he showed facilitated connectedness and increased motivation of students. To facilitate the learner to learner relationships in the classroom, Levine (2005) stated that the “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">instructor must search out ways to unobtrusively encourage the learners to share their experience, knowledge, and willingness to help each other <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 21 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). He also said that a learner’s relationship with course content can be enhanced only through “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">direct interaction <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( p. 22 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), which if successful will motivate the student to delve deeper based on interest. =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Conclusion = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Students require relationships to effectively learn.* These relationships consist of links between student and material or content, student and instructor, student and student, and for e-learning offerings, between student and the mediating technology. As these relationships grow and deepen, students satisfaction, motivation, and capacity to learn are increased. If these relationships are neglected, students may feel isolated, disconnected, and ultimately alienated. Though the major online philosophy supports a learner-centered environment, it is generally the instructor that is tasked with presenting and encouraging the formation of these relationships. By successfully creating an environment in which these relationships can flourish, an instructor may also facilitate in the learner greater satisfaction, increased motivation, and better learning outcomes.*

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[DrB1] If technology is used well by the instructor, students will come to appreciate its benefits. There are six benefits of technology implementation: Improves work efficiency, affects the way people behave, improves communication, makes life more convenient, saves time, and improves learning ability (see Integrating Technology Into The Classroom Essays and Term Papers at [] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[DrB2] <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Hyphens [Fixed] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[DrB3] eLearning is more focused on the learner and it is more interesting for the learner because it is information that they want to learn. eLearning is flexible and can be customized to meet the individual needs of the learners (see Online Education by Kearsley). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[DrB4] Great observation <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[DrB5] <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Use two spaces between sentences. The 6th ed. of the APA Manual (p. 88) requires two spaces after punctuation marks at the end of a sentence (check for this throughout paper). [Fixed. APA 6th ed., p. 88, para 4.01, exception: "Space twice after punctuation marks at the end of a sentence".] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[DrB6] <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Colon [Fixed] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[DrB7] <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Do not use vague words such as “it” thing” “very” (and so on) in scholarly writing (check for this throughout paper) – see Tips for Academic Writing at [] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[DrB8] <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Minimize the use of direct quotes. Only use when you can’t paraphrase without losing the essence of the author’s intent. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[DrB9] <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Semi-colon [Fixed] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[DrB10] Another great observation <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[DrB11] Here is a resource that might support you in your studies. See [] for Critical Issues: Technology in Education


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