What do Thanksgiving Learning Have in Common?

They're both social!

Okay, it's official.  Even though I don't quite understand this theory, I believe that social learning theory most accurately describes learning.  Ooooh how I wanted to be a cognitivist -- the focus on the organization of information is soooo attractive.    But when I consider my personal experience in learning in both school and work, social learning concepts describe my learning experience. 

But beyond the fact the world revolves around me,  what I DID understand about this theory makes sense.  Observing what happened in 621 class -- as well as other classes --  as my fellow classmates express their understanding about topics, made me realize that learning is highly personal and is constructed through interaction with others.  The puzzled looks on instructors faces that seem to say "how did they derive THAT from THIS?  And I organized it so well."   My own reactions to others' comments: "Clearly I understood the material differently than they did."  And more importantly, my realization of how in-class synchronous discussions shape my understanding of the things that I study.

This leads me to online classes.  I keep wondering why I dislike online classes.  Social learning could provide a clue.  I find asynchronous discussions via message board frustrating and ultimately useless.   I like being able to ask questions when they arise, and to receive a real-time answers.  And real-time class discussions DO help me construct understanding of material.  Online classes -- the ones I have experienced -- don't effectively address the power of casual social learning experiences.  By casual social learning, I mean class discussion and question and answer sessions.  My online instructors try to engage students in interaction, but some how the combination of asynchronicity and student tendency to procrastinate and to provide the minimal effort required defeat the learning power of interactive engagement.  I feel isolated in online classes.

Group projects -- the ones in which I've participated -- also fall short on their interactive intent. Students tend to divide and conqueror on group projects.  The team "collaborates" to agree on what will be studied, to assign roles and responsibilities, and maybe to review the final product.  There is little time or desire to discuss each person's piece of the project.  One person serves as the final editor, combining the pieces and trying to make the content coherent.  Discussion MAY occur if members take the time to seriously read and critique the drafts, but my experience has been that such discussion rarely occurs unless ONE person insists that the team meet and review the components.  If that "pushy" person does not exist on the project, the discussion doesn't happen.

In Tiffany's distance learning class, I insisted that our team "meet" on the phone several times.  I found a free bridge number.  I scheduled the meetings.  Our group discussed our project.  I insisted that we go section by section to review, change and approve each piece that team members contributed.  And I insisted that we, as a group, on the phone, discuss and approve each piece of the final paper.  If I hadn't been so ME, I doubt that this level of interaction would have occurred.  And I did learn through these phone discussions.  There were pieces of the requirements that were confusing, and listening to my team helped me better understand the project and subject matter.  The fact that we did this via phone was powerful.  I think that trying to do this via instant message would have failed.  In fact, our group messaging experience with Tiffany drove me to find a way to meet virtually by voice.  

I don't know what the answer is to address the low level of social interaction in online classes.   But after three years of eight online classes, I find that social learning theory gives me a glimpse of why the online experience, for me, is unsatisfying.     

And on that, it's time to see an oven about a roast.
Happy T-Day!