Distance Education & Effective Learning

A review of literature in the area of cognitive learning theory related to distance education found that, although no single or unified learning theory of distance education exists, four attributes of effective learning process theories are applicable to the distance education concept. These learning process theories are as follows: (1) active learning and knowledge construction; (2) cooperative learning; (3) problem-solving as an approach to learning; and (4) collaborative learning.

Active Learning and Knowledge Construction

Cognitive models of learning stress that learning is an active, constructive, and goal-oriented process (Shuell, 1986). Learners construct meaning from the material studied by processing it through existing mental structures and then retaining it in long-term memory where it remains available for further processing and possible reconstruction (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1991). Within this context, learning is best accomplished by engaging students in constructing knowledge through acquiring, generating, analyzing, manipulating, and structuring information.

Some learning theories emphasize learning's social genesis and suggest the view that it is a social process that occurs more effectively through interpersonal inter

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l technology was not greatly influenced by the interrelationships between educational needs and psychological theory, on the one hand, and the design of instructional messages and media, on the other hand. The most significant theoretical premise embodied in the physical science concept of instructional technology is that which casts materials and machines in nonverbal roles and traditional media (lectures, books) in verbal roles (Brown, Lewis, & Harcleroad, 1995). The implicit assumption contained in this concept is that nonverbal media are more effective. Regardless of its validity or its ability to stand alone, the physical science concept of instructional technology gained a wide acceptance through the first three quarters of the twentieth century (Saettler, 1994). The behavioral sciences are anthropology, sociology, and psychology. When instructional technology is conceptualized in the context of the behavioral sciences, it development and application is considered in terms of learning psychology, group processes, language and linguistics, communications, cybernetics, perception, and psychometrics (Saettler, 1994). The behavioral science concept of instructional technology, however, also incorporates applications of eng
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Approximate Word count = 7773
Approximate Pages = 31 (250 words per page)

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