Assignment 3 OMDE 601

P Kruger OMDE 601 Section 9040 9 April 2014 The Influence of Transactional Distance on Current Distance Education Practice

Moores theory of transactional distance (TD) was first conceived in 1973 (Moore, 2013). In the following 40 years there has been quite a bit of research, both on the theoretical framework as well as on the practical application (Moore & Kearsley, 2012). When looking at the theory it is imperative to remember that Moore intended it to be descriptive rather than prescriptive (Bernath & Vidal, 2007). The theory is limited as it only covers teaching and learning and not institutional systems utilized in distance education (DE) (Bernath & Vidal, 2007). To track the influence that TD has on current distance education practice, some of the recent research done with, and on, the theory will be investigated.

Transactional Distance Theory TD is a theory in DE that uses the dimensions of dialogue, structure and autonomy to determine the transactional distance between student and instructor. TD is not fixed but varies with any change to any one of the dimensions (Moore, 2013). The theory does not prescribe what the TD should be for any course but allows the developer a way of analysing a course to determine the TD of that specific course. One key mistake developers make is to see the theory as prescriptive and then fail to use it as it was intended by its originator (Bernath & Vidal, 2007). Another mistake that is made is that researchers think that the theory promotes autonomy

Assignment 3 OMDE 601

(Bernath & Vidal, 2007). Moore acknowledges that while autonomy is one of his personal objectives, it is not the goal of the theory (Bernath & Vidal, 2007). The theory is used to indicate the amount of autonomy that a student has in a specific course. Dialogue is an interpersonal interaction and the only requirement is that it must be constructive (Moore, 2013). This does not eliminate any form of communication that a student undertakes but does require that the communication be of value to the student in his development (Moore, 2013). Structure refers to the structure of a course and not to any of the organizational structures in an institution. The developer of a course decides how much or how little structure to use in the design of the course(Moore, 2013). It is interesting to note here that once the course has been developed, it can be fatal to change the structure of the course (Dron, 2002, as cited in Moore & Kearsley, 2012). Autonomy of the student is the third dimension of the theory. This refers to the self-management of the student (Moore, 2013). There are several levels of autonomy and it is up to the developer to choose the level needed for a specific course (Moore & Kearsley, 2012).

Research in Transactional Distance In the last 10 years there have been numerous scholarly publications that have either used or analysed TD. The workshop Research into online distance education and e-learning: Making the difference (Bernath & Vidal, 2007) lists some researchers doing research in TD, e.g. Dron, Saba, Zhang and Anderson (Bernath & Vidal, 2007). The book Distance education: A systems view of online learning (Moore & Kearsley, 2012) lists some of the research done in TD, e.g. facilitating dialogue

Assignment 3 OMDE 601

(Rovai, 2002), TD in the classroom (Edstrom, 2002) and Lowell (2004) found that significant predictors for perceived distance are dialogue, social presence and fluency (Moore & Kearsley, 2012). Benson and Samarawickrema (2009) addressed the context of e-learning using TD theory to inform design. Falloon (2011) determined the relevance of TD in a virtual classroom. Horzum (2011) developed a TD scale and examined TD perception of blended learning students. Goel, Zhang and Templeton (2012) Reexamines the core tenets of TD and test them. Another source that shows the influence of TD today is the Handbook of distance education (Moore, Ed., 2013) in which more than half the chapters report on research done in TD.

Discussion Research demonstrates that TD still influences the way courses are designed today. Although some of the research ignores the fact that TD is only for teaching and learning and not prescriptive, the research still shows that the theory can and should be used when designing courses for DE. What is lacking in the current research is the further development of the theory. This is the case in all of DE where theoretical research is being left in the wings. As Moore said in the workshop on elearning, that is one of the aspects that he hopes changes in the future (Bernath & Vidal, 2007). The following section will look at some of the criticism of TD and also at the expansion of the theory. Some of the prevailing criticisms of TD research are that most of the research, which is empirical, has limited validity and that there is not enough research into the theory itself (Bernath & Vidal, 2007).

Assignment 3 OMDE 601

Theory Building and Criticism In a criticism of the research into TD, Gorsky and Caspi (2005) investigated the current status of TD in relation to empirical findings. The authors asked three questions to determine the validity of the research(Gorsky & Caspi, 2005): How was it defined operationally? How was it measured? To what extent were measurements deemed valid and reliable?

The authors found that the empirical research did not validate or support TD. In the article Rethinking distance learning activities: A comparison of transactional distance theory and activity theory (Kang & Gyorke, 2008), the authors identified, interpreted and compared variables between TD and activity theory. They found that some terms used by both theories have different meanings in those theories. Another conclusion that the authors reached was that TD lacks a social component. In his article, Gokool-Ramdoo (2008) postulates that TD should be accepted as a global theory for the further development of DE. He argues that TD can be used all along the supply chain (Gokool-Ramdoo, 2008) of a DE enterprise (GokoolRamdoo, 2008). He also states that TD is a useful instrument that should inform institutional and national development (Gokool-Ramdoo, 2008). Goel, Zhang and Templeton (2012) revisit TD improve the validity of empirical DE research. The authors discuss e-learning and how the use of TD can influence the development of e-learning courses: what the structure should be, which type of students will be targeted, how to improve students and their use of the internet to promote dialogue and looking at alternatives to e-learning for students who lack the

Assignment 3 OMDE 601

infrastructure (or for other reasons) to make use of e-learning courses (Goel, Zhang & Templeton, 2012). Discussion As the previous section and the following section of this essay shows there is still a large amount of interest in the theory of TD and how it influences the practise of DE today. This is likely to continue as new technologies become available to DE developers. From personal experience I can see that I have used various parts of TD theory while changing the courses that I teach from correspondence education to e-learning courses. Although I did not know of the theory at the time, both dialogue and structure featured in my thinking of the development needed for the courses. This shows me that TD is something that is logical to any educator and that it influences course design and development even if the designer has never heard of the theory. Another aspect that shows the influence of TD is that the community of inquiry framework, which is a more contemporary theory for DE, can be seen to have several overlaps with TD. Some of the overlaps are dialogue and cognitive presence, and teaching presence and structure (Shearer, 2013).

Conclusion As can be seen from all the research done on TD, both positive and negative, the theory is still considered very relevant in todays DE practice. Most theorists have adopted TD either consciously or unconsciously (Gokool-Ramdoo, 2008). Another indication of TDs influence today is the amount of research done where TD is used to analyse courses for further development and improvement.

Assignment 3 OMDE 601

From all the readings that I have read, I can conclude that the theory of TD is prevalent in the development of DE courses and still influences the way we think when developing courses for DE. Further research needs to be done to discover how exactly TD influences the theories of today and what the result of that influence will be.

Assignment 3 OMDE 601

References Bernath, B., & Vidal, M. (2007). The theories and the theorists: Why theory is important for research. Distance et saviors, 5(3), 427-458. Retrieved from http://www.box.com/s/fsgilnj1zxsnlbjqzi0b Benson, R., & Samarawickrema, G. (2009). Addressing the context of e-learning: Using transactional distance theory to inform design. Distance Education, 30(1), 5-21. doi: 10.1080/01587910902845972 Falloon, G. (2011). Making the connection: Moores theory of transactional distance and its relevance to the use of a virtual classroom in postgraduate online teacher education. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 43(3), 187-209. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/858614033?accountid=14648 Goel, L., Zhang, P. Y., Templeton, M. (2012). Transactional distance revisited: Bridging face and empirical validity. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(4), 1122-1129. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2012.01.020 Gokool-Ramdoo, S. (2008). Beyond the theoretical impasse: Extending the applications of transactional distance theory. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 9(3), 1-17. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl Gorsky, P., & Caspi, A. (2005). A critical analysis of transactional distance theory. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 6(1), 1-11. Retrieved from http://www.infoagepub.com/index.php?id=89&i=11 Horzum, M. B., (2011). Developing transactional distance scale and examining transactional distance perception of blended learning students in terms of different variables. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 11(3), 1582-

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1587. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ936610 Kang, H., & Gyorke, A. S. (2008). Rethinking distance learning activities: a comparison of transactional distance theory and activity theory. Open Learning, 23(3), 203-214. doi: 10.1080/02680510802420050 Moore, G.M. (2013). The theory of transactional distance. In M. G. Moore (Ed.), Handbook of distance education (3rd ed. pp. 66-85). New York, NY: Routledge. Moore, M. G. (Ed.). (2013). Handbook of distance education (3rd ed. pp. 66-85). New York, NY: Routledge. Moore, M.G. & Kearsley, G. (2012). Distance education: A systems view of online learning (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Shearer, R. L. (2013). Theory and practice in instructional design. In M. G. Moore (Ed.), Handbook of distance education (3rd ed. pp. 251-267). New York, NY: Routledge.