Stella Porto's List: DE Theory

"Distance education can only be defined in the context of education and its components of teaching and learning. Teaching is a deliberate effort by someone (or something) in the role of a teacher to bring about or facilitate learning in one or more students; depending on the theory to which one subscribes, learning is a change in behavior, in one's mental state, or in the reality one has constructed. Not all teaching results in learning, and not all learning is a result of teaching. In defining education, a distinction must be made between formal learning (facilitated by or accomplished through teaching) and informal learning, which one acquires on one's own through self-directed study or undirected experiential learning. "Education" encompasses all of teaching and the formal learning that is associated with it, but generally does not consider informal learning.

Definitions of the educational process generally assume the existence of a teacher, a learner, and a body of knowledge to be acquired and/or a level of understanding to be achieved by the learner as a result of a deliberate effort. Distance educators such as Keegan (1986, 1988, 1993), Garrison and Shale (Garrison and Shale, 1987, Shale, 1988), Rumble (1989), Carl (1989), and Moore (Moore and Kearsley, 1996) have debated the definition of distance education and whether it extends to self-directed learning, must involve a learning group or an educational institution. Self-acquired or experiential learning are often not considered part of the educational process, either because there is no teacher, because the learning is unplanned, because there is no evaluation, or for any combination. A broader view of education would only require the presence of the three elements of establishment, execution or evaluation. Some institutions have begun providing academic credit for self-acquired and experiential learning. Adult education and continuing education for professionals will not necessaily involve a formal assessment of learning.

The debate between what consti

The 4th EDEN Research Workshop on “Research into Online Distance Education and E-Learning: Making the Difference” was held in Castelldefels/Spain, October 25-26, 2006. A special session with Professors Børje Holmberg, Michael Graham Moore, and Otto Peters on “The Theories and the Theorists: Why Theory is Important for Research” was a memorable programme highlight. An edited transcript of their contributions shall be presented here.
The session was structured. Each of the three outstanding representatives of distance education theory spoke to the following:
– at first the question “What is a theory?” was raised with the wish to not exceed five minutes each;
– then Holmberg, Moore, and Peters provided insight into their respective theory;
– finally each of them was asked to reflect on the implications of their respective theory on research into online distance education and e-learning as well as the development of theories in the field in distance education with an outlook into future developments. Only five minutes were given to each for reflecting on these various issues;

– after all the audience was invited for a discussion, and the panelists for concluding remarks.

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