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The following letter describes the experiences of various distributed education (DE) teachers from Pembina Hills Local 22. It was compiled by Karen Campbell in response to a guest editorial by Clifford Orwin that appeared in the August 28, 2012, edition of the ATA News. Orwin’s article, “Teachers are at the heart of real education,” argued for the primacy of face-to-face classroom instruction.
I remember the day Lane called to tell me he got 98 per cent on his chemistry diploma exam, a mark better than his 94 in biology and 96 in physics. He thanked me for my help and told me that he wanted to be a doctor. I admit to being somewhat disappointed; Lane had sent me a copy of his piano recital, and I thought his true calling was music. Lane is not the only spectacular student I have taught. Vanessa, a gold medallist at the 2010 Winter Olympics, required time to train and this necessitated an alternative educational arrangement, and DE was it.
Not all DE students are above average. Nevertheless, research shows that DE can be an effective way to learn. The 2012 book Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education, by M. Simonson, S. Smaldino, M. Albright and S. Zvacek, cites research from a U.S. Department of Education study that found that “on average, students in online learning conditions performed modestly better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” According to the authors, online students “spent more time, had more access to materials, and collaborated differently than did the traditionally taught comparison students.”
All my colleagues have similar stories. One colleague was managing an online discussion when Tara asked to be moved to a larger group. This was a significant request because Tara has Asperger’s syndrome and selective mutism, and communicating with others is difficult for her. Another student, Clinton, entered into some online discussions, but not in the aggressive manner we had been warned about (he has ADHD and ODD). Instead, Clinton was wonderful in his discussion about traditions with a classmate who was spending her first Thanksgiving without her dad; their exchange was electrifying. We wonder if this conversation would have happened in a face-to-face classroom.
Another colleague was working with a student who was outraged that his paper on the relevance of Marxism had received a poor grade—Stalin failed so how could Marx be relevant? A discussion ensued; both teacher and student learned from the educational exchange.
Though DE teachers may never “see” each and every student in their classes, competent DE teachers connect and engage with their students, and the value of that interaction does not depend on its being face to face.
DE teachers are at the heart of real education too.
* All names in this letter are pseudonyms.
