In Sarah Schrire’s Interaction and Cognition in Asynchronous Computer Conferencing, she outlines key findings in various conferences from distance learning sessions from the perspective of interaction and cognition. Through the analysis of various cognition models, distinctions were found in instructional tasks and student moderation, which aided in defining the knowledge-building processes that occurred (Marton and Saljo 1976). Such findings examined the levels and depth of learning through asynchronous approaches to learning and teaching, particularly so that the diversity and dispersion of students provided opportunities for debate and dialogue to further develop students’ development of critical thinking and effective communication (McDonald and Gibson 1998). Thus, the knowledge of the learners were constructed by themselves, rather than trasmitted by an instructor. Rather than viewing messages shared on electronic environments as purely discussion based, they may be seen more so as “objects of knowledge” (Campo 1989), and that the interactions between learners in group settings (either online or digitally), supports the notion of inherent restructuring of one’s conceptual model through the utilization of questioning, criticism, and evaluation, as discussed by Brown and Palisnscar (1989). It is thus the interactions between learners within a group setting that most greatly impacts the efficacy of a learning environment, as an instructor acts as a facillitator to provide opportunities of inclusiveness and conversation, and that electronic devices utilized in distance learning serves as a medium to bridge various perspectives together, albeit limitations present themselves both in current studies as well as digital learning environments.
Works Cited
Brown, Ann L., and Annemarie S. Palincsar. “Guided, Cooperative Learning and Individual Knowledge Acquisition.” Knowing, Learning, and Instruction, 2018, pp. 393–451., doi:10.4324/9781315044408-13.
Campos, Milton. “Conditional reasoning: A key to assessing computer-based knowledge-building communication processes.” Journal of Universal Computer Science (1998): 404-428.
Marton, F., and R. Säaljö. “On Qualitative Differences In Learning-Ii Outcome As A Function Of The Learner’s Conception Of The Task.” British Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 46, no. 2, 1976, pp. 115–127., doi:10.1111/j.2044-8279.1976.tb02304.x.
Mcdonald, Jeannette, and Chère Campbell Gibson. “Interpersonal Dynamics and Group Development in Computer Conferencing.” American Journal of Distance Education, vol. 12, no. 1, 1998, pp. 7–25., doi:10.1080/08923649809526980.
Schrire, Sarah. “Interaction and Cognition in Asynchronous Computer Conferencing.” Instructional Science, vol. 32, no. 6, 2004, pp. 475–502., doi:10.1007/s11251-004-2518-7.
This was an interesting topic for you to talk about. Although distance learning and asynchronous meetings might not be suitable for all, the pandemic has forced us to “rewire” our minds on how we learn or educate by training ourselves with the electronic devices we have available.