CHAPTER 6 - APT. 502

1. The Student and
Distance
JOYCE M. DAVIS

2. Distance Learner Traits for Adult Learners
• Male and Female reasons to enroll includes flexibility, academic achievement,
and shyness.
• Women primary reason for selecting DE is family and children.
• Most adults are self starters.

3. Distance Learner Traits for Adult Learners
• White Collar assess is more easier and more flexible.
• Blue Collar assess is more complicated by work schedule and limited access to
resources.
• Male and Female both identify self discipline and self pacing as an important
characteristic.

4. Factors for Learning at a Distance
• The classroom culture should promote shared learning experiences and team
work.
• The responsibility of creating the classroom culture lies on the instructor as well
as the students.
• The classroom culture should allow time for social interaction.
• Collaboration allows all students to expand their knowledge, skills, and ability
to self-assess their own progress. Collaboration creates a rich learning
experience.

5. Factors for Learning at a Distance
• To engage the learner the instruction should be structured with clear
responsibilities that will allow student the ability to partake in deep discussion.
• It is the instructor responsibility to establish protocol for communication within
DE.
• Instructors should provide clear expectation to individuals new to distance
learning.
• Instructors should utilize technologies in a nonintrusive manner.

6. Elements for Success
• Students must assume responsibility for learning.
• Students of average or high cognitive ability have demonstrated achievement at
similar or higher than those in traditional classrooms.
• Assess prior knowledge and background provide a quality learning experience.
• Instructors needs to understand the characteristics of the members of the class.
This process can be done by asking students directly about their learning style or
surveying the students. This will allow the class to function more as a unit and
engage the students.

7. Communication
• It should be clear to all students how to contact the instructor at any point of
time.
• It is the responsibility of students to make contact with instructor of issues.
• Contact may include: e-mail, phone contact, Blackboard, and or WebCT.

8. Attendance and Class Participation
• Class attendance is imperative.
• Class participation in traditional and distance class always enhances learning for
students.
• Instructional strategies that encourage all students to provide answers can
increase class participation.
• In asynchronous setting online discussion are valuable only when all member
participate.

9. Students Role in Distance Education
• According to research findings on the roles of the students’ in distance education
are;
• Being self-responsible on task
• Consulting to advisors through required access methods
• Being in individualistic learning.
• Getting rid of prejudice of communicational barriers mood

10. Student Role in Distance Education Based on
Constructivist Approach
• Students should be problem solver. They should implement what they learn on
problems and set solutions strategies with using relevance information.
• Students should be well informed from the technology to not face with
communicational barriers because of technology. In addition to this; they should
use technology to construct the learning with rich materials.
• Students should be learners through the life. The students should know how to
access and use the information whatever the instruction was finished. They
should reach the information immediately if it is necessary.

11. Student Role in Distance Education Based on
Constructivist Approach
• Students should be in interaction between teacher in order to get proper
feedback on their self-directed subjects and consult to teacher for correctness and
evaluation. Students can be in collaborative learning with their class members
through the technological support.
• Students are self-responsible on their learning. They should decide what they
want to learn and make individual study on their subject.
• Students should come to the solutions for problems with data through the
research instead of implementing available data. Therefore they should be
researcher.