Collaborative learning: More is not necessarily better

Abstract

What are the effects of distance on collaboration and learner interaction as it relates to women learners in feminist courses? Through personal interviews with nine women from a variety of backgrounds and personal circumstances, I discovered that interaction as an educational issue, strategy, and process is not of primary concern to women distance learners. Significantly less interaction occurred among students and tutors than was anticipated, and the majority of students endorsed the relatively solitary nature of distance study as appropriate and useful for them. Because of the importance of the principle of collaboration to feminist pedagogy, distance educators should clarify, broaden, and adapt their understanding of the concept of learner interaction. We should question our assumptions about the nature, prevalence, and utility of learner interactions, resist applying traditional classroom models to distance contexts, and creatively structure and moderate interactions between learners, tutors, and technology.