Home > Design > Interaction >Types of Interaction

Learner-instructor -- Involves presentation of information to students and the students' responses to the information. Examples: Lectures, question and answer, brainstorming activities, case studies, celebrity guests, and interviews.

Learner-learner -- Occurs when the instructor provides opportunities for students to work together in small or large groups. Examples: Cooperative learning projects, debates, role-playing, and panel discussions.

Learner-content -- Occurs when students reflect on and interact with the ideas and concepts presented in the content. Examples: Individual projects, homework assignments, interviews and surveys, and computer-assisted instruction.

Find out how an instructor used discussion in his videoconference class to encourage learner-instructor and learner-learner interaction.  Hear Dr. Marshall Breeze explaing how he leads discussion in a videoconferencing course, then see a discussion in action    Watch Video  (57 sec.) In this example, Breeze says he tries to get students to answer their own questions which makes the class more interesting and deepens their understanding of the information. Watch Video of classroom interaction (3 min.)

Develop strategies for student reinforcement and feedback. In a videoconference class, use several minutes at the beginning of class to review material from the previous week, and use electronic mail as a reinforcement tool. For a Web-based or WebCT course, you may include materials that reinforce content you've gone over.

For a web-based course, Dr. Elaine Turner suggests that during the course development stage you plan how you will interact with your students.      Watch Video (39 sec.)