THEORIST PAPER

A Research Paper

Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Science in Instructional Design and Technology

of

The University of the West Indies

Yolande Samuels

2015

Faculty of Education

Open Campus (Bahamas)

Dr. Michael G. Moore with the medal at the award of Honorary Doctorate at University

of Guadalajara

"The potential for change in learning, in teaching, and in the structure of educational

organizations is enormous. If we only think of using new technology for teaching the

same old subjects to the same kinds of learners with the same methods within the same

kinds of institutional structures, we completely miss the potential of the technology . . ." -

Dr. Michael G. Moore.

Dr. Michael Grahame Moore is known throughout the field of Distance Education as a

pioneer as, he has made significant strides in the development of this arena. Dr. Moore

was born in England on February 28, 1938. He attended school up to the

undergraduate level in the United Kingdom. He and his wife enjoy spending summers in

Devon. Rugby and cricket are two sports that captivate his attention in his spare time.

He savors the taste of Cornish pastries and trips to National Trust properties serve as a

fascinating adventure.

During an interview with Steve Wheeler at the 2013 Annual EDEN Conference for

distance education Dr. Moore stated that at the age of sixty five he decided to try

something fresh, so he bought himself a piano. He then went in search of a teacher; he

found an expert in the field and got the lesson of a lifetime. His teacher was wonderful

at what he did but Dr. Moore lacked the natural ability which meant he needed to

practice more but fell short in in this venture. He was placed in the role of a learner who

had to face the challenge of learning something that did not come naturally to him. This

experience sharpened his empathy skills, as he now had a better understand of what

students who he was actively engaged with may have felt when they came to his office.

It gave him a fresh view of his role as an educator in dealing with his students.

Dr. Michael G. Moore was educated in the United Kingdom up to the undergraduate

level. He attained a Bachelors of Science in Economics from the London School of

Economics and then went on to earn a Post Graduate Certificate in Education between

1959 -1960. Dr. Moore relocated to the United Stated in 1969, where he earned both his

Graduate and Post Graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Subsequently, in 2010 Dr. Moore was awarded with an Honorary Doctorate by the

University of Guadalajara in Mexico.

Dr. Michael Moore has led a distinguished multi-continental career which has

contributed to establishing him as an expert in the field of Distance Education.

Upon graduating in 1959, he remained in England and taught high school history and

geography, and some adult education courses for three years according to the

American Journal of Distance Education. The year 1963 brought about change for Dr.

Moore as he was offered a job in Africa as an Education Officer which he gladly

accepted. Saba, 2014 states that during his seven years in Africa Moore worked at the

University of East Africa in the department of Adult Education. While in Africa

Unsatisfied with the formal structure of academics during the early 1960’s, and his

passion for economic and social development, Moore began looking “for ways of

becoming more involved with the learning needs of ordinary people in such areas as

health, farming methods, setting up credit unions, and so on” (Shin, 2000, p. 214). He

realized that the main method of communication was via battery operated radios.

WikiEdProfessional states that the observation of this common technology and his

desire to assist with the education and betterment of people, led Moore to exploring

ways to bring knowledge via radio to the people in the villages. Moore started studying

the work of Charles Wedemeyer a Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In 1969 Moore began his Graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

where he also worked as a Research Assistant for Charles Wedemmeyer. During this

studies Moore became fascinated with Distance education and published his first theory

on Distance Education. St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada hired

Moore as an assistant Professor for three years. He returned to the UK in 1977 where

he worked in academic and managerial roles at the Open Campus University for eight

years. Throughout his time at the Open University, Moore would visit the University of

Wisconsin and one summer he persuaded Jerry Apps, Chair of the Department of Adult

Education at the time, to sponsor a distance education conference (Shin, 2000). Apps

agreed and in August 1985, the first distance education conference was held (Shin,

2000; Moore, 2009). Moore gave the keynote address at the conference and

pronounced, “In the US, we needed an annual conference on distance education, a

national journal, a research agenda, and a series of graduate courses” (Shin, 2000, p.

216). That summer day in Wisconsin in 1985 in a room that could accommodate 100

people, but was packed with 150 plus, gave distance education a new lease on life, and

the field accelerated from then on (Moore, 2009).

In 1985 Moore relocated back to the United States where he was employed by the

Pennsylvania State University as a Professor of Education in the Department of

Learning and Performance Systems. In 1986 He established the American Center for

Study of Distance Education. This led to the establishment of The American Journal of

Distance Education in 1987 and consequently the organization of the first American

research symposium on distance education in 1988.

Dr. Moore was appointed as the Vice President of the International Council for Distance

Education between the years 1988 to 1992. The first online network in distance

education was created in 1990 and was dubbed the Distance Education Online

Symposium; the first distance education graduate courses were also established in this

year. Moore had the distinguished opportunity of working with the World Bank as a

Consultant. In 2002 Dr. Moore was inducted into the United States Learning Association

Hall of Fame. The University of Cambridge in 2008 invited Moore in the capacity of a

Visiting Research Fellow he also worked with the Open University as a visiting

Professor.

Dr. Michael Moore conceptualized the theory of Transactional Distance Theory.

Distance education was previously defined based on teacher and student geographical

proximity before the birth of his theory. However, Moore theorized that Transactional

Distance Theory has more bearing on pedagogy than geography. According to

Martindale (2002), "'transactional distance' requires a learner, teacher, and a

communication channel" (p.4). According to Rumble (1986), even in face-to-face

teaching there is some element of transactional distance.

Falloon (2011) explains Moore’s Theory as follows:- Michael G. Moore, in his Theory of

Transactional Distance, posits that in distance learning scenarios, separation between

the teacher and students can “lead to communication gaps, a psychological space of

potential misunderstandings between the behaviors of instructors and those of the

learners” (Moore & Kearsley, 1996, p. 200). Giossos, Koutsouba, and Lionarakis (2009)

further refine this notion in their review of the contemporary relevance of Moore’s

theory. They stated that: … the particularities of space and time pertaining to teacher

and learner which characterise distance learning, create particular behavioural models

for the teacher and the learner, psychological and communication distance between

them, and insufficient understanding of each other. (Giossos, et al., 2009, p. 2)

According to Moore (1997), the nature of the transaction developed between teachers

and students in distance learning needs to take into account three factors: dialogue,

structure, and learner autonomy. Dialogue refers to more than simply two-way

communication, but takes into account all forms of interaction, “within the context of

clearly defined educational targets, cooperation and understanding on the part of the

teacher, and, ultimately, it culminates in solving the learners’ problems” (Giossos et al.,

2009, p. 2).

Moore (1997) indicates the important consideration in this respect relates not to the

frequency of dialogue, but to its quality and the extent to which it is effective in enabling

the resolution of learning problems the distance learner may be experiencing. The

second factor Moore (1997) refers to is the nature of the course structure, which is

described as the level of the course’s rigidity or flexibility. This factor includes aspects

such as the extent to which course goals and objectives are pre-prescribed, the

pedagogical model used in teaching the course (e.g., teacher- vs. student-centred), the

nature of course assessment, and the ability of the course to accommodate individual

student needs (Zhang, 2003). The third factor, learner autonomy, is contingent upon the

previous two, in that it refers to the sense of both independence and interdependence

perceived by learners as they engage in the course. Learner autonomy is intimately tied

in with a learner’s sense of self-direction or self-determination, and this can be

significantly affected by the dialogue, the level of rigidity or flexibility inherent in the

course design and delivery, and the “extent to which the learner exerts control over

learning procedures” (Giossos et al., 2009, p. 2). Moore’s theory asserts that an inverse

relationship exists between these three factors, in that increases in one can lead to

corresponding decreases in others (McIsaac & Gunawardena, 1996). For example, a

course with an inflexible structure can lead to a decrease in the quality of dialogue and

sense of learner autonomy, thereby increasing the students’ perception of transactional

distance. However, Moore (1997) also notes that when course structure drops below a

particular threshold (although he does not specify what this is), the sense of

transactional distance can actually increase, due principally to the potential for learner

confusion or dissatisfaction.

Dr. Moore is quite an accomplished author as he has written and co-written several

books , he is also the editor for several journals. Here are a few of his publications as

indicated on his resume:-

2005 Moore, M.G. & G. Kearsley. Distance Education: a Systems View. Second Edition.

Belmont, Ca. Wadsworth Publishing Company

2005 Foreword in: Bonk,C. and C. Graham. Handbook of Blended Learning

Environments: Global Perspectives, Local Designs. San Francisco Ca, Pfeiffer

Publishing.

2005 Michael G. Moore, Kay Shattuck and Aisha Al-Harthi. “Cultures meeting cultures

in online distance education”. Journal of e-Learning and Knowledge Society. Milan, The

Italian e-Learning Association Journal, Issue 1 - No. 2 - September

2005 La educacion a distancia en los Estados Unidos: estado de la cuestion. In: Master

International en e-Learning:aplicacion de las TIC en educacion y la formacion.

Barcelona. Universidad Oberta Catalania

2006: Using New Technologies in Open and Distance Learning. (2006, Dec.) Open

Education Research. Vol.12 No.6 pp 16-20

2006 Professional development, graduate study and research. In Tulloch, M., S. Relf

and P. Uys (Ed.), Breaking Down Boundaries: International Experience in Open,

Distance and Flexible Learning. (46-56). Bathurst, NSW, Australia: Open and Distance

Learning Association.

2007 Moore, M.G. (Ed). The Handbook of Distance Education. Second Edition.

Mahwah, N.J. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

2007: The Theory of Transactional Distance. In M.G.Moore (Ed.) (2007) The Handbook

of Distance Education. Second Edition. Mahwah, N.J. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Pp. 89-108

2007: Critical Minds for a Change. In Burge, E.J. (Ed.) (2007) Flexible higher education:

Reflections from Expert Experiences. pp 120-126. Open University Press/McGraw Hill

Education.

2007: Foreword to: Dron, J. Control and Constraint in E-Learning: Choosing When to

Choose. Hershey, Pa. Information Science Publishing

2007 “The Theories and the Theorists: Why Theory is Important for Research”

Distances et Savoirs Vol 5/3 pp.427-457

2009 The Bottles are New but what of the Wine? Managing Learning and Teaching in

Web 2.0. In Bernath, U., Szűcs, A., Tait, A, and M. Vidal: Distance and E-learning in

Transition – Learning Innovation, Technology and Social Challenges. Published by

ISTE and Wiley.

2010 The Time Factor in e-Learning. In B.Gros, E Barbera & P. Kirshner (2010). Time

factor in e-learning. eLC Research Paper Series, 0,1-32. Barcelona, eLearn Center,

UOC

2012 Moore, M.G., & G. Kearsley. Distance Education: A Systems View, 3rd Edition.

Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth.

2012 Moore, M.G. (Edit). The Handbook of Distance Education. Third Edition. New

York. Routledge.

Upon getting this research assignment I set out in search of a theorist and came across

a profile of Dr. Michael Grahame Moore piqued my curiosity. The thought of putting

together this research was quite daunting as I was being bombarded with work from all

directions. After gathering my thoughts and gathering information for various resources I

felt a bit more confident about putting together this paper. I think my greatest hold back

was trying to ensure that I correctly cited from the sources I found. I realize that this is

definitely a skill that I will have to perfect.

I found the information about Dr. Moore quite insightful as he has helped to influence

my current method of study. There have been numerous researches that have been

conducted in the field of distance education based on Dr. Moore’s initial findings. I

reflected on the transactional distance of my current courses and its effect on my

learning process. I also reflected on the transactional distance within my classroom with

my students and how this can be improved. As a future Instructional designer I see

where I will be able to apply Dr. Moore’s theory.

References

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DR. MICHAEL G. MOORE, LEADER AND PIONEER IN DISTANCE EDUCATION. (2011, December 10). 2012 Continuing education and distance education: a marriage of convenience The University of the Fraser Valley Research Review volume 4 : issue 3 (Winter, 2012/2013) 1-15

Barbour, M. K. & Reeves, T. C. (2006). Michael Grahame Moore – A significant contributor to the field of educational technology. Educational Technology 46(6), 58-59.

Barbour, M. K. & Unger, K. (2009). Challenging teachers’ preconceptions, misconceptions, and concerns of virtual schooling. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (785-790). Norfolk, VA: AACE.

Falloon, G. (2011). Making the Connection: Moore’s Theory of Transactional Distance and Its Relevance to the Use of a Virtual Classroom in Postgraduate Online Teacher Education. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 43(3), 189-190.

Finn, J. D. (1957). Automation and education: II. Automatizing the classroom – Background of the effort. AV Communication Review 5(2), 451-467.

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