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 establish 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 Staes 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.

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.

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.

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

References

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DR. MICHAEL G. MOORE, LEADER AND PIONEER IN DISTANCE EDUCATION. (2011, December 10).