Position Paper for: Spatial Problem Solving in the Undergraduate and
K-12 Arenas Panel Discussion

North American distance learning guru, Michael Moore, published an editorial on maintaining quality in distance learning in the American Journal of Distance Education in 1997 (V. 11, 1-7). When I came across his commentary, I was browsing nervously through that morning's San Francisco Chronicle and the glossy magazines in the waiting room of the Vice President's office at California State University, Chico --
preparing to tell him that I had just accepted a  faculty position to help build a new Ph.D. program in geographic education in central Texas.

Coincidentally, I also had just finished my first experience teaching an undergraduate class through distance education. This introductory Human Geography course had two quite different groups of students enrolled -- one on-site in Northern California in a dank classroom located at the end of a dark hallway in the basement of the
campus library -- the other in a crisp black and white, high tech, fully mediated classroom in Tokyo, Japan. The following fall semester, I was situated in my new faculty position at Southwest Texas State University, responsible for the development and dissemination of a graduate degree program in geographic education
that centered on the use of a variety of distance learning technologies.  Little did I know that my experience teaching Japanese and California students simultaneously, along with Moore's mantra for maintaining quality in distance education,, would ultimately help shape the development of our Step Up to Geography through Distance Learning project at SWT.

According to Moore, there are four important considerations to keep in mind when creating and maintaining high quality distance learning courses and programs.  These include: (1) remembering that because
technology is most commonly used in everyday life to disseminate basic information, there is a tendency to equate presentation of information with education ("distance learning must become more
personal");  (2) reminding administrators that faculty may not know how to teach a distance education class even thought they are presumed to know how to teach their subject competently in conventional settings ("faculty training is essential");  (3) distance-based efforts cannot be entirely controlled on only one end of the connection ("local facilitators and technical supporters are essential"); and  (4) with the expansion of technology and consequent need for specialization, low quality accompanies the institution that attempts to be all things to all people ("identify your area of excellence and specialization and build on these").

In the same issue of this journal and elsewhere, other scholars and teachers presented data on their assessment of the success of numerous courses and programs now being offered primarily on the
Internet and through videoconferencing in North American colleges and universities (see, for example, Strong and Harmon (1997, 58-70). Nowhere in this journal, however, or elsewhere on the web or in the
literature focusing on the evaluation of distance-based classes, has substantive evidence been provided that establishes the usefulness, or even the credibility, of Moore's list of ideas. The "no significant difference" rule, based strictly on the comparative academic achievement of students enrolled on site compared with
students taking courses at a distance, is, even at the end of the 1990s, almost always cited as the only evidence that distance education is working and working well for students, no matter where they may live or who is teaching their course (Russell, 1997).

Despite this very real lack of evidence on affective learning, and qualitative data evaluating changes in student perception and personal experiences, one thing is certain.  Distance learning is here to stay. With the help of the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education, the development, dissemination, and assessment of SWT's Step Up to Geography project is now in its second year (see Hardwick 1998, 1999). Currently we are testing our materials and methodologies with the help of teacher collaborators in the Rio Grande Valley, located in a remote and underserved region in south Texas, more than seven hours away from the nearest graduate
program in geography. Many of the social studies and geography teachers enrolled in our first Internet/video courses are using their credits to apply for certification in geography.  All are also encouraged to apply to our distance learning-based graduate program in geographic education through one-on-one mentoring via e-mail and videoconferencing. With the help of this core group of teachers and others registering for our classes from many places in the state and nation, we are gathering both quantitative and qualitative assessment data that will provide a deeper understanding of the teaching and learning process.

Our campus has not been alone in searching for new ways to extend support to classroom teachers using distance learning technologies. For many educators and policy makers, online and videoconference-based degree programs appear to offer a solution to providing support for helping secondary teachers become better
prepared to teach the new Advanced Placement course in geography and other new and improved geography classes to students at the middle and high school level; provide new ways to meet the ongoing fiscal problems of many students and campuses; and provide support for teachers and others living in remote rural areas and/or well bounded inner city neighborhoods.  As this effort continues to evolve in the new century, it is incumbent upon us all to continue to assess distance learning experiences and approaches  diligently-- and to re-evaluate our goals and methods often - to ensure the longterm improvement and high quality of teaching and learning geography.
 

References Cited

Hardwick, Susan W. 1999. "Going the Distance: Post-Graduate Reform in Geographic Education," Open Praxis: The International Journal for Open and Distance Learning. V.1: 19-22.

Hardwick, Susan W. 1998. "Integrating the National Geography Standards and Distance-Learning into Post-Graduate Teacher Training," Ubique. V. 18: 1, 6-7.

Moore, Michael. 1997. "Editorial: Quality in Distance Education, Four Cases," The American Journal of Distance Education, V. 11: 1-7.

Russell, Thomas L. 1997. The No Significant Difference Phenomena as Represented in 248 Research Reports, Summaries, and Papers. Raleigh, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

Strong, Robert W. and E. Glynn Harmon. 1997.  "Online Graduate Degrees: A Review of Internet-Based Master's Degrees Offerings," The American Journal of Distance Education. V. 11: 58-70.