Interdisciplinary (99) Distance learning is exploding in popularity. But is such learning "as good as" traditional learning? How, exactly, is it different than traditional learning? And is it possible that intensely interactive courses (via, e.g., such pedagogical techniques as the Socratic method and hands-on robotics) can be successfully rendered in the distance mode? There are still no answers to this important question. One reason is that much research on this subject has been flawed in certain specific ways -- ways recently summarized in "What's the Difference? A Review of Contemporary Research on the Effectiveness of Distance Learning in Higher Education (Institute for Higher Education Policy for the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, 1999). This project is testing the feasibility of a solution that comes in (at least) two parts: (1) The first part is to harness a quartet of advanced information technologies -- "2D" virtual reality, avatars, artificial agents, and high-bandwidth networks -- to turn the tables on the problem by enabling what we call "super-teaching," which allows distance education to have the tried-and-true distinguishing features of quality classroom education. The "human factor" is absent in today's distance education (or at least severely minimized). Super-teaching is devoted to giving distance learning the same intimate feel as traditional face-to-face instruction. (2) Carry out three experiments, one for each of three courses (1. Introduction to Logic; 2 Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence; 3 Introduction to Cognitive Robotics). Each experiment is a controlled one covering a substantial part of each course. (Subjects are being assigned on the basis of aptitude and skill in the relevant domains, and the PIs are examining both performance on post-tests and satisfaction (as expressed in surveys).) While these three courses share an intellectual foundation (logic and computation), they are nonetheless fundamentally different in promising ways. The first course is a large-enrollment course that does not put a premium on face-to-face interaction between student and instructor; and the course seeks to cultivate a very specific skill: proof construction. The second course, Philosophy of AI, is a traditional philosophy course centered around the Socratic method; this course is perhaps as interactive as a course can get. The emphasis in this course is on cogent argumentation in clear English. The third course is also interactive, but in a different way: students and instructor work together around physical objects (sensors, effectors, logic controllers, etc.). The objective is to determine whether or not first-rate distance learning can take place for courses as intensely interactive as the second and third. We hypothesize that our results will show super-teaching to be nearly as effective as intensely interactive face-to-face instruction on our campus. The final part of the solution would involve generalizing and sharing super-teaching with others in the United States, but a plan for doing so would be part of a full scale development effort that lies in the future.
