An examination of factors impacting use and valuing of learner-learner interaction in distance education

A survey of 98 upper-division and graduate students explored relationships between their perceptions of four factors, (1) the culture of the discipline in which the course was offered; (2) the degree to which the knowledge domain on which the course focused was ill-structured; (3) the perceived value of others' experience in understanding course content; and (4) whether or not the course teacher required participation in learner-learner interaction activities, and their perceptions of the value of learner-learner interaction to (A) learning and (B) the experience of participating in distance courses.; Perceived value of learner-learner interaction to learning was strongly related to its perceived value to the experience of participating in a distance course. Both were strongly linked to the perception that other learners had experience of value in understanding course content. Participants in applied disciplines or courses focusing on ill-structured knowledge domains placed higher values on learner-learner interaction.