Students Learning Online Need Social Interaction

Students Learning Online Need Social Interaction

If we eliminate the social factor from the child, we are only left with an abstraction.

                                                                 -John Dewey, My Pedagogic Creed 1897

Human beings have always had a need for social interaction.  One of the foundational prerequisites of human growth and survival  is safety, and one of the primary evolutionary conditions for safety has been strong social connections and community.  Throughout our history, we have always been safer in groups.  Whether it be from physical threats such as our ancestors faced from wild animals and the environment, or modern threats against personal well-being and economic stability, our species has always been more successful when we are part of a group, tribe, team, family or community.

In fact, collaboration and social interaction goes beyond helping immediate or pressing dangers, but plays a major role in response to perceived threats or dangers.  It is a near universal desire to "talk" to someone after a disruptive or traumatic event.  It is social interaction that helps facilitate the return to homeostatic functioning, or biological balance and stability.

When faced with a threat, the autonomic nervous system leans heavily on the sympathetic nervous system creating a physical stress response (fight, flight, or freeze).  Regular body functions such as breathing, heart rate and regulation of hormones are kicked into overdrive and the primary goal becomes to survive.  The parasympathetic nervous system, which helps regulate normal bodily functions (feed and breed), is more or less put on hold until the danger is assessed and the situation or circumstance is deemed "safe."  Individuals under duress, whether it is large or small, experience varying degrees of neurological response which can impede memory and negatively impact motivation and cognitive function.

Not only do human beings need social structures to manage crisis or instability, we also need social interaction and collaboration to help us return to a state of normalcy and safety.  Without social interaction, human beings cannot function at optimal levels physically, mentally, or emotionally. Prison inmates, when left in solitary confinement, experienced decreases in the size of their hippocampus, an area of the brain that aids in learning, memory and spatial awareness; and an increase in the size of the amygdala, which regulates anxiety and fear. While this is an extreme case, it is clear that consistent social interaction has a positive impact on the capacity to learn and develop. Suddenly deprived of their primary mode of personal social interaction, it isn't surprising that students should experience a dramatic drop in motivation and engagement.

As children develop into adolescents and young adults, the need and importance of peer relationships changes.  For elementary age students, students work best within large group settings, while adolescent age students in middle school begin to break into smaller groups, primarily focusing on same-sex friends and confidants.  By high school, it begins to branch out to romantic interest and complex social structures stretching into multiple groups based on shared values or interests.  As this development occurs, the impact on learning and motivation increases.

Younger students may be more easily motivated away from their peers, as their social support structure is built on relationships with adult figures such as teachers and parents, but teens especially are more likely to be motivated when surrounded by positive peer influence and a need for social approval.  During the teen years, the influence of peer pressure increases dramatically. MRI scans have shown increased activity in the reward processing centers of the brains of teenagers in response to social cues of facial expression. This implies that teens are more likely to feel better or worse when considering the reactions of those around them. During late adolescence, teens are primarily trying to build their own personal identity while simultaneously seeking the approval of their peers.  This happens while they are also required to work towards establishing competency and purpose as individuals.

Social interaction both motivates and facilitates the learning process

Social interaction is one of the primary motivating factors for middle school and high school students for several reasons.  In the classroom, students are more likely to participate in an environment of engaged peers than in isolation.  Because of the increased feelings of rewards connected to peer approval, students engage when surrounded by peer engagement.  B.F. Skinner's operant conditioning model suggests that it is the desire of rewards or avoidance of punishments is the primary driver for learning.  For teens, rewards and punishments are linked with this social approval.  While it can also lead to disruption in the classroom as student focus shifts, it is more likely that peer influences help keep students in check and motivated about a task, especially a group task.  But it is not the only reason students are likely to perform better in social settings.

Psychologist Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory is based on the idea that learning is a complex process that is the result of both active participation and practice, but it also takes place vicariously through observation and modeling. Students who are not directly participating in an activity or discussion are observing, listening, and gleaning information and skills from within a group setting. When working alone, students are left without this opportunity. 

Social interaction also increases the quality of learning in a variety of ways.  Students who have the opportunity to communicate directly with their peers practice organizing their thoughts and reflecting on their overall understanding.  It can provide opportunities to find gaps within their reasoning as they discuss, share information, or even listen to others.  In a study of the impact of social interaction on student learning from Missouri State University, participants reported that they were more engaged, felt more comfortable in the classroom environment, had better comprehension and were more likely to attend class.  Social interaction not only creates a safer and more enjoyable environment for students to learn, it facilitates learning and provides neurological advantages for improved learning.

Oxytocin, a hormone produced in the hypothalamus which regulates our "tend and defend" response, is the neurotransmitter released during moments of intimacy and positive social interaction.  It is what creates that "warm and fuzzy" feeling when we hug, it is what helps mothers emotionally bond to their children, and it drives our need for partnership and connection with other human beings.  Feelings like empathy, concern or generosity are all increased with the introduction of oxytocin.  Increased levels of oxytocin have been connected with improved performance in the classroom as it reduces stress and counteracts the effects of the stress hormone cortisol.  It helps create an attitude conducive with learning and promotes positive social interaction. When provided with opportunities to connect with their peers, students are gaining this neurological advantage.  

We need to meet students where they are

Psychologist Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory is based on the premise that cognitive development in children is advanced through social interaction with others and that a learner cannot reach their full potential without social influence and interaction.  His concept of the Zone of Proximal Development is based on the need for scaffolding of instruction and  guided practice to bridge the gap between what a child can do on their own and what they have not yet mastered.

Much of the instruction and practice both in and out of classrooms today is built on this process.  When learning to ride a bicycle, a child first relies on training wheels or a parent to steady the bike until they master the skill of maintaining balance.  Without that intermediate help, the task of riding a bike is out of reach for the child alone. Students are given guided instruction as they work to understand new material.  It is only through gradual progression and meeting students at the bridge between what they can do and what they cannot do, that they are able to successfully develop and master new skills.

Meeting students where they are has become a primarily digital practice as schools work to become online institutions.  If we want to increase engagement, if we want to help facilitate student learning, we need to increase the social interaction they have with their peers, and we have to meet them at the bridge between their own mastery and where we would like them to be.  For many students, they feel most comfortable and confident with the use of social media platforms. Where we need to help them get to is using those platforms to connect with intentional purpose.  The experience of losing a major portion of their school year, of adapting to a new educational landscape is incredibly difficult.  Students are confused, frustrated and anxious.  Building effective programs is definitely a priority, but so is helping students feel safe by returning to some sense of normalcy.  Communicating and processing with their peers is also a major piece to that puzzle.

In order to increase engagement, we must increase that which will have the largest impact on student motivation.  Peer interaction is the primary driving force for action for most adolescents and teens. The normal environment for many of our students has been completely altered, leaving students with an inability to connect.  While schools have been able to leverage extrinsic motivators such as grades or graduation requirements to spur students forward, we have drastically underestimated the motivational factors of the physical and social immediacy of the classroom.  Instead of working within a community of learners, most students are now isolated from one of their largest motivating factors.

As educators, we may have hesitations about stepping into the digital world that many of our students utilize.  In 1908, George Palmer, a philosophy professor at Harvard for 40 years wrote in his book The Ideal Teacher, "instead of lamenting the imperviousness of our pupils, we had better ask ourselves more frequently whether we have neatly adjusted our teachings to the conditions of their mind."

Are we using tools and strategies that will best facilitate their method of learning, or are we using tools and strategies that will best facilitate our preferred method of teaching? Perhaps it is because those platforms are outside of our own area of expertise.  If so, what better way to bridge that gap than working with the group who is already there? 

Social interaction increases motivation, effectiveness, and opportunity and is an integral component of education and learning.  Intentionally increasing social interactions with their peers has to be a priority if we want to best help our students. Human beings need each other.  We have been programmed over generations to work as a part of a community.  It keeps us safe, it keeps us healthy, and it gives us the greatest advantage and opportunity to be successful.