Sage without a Stage: Expanding the Object of Teaching in a Web-Based, High-School Classroom

• Published in: The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning
• Main Authors: Elizabeth Murphy, Maria A. Rodriguez-Manzanares
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Athabasca University Press 2009
• Subjects: Online learning; e-teaching; high school; cultural historical activity theory; expansive learning; Special aspects of education; LC8-6691; Canada; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v10i3.579; https://doaj.org/article/7105f5d6ce2b42f68d05f0c9fda5397a

This paper reports on a study that uses cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to make sense of e-teachers’ activity in a context of high-school distance education. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with 13 e-teachers as well as seven management and support personnel in an organization responsible for the design and delivery of high-school distance education in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As well, the authors conducted a second round of interviews with 12 of the 13 teachers. Findings revealed that the traditional metaphor of teacher as ‘sage on the stage’ ceased to have a reference point in the distributed online classroom. The e-teachers were widening the object of their activity to include less teacher-centered forms of learning that involved more student independence.