Establishing a Relationship with Distant Learners: Can it be done? 

Abstract

In a distance-learning context, where, by definition, teaching and learning are isolated, what kinds of teacher-student relationships exist? What impact can such relationships have on education? The author explores the particular features of the educational relationship in an asynchronous distance-learning context, examining the former from a theoretical perspective and describing how it is manifested. Lastly, she discusses the implicit causal link that frequently exists between the teacher-student relationship and academic success.