Teacher-Student Proximity and Interactions in a Computer Laboratory and Classroom

he question that matters is, how does technology impact the lives of kids and teachers," says James Mecklenburger, director of the Institute for the Transfer of Technology to Education in Alexandria, Virginia. A survey of the research on the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction finds the jury still out. "Studies haven't yet pinpointed what happens to the learning process when teachers introduce computers and other high-tech tools into the classroom" (Schulz 1991, 50). To investigate the effects of technology on the learning process, this study examined teacher-student interactions in a computer lab. A chief concern of educator Willem Langeveld (1983) was that computer education would interfere with the personal contact between teacher and student. Langeveld feared that computers in schools would even be destructive because they would isolate children, hindering the socialization process that is intended to take place in school. Swann and Metrani (1990), in a study based on data collected from the Computer Pilot Program being administered in New York City schools, found the reverse to be true: computer-based instruction (CBI) was found to be altering the traditional roles of teachers and students. CBI classrooms were more student-centered and cooperative than regular classrooms, and teaching was more, not less, individualized when computers were involved. In addition, students were more motivated and less threatened when learnming on computers than when learning in regular classrooms (Swann and Metrani 1990). The study discussed in this article sought to answer the question, How will physical proximity distances between teachers and students differ between classroom and com-