“What am I missing?” Social information processing in remote learning

Abstract

Social Information Processing Theory postulated by J. B. Walther, examines how relationships are developed through computer mediated communication, devoid of non-verbal cues. His work focused mainly on computer mediated technologies, such as email, instant messaging, and chat rooms, but can be considered in relation to situations with reduced access to non-verbal cues such as Zoom classrooms. More than twenty years ago Walther raised the prescient conundrum: “How can the same group of technologies be described as a limitation and a liberation?” In fact, the query neatly sums up teaching and learning on Zoom. Schooling was able to continue, albeit significantly transformed, liberating the roles of commuting, carpooling, and the physical schooling building. In some cases, asynchronous instruction and increased flipped classroom models liberated teacher-led instruction in favor of more student-centered inquiry and independent learning. However, it is also evident that limitations of engagement, focus, and motivation across this past year, not to mention Zoom fatigue, threatened student access to learning. Moreover, I posit that the lack of social information processing between teachers and students reduced the ability of teachers to interpret and respond efficiently to student academic, behavioral, social, and emotional needs. Further, the opportunity for social-emotional learning typically developed through daily classroom existence disappeared into the ether. Let’s break this down further: What social cues are teachers missing from remote learning contexts and how do they matter?