I argue that online discussions conceived as communities of inquiry (CoI) should place as much emphasis on learners teaching teachers as teachers teaching learners. First, in CoI as originally conceived, learners teaching teachers is a possibility. Teachers and learners are identified in the first instance simply as “participants.” Second, online discussions succeed or fail depending on participants’ level of engagement. Learner teaching and teacher learning increase the chances of success by increasing the ways participants can contribute to discussions. Third, given that CoI have shared goals requiring collaborative solutions, it is just as important theoretically that learners share their solutions with teachers as teachers share theirs with learners. Fourth, the CoI model is based on John Dewey’s “new order of conceptions.” Dewey demonstrated at his University Elementary School that learners, regardless of age, can contribute as much or even more to the solution of problems as teachers. Finally, learner teaching is important even when it seems teachers know “everything” and learners know “nothing.” Dewey taught us that learners never learn exactly what teachers teach, because the experience they bring to their engagement with teachers is unique to them. Sharing their learning with teachers tests teacher knowledge in new ways, and the class takes one step closer to achieving a truly collaborative solution.
Kelvin Beckett