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Learning Design Basics

Closing The Distance: Understanding Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI)

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Online learning has become more common as technology advances rapidly, with the global pandemic being the push that ushered in-person classrooms into the digital world. This change brings many advantages to students and instructors, by allowing access to everyone wherever they are. This means the convenience of instructors producing recorded lectures so that students can revisit past content for reference, and much more. Though online learning is beneficial for the future of learning, it also has its disadvantages. From the lack of face-to-face communication to the feeling of isolation, these can be addressed with the implementation of regular and substantive interaction (RSI).  
What is Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI)? 

Regular and substantive interaction (RSI) is the good practice of maintaining consistent and engaging interaction with students in an online distance learning environment. A course with an implemented RSI is designed from the ground up and integrates strategic points for instructor interaction (The Ohio State University, n.d.). There are key elements that make up RSI (The Ohio State University, n.d.):  

  1. Instructor-initiated interaction: Close interaction from the instructor, where the instructor would provide activities within the course, through guidance and by frequently reaching out to make students feel the instructor’s presence.
  2. Frequent initiation of interaction: Having a consistent amount of interaction with students creates the expectation for the next interaction. A weekly check-in would suffice on average, but two days per week can also work, depending on the course.
  3. Meaningful interaction: This can vary depending on the form.  Interactions can range from announcement posts or emails to initiating online activities via virtual meetings or even live discussion posts.
  4. Accredited academic personnel interaction: The instructor who is initiating these interactions should be qualified and accredited to conduct such interactions, by following the institute’s standards. 
What Qualifies as RSI?  
According to the Higher Education Act (1965), a course is considered to have RSI if it is administered in a distance education modality, and it must “support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor, synchronously or asynchronously” (Online Learning Consortium (OLC), 2019, p.1). The focus of RSI is primarily on distance learning. There are no regulations that state a correspondence learning environment cannot implement RSI, but based on certain characteristics, it is usually not implemented. To be more specific, these are the characteristics and differences between distance learning and correspondence learning (Bergeron, 2016): 
Distance Learning 
  • Supports courses that are online, either taught synchronously or asynchronously.  
  • Delivers instruction to students through the internet, one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcast, DVDs, etc. 
Correspondence Learning 
  • “Provides instructional materials, by mail or electronic transmission, including. examinations on the materials, to students who are separated from the instructor” (p. 116). 
  • It has limited interaction between instructor and student, with students being the primary initiator. 
  • Only students enrolled in a correspondence learning program (that leads to a degree) are eligible for financial aid, as it will be considered under RSI. 

People on a Video Call

Why Implement RSI? 

Online learning is making teaching more challenging. Should institutions of higher learning and instructors implement RSI into their online learning classes? This is where RSI provides advantages to online learning (Seril, 2024): 

  • It supports diverse learning styles and needs, with instructors providing personalized feedback and support, which aids struggling students who need extra guidance. 
  • It provides a feeling of belonging and fosters community, which occurs through regular interactions with instructors and colleagues.  It can help to lower feelings of isolation and increase student retention rates. 
  • With RSIs between instructors and students, it can do the following: 1) improve the educational quality and learning outcomes for the institute, 2) facilitate a deeper understanding, and 3) promote critical thinking. 
  • It prepares students for the possible future of a mostly remote work environment. 

With higher education transitioning into more online and distance learning, it is beneficial to put RSI into common practice and to properly train any instructors teaching any online courses. A course with RSI creates an environment that mirrors that of a face-to-face classroom but is adapted to the virtual world. Students require consistent interaction from instructors, for them to feel truly engaged in the lessons, which encourages them to ask more questions, solve assignment problems more efficiently, and promotes a deeper understanding of the lessons.  

If you want to learn more about how you can increase interactions between you and your students within your online course, reach out to us via email or through Bookings. We can guide you and help you set up the right tools within D2L.

Additional Reading:

For more information on any of the following topics, please check out our previous blog articles.

References:

Bergeron, D, A. (2016). No one gets it right every time: What does regular and substantive interaction mean? And who decides? Wiley. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/cbe2.1024

The Ohio State University. (n.d.). Regular and substantive interaction in online and distance learning. The Ohio State University Teaching and Learning Resource Center. https://teaching.resources.osu.edu/keep-teaching/regular-substantive-interaction-online

Online Learning Consortium (OLC), WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET), & University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA). (2019). Regular and substantive interaction: Background, concerns, and guiding principles. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/sites/default/files/media/Regular-and-Substantive-Interaction.pdf

Milton, G. (2021). Woman recording audio podcast on equipment [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-recording-audio-podcast-on-equipment-6953929/

Seril, L. (2024). Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) in Online Learning. Engageli. https://www.engageli.com/blog/regular-and-substantive-interaction-in-online-learning

Shvets, A. (2020). People on a Video Call [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-on-a-video-call-4226122/

 

Cavan Cheong is an Instructional Designer Graduate Assistant with the Online and Distance Learning Department at St. Cloud State University. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and experience in the hospitality industry. Currently, he is pursuing his master’s in business administration at St. Cloud State University.