Parallel Learning is defined as the acquisition of content taking place concurrently with but independently from the delivery of instruction. Students can and do acquire content independently of instructors in any kind of learning method, however, in a distance education setting such behaviors are distinctly observable because they usually involve other students at the receive site. Triggering mechanisms provoke interactions. For example, if an instructor is boring, confusing, or irrelevant students will engage one another about the subject matter at hand while ignoring the instructor. At some point they are brought back into the instructional stream by the behavior of the instructor or some other event.
Learners form partnerships and groups on their own.
The basis for these groups is either instrumental need or prior associations. For example, students will consistently ask certain students questions about how to perform certain tasks or questions about when materials are due. Some students form friendships that last over a term and into succeeding terms of study. The implication of this research demonstrates that the distant education learning environment is a dynamic one which differs substantially from the traditional face to face environment. It creates an environment where the characteristics of adult learners can and do exhibit themselves in powerful ways.