Creating Collegial Networks

Abstract

This paper examines how web-based educational environments were used to foster collegial conversations in three case studies conducted in the Graduate School of Education at Portland State University. The cases describe instructors' and graduate students' experiences with interactive, online discussions. Two cases center on interactions in cohorts (groups) of preservice teachers, while the third case highlights the course-based exchanges of inservice and preservice teachers. Reactions to online interactions are analyzed. Several important considerations are shared about how to cultivate peer collaboration and encounter success when teaching and learning with web-based environments.