Home PublicationsJRTEPast IssuesVolume 36 Number 2

	Edited by Dr. Lynne Schrum, University of Utah
formerly Journal of Research on Computing in Education

Volume 36 Number 2 Winter 2003-2004

Intellectual, Motivational, Textual, And Cultural Considerations In Teaching and Learning With Computer-Mediated Discussion
Diane L. Schallert, JoyLynn Hailey Reed, and the D-Team
University of Texas

Abstract
We provide recommendations, grounded in research findings, for the use of computer-mediated discussion (CMD) in instruction. For years, we have studied undergraduate and graduate level courses that made use of synchronous and asynchronous electronically-mediated discussion as an important aspect of course design. Here, we discuss three questions and consider instructional recommendations grounded in our research: Can students successfully learn something of value as a result of participating in CMD? How can students’ attentional and motivational responses to CMD inform course design? What are ways to structure CMD more effectively when classes include international students?

Contributors
Diane L. Schallert is a professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches undergraduate courses in the teacher preparation program and graduate courses on the psychology of learning and language processes. Her research is focused on the nature and experience of classroom talk, both oral and written, and on the emotional, motivational, and cognitive factors associated with learning. JoyLynn Hailey Reed is senior lecturer of Graduate Studies, Natural Science, and MBA at the University of Texas at Dallas, where she teaches graduate courses in academic and professional writing and communication as well as dissertation writing seminars. Her research is on motivation, involvement, and discourse processes. The D-Team refers to a group of researchers who are currently or have been in the recent past investigating the nature of computer-mediated discourse processes. Their names are listed on page 103.

Contact
Diane L. Schallert
Department of Educational Psychology
University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station, Stop D5800
Austin, TX 78712
dschallert@mail.utexas.edu

Copyright © 2003, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.