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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Mechanisms of common ground in case-based web discussions in teacher education

subject

description

Previous studies suggest that before participants in web-based conferencing can reach deeper level interaction and learning, they have to gain an adequate level of common ground in terms of shared mutual understanding, knowledge, beliefs, assumptions, and presuppositions (Clark & Schaefer, 1989; Dillenbourg, 1999). In this paper, the purpose is to explore how participants establish and maintain common ground in order to reach deeper level interaction in case-based web discussions. The subjects in this study consisted of 68 preservice teachers and 7 mentors from 3 universities, who participated in a web-based conferencing course for 8 weeks. The written discussion data were analyzed by means of a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The results suggest that in order to establish common ground, it is essential that the participants, especially as fellow students, not only show evidence of their understandings through written feedback, but also provide support to their peers in their replies. Presenting questions also signals the willingness of participants to continue the discussion, which is essential for maintaining common ground.