Through Firewalls and Beyond: A Focus on What Pre-service Teachers Learned in an Online Book Club
Source: Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 18(4), 671-691. (October, 2010).
This study attempts to understand the roles and discourse of preservice teachers engaged in literature discussion with elementary students through e-mail exchanges.
After local fourth graders chose books from a list appropriate for their reading ability, they were paired with a preservice teacher for an online experience involving email exchanges about the book.
Thematic qualitative analysis indicated that the preservice teachers took on different roles when interacting with young students and those roles seemed associated with the kind and success of the discussion that ensued.
In addition, dyads had specific discourse patterns that were indicative of a successful (many exchanges, depth of talk, and/or relationship building) or less successful (few emails, lack of connection to text, or relationship building) partnership.