Undergraduate Education Majors’ Discourse on an Electronic Mailing List

This article explores patterns of student discourse on an electronic mailing list in an undergraduate teacher education instructional technology course. All postings from distant, studio, and lab sections were placed in one of 18 categories derived from the postings’ content and then discussed in terms of distribution among the three groups. The postings are examined in terms of levels of cognitive engagement and the patterns among the levels, groups, and categories. Finally, the postings are discussed in terms of William Perry’s (1970) Model of Intellectual and Ethical Development. The article concludes with suggestions for ways instructors might use electronic mailing lists and discussion boards more effectively.