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An examination of interactional coherence in email use in elementary school

An examination of interactional coherence in email use in elementary school
An examination of interactional coherence in email use in elementary school
This paper reports on a study of email use in elementary school. An analytic model consisting of a contextual, rhetorical and semantic dimension is proposed as a means to measure interactional coherence. In describing this CRS-model special attention is given to the dialogue types distinguished by Burbules (1993) [Dialogue in teaching: Theory and practice. New York, NY: Teachers College Press] and to other research that seeks to qualify and quantify computer mediated communication. Findings from the empirical study indicate, among others, that a pivotal role is played by the turn-taking pattern. In addition, there were signs that the children compensated for some of the limitations of communicating by computer (e.g., by using meta-tags). The study also indicates a predominant usage of email for conducting dialogues as conversations. The conclusion suggests that contextual factors are important in qualifying and quantifying interactions. This suggestion is further strengthened by the fact that Burbules’ typology partly hinges on getting to know the attitudes of the conversational partners and hence lie beyond what an analysis of the dialogues themselves can reveal.
0747-5632
417-439
Van der Meij, H.
edd0df2e-7af3-48b2-ae8a-e2e23e516324
De Vries, K.
e1a5072c-d9ff-43b6-bffa-ff94875997bc
Boersma, B.
7172dfdc-4856-41e5-aec8-6aff16d042dc
Pieters, P.
b2db9077-e387-4694-8c11-56f0647309f9
Wegerif, R.
2deecef4-49ce-47fd-9604-740fcb3a7c0e
Van der Meij, H.
edd0df2e-7af3-48b2-ae8a-e2e23e516324
De Vries, K.
e1a5072c-d9ff-43b6-bffa-ff94875997bc
Boersma, B.
7172dfdc-4856-41e5-aec8-6aff16d042dc
Pieters, P.
b2db9077-e387-4694-8c11-56f0647309f9
Wegerif, R.
2deecef4-49ce-47fd-9604-740fcb3a7c0e

Van der Meij, H., De Vries, K., Boersma, B., Pieters, P. and Wegerif, R. (2005) An examination of interactional coherence in email use in elementary school. Computers in Human Behaviour, 21 (3), 417-439. (doi:10.1016/j.chb.2004.10.002).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper reports on a study of email use in elementary school. An analytic model consisting of a contextual, rhetorical and semantic dimension is proposed as a means to measure interactional coherence. In describing this CRS-model special attention is given to the dialogue types distinguished by Burbules (1993) [Dialogue in teaching: Theory and practice. New York, NY: Teachers College Press] and to other research that seeks to qualify and quantify computer mediated communication. Findings from the empirical study indicate, among others, that a pivotal role is played by the turn-taking pattern. In addition, there were signs that the children compensated for some of the limitations of communicating by computer (e.g., by using meta-tags). The study also indicates a predominant usage of email for conducting dialogues as conversations. The conclusion suggests that contextual factors are important in qualifying and quantifying interactions. This suggestion is further strengthened by the fact that Burbules’ typology partly hinges on getting to know the attitudes of the conversational partners and hence lie beyond what an analysis of the dialogues themselves can reveal.

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Published date: 2005
Organisations: Education, Lifelong & Work-Related Learning

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 18179
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/18179
ISSN: 0747-5632
PURE UUID: 6c4c129e-eff4-445e-9b0b-f7e62ee92417

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Date deposited: 24 Nov 2005
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 06:03

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Contributors

Author: H. Van der Meij
Author: K. De Vries
Author: B. Boersma
Author: P. Pieters
Author: R. Wegerif

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