This qualitative study addresses the research question: What is the nature of
the instructional communication process sustained by computer-supported
cooperative learning (CSCL) environments for adult learners in constructivist
distance education? The target audience was adult learners; the constructivist
learning paradigm guided the analysis of the teaching/learning interactions and
communication events. A course was selected as the unit of analysis by following a
theoretical construct sampling strategy.
Relevant information selected purposively from the course archive was
analyzed using conversation analysis to explore the nature of the instructional
communication process (the “macro” level”) and content analysis to identify the types
of teaching/learning interactions, the types of knowledge and the cognitive processes
that occurred in the chosen environment (the “micro” level). The study develops a
model that characterizes online conversations as instructional communication events,
and establishes a framework for the systematic analysis of online conversations in
CSCL environments.