Online peer collaboration: teachers supporting each other’s instructional use of CBM data.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers supported each other's instructional use of CBM data as they collaborated in an online environment. A grounded-theory approach was used to analyze archived dyadic conversations of 35 special educators and 4 reading teachers who used a web-based forum to share CBM graphs and discuss the instructional needs of students with low reading skills. The generated theory, Theory of Collaborative Support, proposes that teachers support each other by offering both constructive support and solidarity, and that a lack of response reduces both types of offers. The theory, its themes and categories, and influential factors are discussed. Future research should systematically test the theory and the effect collaborative support has on instructional use of CBM data.