The extent to which the distance ed

The extent to which the distance education environment can supportcollaboration and mixed initiative dialogue depends, in part, on several keycomponents that have been identified by Brown et al. (1989). First, the kinds of problems given to students must require collective problem solv-ing. Presenting problems that could just as easily be solved by one personworking alone as by a group working collaboratively will not only frustrateindividual motivation but will undermine the collaborative process (Webb& Palincsar, 1996). Second, students must be provided with opportunitiesto understand the different roles needed to solve a particular problem andto reflect on how the different roles contribute to a solution. And third,efforts must be made to ensure that misconceptions and ineffective strate-gies are in fact being repaired through collaboration and mixed initiativedialogues.