Kathryn HOLLYWOOD - Director, Development and New Initiatives, Graduate Leadership Studies, Nova Southeastern University

The Effect of Cohort Models in Developing Electronic
Learning Communities

Kathryn Hollywood
Claudia Santin
Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

      E-learning/transatlantic educational initiatives and partnerships offer extensive and expansive academic opportunities for students interested in distance education. Such collaborative opportunities encompass the numerous and diverse pedagogical practices of adult learning at the post secondary level.
      The growth of distance education has a rich and fascinating history. Traditionally, distance education has meant either flying course instructors to geographic locations to meet with students (traditional instruction) or incorporating some form of instructional technology for delivery purposes. In the midst of this exciting evolution, the Fischer Graduate School of Education and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) has been a known pioneer in the delivery of traditional education using non-traditional delivery methods. Since the 1960s, NSU has flown faculty to distant geographic locations for course teaching, however, the current instructional reality indicates that NSU offers a hybrid model of instructional delivery as thousands of its students are accessing higher education through the Internet and Web-based technologies. NSU has been at the forefront of this evolutionary process. More importantly, however, is the philosophy upon which NSU has been an educational innovator in the delivery of "distance" education.
      NSU has built upon its long history of delivery of education to the student by creating site-based learning communities. In the early 1960s, NSU used the term "clusters" to designate a geographic group of students simultaneously pursuing their doctoral degree. During this time, the term has also undergone an evolution- its contemporary name is "cohorts". This term attempts to capture the rich, authentic and interactive learning experiences for students regardless of time, space or place. These cohort-learning groups are engaged in educational activities that suggest that the "cohort" is undergoing another permutation, viz., evolving into an e-learning community. The e-learning community (e-cohort) allows for individualized learning opportunities as well as collaborative engagement for students. The institutional challenge is ensuring the provision of structure, support and a sense of belonging for all students within the virtual academic environment.
      This paper will provide information relating to the creating and sustaining of electronic cohort learning communities (e-cohorts). It will explore the emergent best practices that have evolved during the course of four decades of delivering both "traditional" distance cohort education to today's expansive use of e-cohorts via electronic learning for doctoral program delivery.