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Placing Human Interaction at the Center of a Distance Education Program in Educational Leadership 175

members (23 people) made the pilgrimage to her sister’s house in Houston, Texas. She kept
up with the readings and writing assignments via the syllabus but connection to the internet
was impossible. Communicating via telephone with her facilitator, she maintained good
standing in the program. She ultimately graduated with her cohort.

Cohort Model

The instructor must intentionally build into the course a method of cohort building, be it
discussion boards, a “student lounge,” or group assignments. An instructor cannot assume
that the group will bond or build positive relationships. Relationships must be developed with
a purpose in a distance program as they are in a face-to-face classroom or program.
Discussion board interactions during the year of planned field experience help students
report progress and maintain forward movement. Come students share frustrations and
successes, eliminating the isolation that could develop when facing such an extended
assignment. The final month of the planned field experience involves sharing project results
with the mentor, project participants, and fellow cohort members. Cohort members provide
feedback from an objective point of view. The entire cohort has been together for nearly two
years at this point and they know each other well enough to be honest and ask probing
questions.
A student, reflecting on the use of the discussion boards, indicated the cohesiveness of the
cohort that develops despite never having been in a face-to-face situation:

One of the unique factors of the distance-learning program is the use of discussion

groups. At times tedious and other times rewarding, these discussion groups brought

the human element into the courses we had enrolled in. Though we may have never

met one another, we know all about each others’ schools, jobs, views, and often

personal lives. ......For what we lack in in-person interactions, we make up for in the

discussion groups by sharing a bit of ourselves.

Students have used the general discussion boards to post pictures of themselves, children,
and other personal items. Whenever there is an addition to their families, they frequently post
details and photos. It seems as though they are constantly looking for ways to “humanize”
their relationships, although only about half of the students participate in these optional
activities. The others seem to be “all business.”
Graduation is when many students meet other members of their cohort for the first and
only time. Not all graduates attend but the experience for those who do is somewhat
overwhelming. Graduates have come from as far away as California to walk in the University
of Cincinnati graduation ceremony. One student had never been on campus until graduation
day. Cohorts have planned to meet the day of graduation or the night before for dinner and to
see the faces that have been the other members of their group for two years. The relationship
continues for some as they maintain email communication with other cohort members.

CONCLUSION

The world is changing. Leadership and leadership development must change with it. The
candidates for leadership positions may even be at advantage in this new internet-savvy
world, if they have been part of a distance degree program. Spreitzer (2003) stated: