Adapting Cooperative Learning Strategies to Facilitate Ethics Discus sions Using E-Mail

This paper reports on a project in which students discussed an ethical dilemma using Internet e-mail as the medium of communication. The assignment requires both informal and formal document development in a team environment and uses cooperative learning strategies to assure full participa tion by all students. Students thus have the advantage of discussing an important current business issue, are facili tated in this discussion by the use of structured learning techniques, are required to exercise their thinking and writ ing skills in a variety of ways, and in many cases must acquire new technical and intellectual skills for communi cation across the Internet.