Facilitating Asian students' critical thinking in online discussions

The purpose of the study reported here is to illustrate how an approach based on a culturally appropriate 'shepherd metaphor' has helped Asian students to cross cultural boundaries and to engage in critical thinking online. Asian students are under different levels of influence from the Confucian Heritage Culture, which cultivates students to revere authority, maintain harmony and avoid conflicts in public. This has a significant impact on Asian students' cultural readiness to verbalise critical thinking. This paper partially reports research undertaken in a large English as a Foreign Language reading class in Taiwan, in which 'shepherd leadership' was practised. Shepherd leadership involves knowing students individually, offering cognitive modelling, exercising leadership and discipleship, encouraging student leadership and calling on silent students personally to get them to participate. This approach, concentrating on Asian students' affective needs, cognitive modelling, passing leadership to students and reaching out to silent ones, was found effective.     

Student-facilitators' roles in moderating online discussions

Intellectual, social, managerial and technical are four commonly reported categories of facilitation in online discussions. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether these four broad categories of facilitation were equally applied in online discussions and which specific skills were perceived to be more important. In this study, students were facilitators of online discussions. Each student-facilitator led a group discussion and participated in two additional discussions moderated by other student-facilitators. Three groups of students were selected for data collection. Results indicated that the intellectual, social and managerial categories of facilitation were highly applied, while technical facilitation was less used in the online discussions. Also, summarising discussions was perceived to be the top facilitation skill. This paper presents findings of the study and discusses issues involved in the study.     

Rethinking online discourse: Improving learning through discussions in the online classroom

As colleges continue to expand online offerings, student participation within courses should be assessed to ensure that teachers can best implement effective, responsible lesson plans. This study examined discourse in an online classroom in order to gauge student participation by observing student-to-student and student-to-instructor exchanges within the discussion board. Classroom discourse was analyzed using Stahl’s computer supported collaborative learning methodology. Data was collected to assess development of classroom dialogue through group collaboration, and to determine whether participants were interpreting previous posts and contributing to the development of the discussion topic. This study shows that students within the online classroom were able to construct deeper meanings in classroom dialogues through thoughtful and personal contributions, thereby reaching new understandings through collaborative discussion. This study contends that through insightful planning and guided responses, instructors can manage online classroom discussions to better direct student communications in order to improve collaborative learning and knowledge construction.     

The role of expressed emotions in online discussions

Abstract

We investigated relationships among expressed emotions, perceived motivation, perceived emotions, and three dependent variables (i.e., behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, and student achievement) in the context of a blended online course. We defined “expressed emotions” as emotions detected by an affective computing tool in messages that students posted to online discussion forums in a blended undergraduate writing course. The results of two-step hierarchical multivariate regressions revealed that expressed emotions differentiated positive emotions from negative emotions better than perceived emotions did. Moreover, while no significant effect emerged for perceived motivation and perceived emotions, expressed fear was a significant predictor of student achievement (i.e., final score). Although affective computing is in its infancy, our findings suggest the potential use of expressed emotions for educational research and practice.     

Assessing participation skills: online discussions with peers

Many tertiary-level courses assess students’ participation in tutorial or online discussions. However, in educational and pedagogical research literature, criteria for assessing students’ skills in engaging with peers remain unclear. This article describes an online assignment with a set of participation criteria and a method for assessing the quality of students’ interactions with peers. The assignment focuses on students’ ability to utilise their critical thinking skills while engaging with peers on a particular topic. This includes abilities such as responding to criticism, justifying one’s view and contributing to discussion. While the assignment is designed for a critical thinking course in a philosophy curriculum, the method and participation criteria may be adapted for assessment in other discipline areas.     

Rubrics for designing and evaluating online asynchronous discussions

The purpose of the study reported on in this paper was to identify performance criteria and ratings in rubrics designed for the evaluation of learning in online asynchronous discussions (OADs) in post-secondary contexts. We analysed rubrics collected from Internet sources. Using purposive sampling, we reached saturation with the selection of 50 rubrics. Using keyword analysis and subsequent grouping of keywords into categories, we identified 153 performance criteria in 19 categories and 831 ratings in 40 categories. We subsequently identified four core categories as follows: cognitive (44.0%), mechanical (19.0%), procedural/managerial (18.29%) and interactive (17.17%). Another 1.52% of ratings and performance criteria were labelled vague and not assigned to any core category.     

Experiential learning of management principles via online student-manager discussions

This teaching brief describes an experiential project used in a graduate Principles of Management course for nonbusiness undergraduate students. Groups of four to six first-year MBA students interviewed a seasoned manager online twice over the 8-week course and discussed the applications of course material. Project subtopics included an introduction to management, strategic management, ethics and social responsibility, innovation and change management, international business, organizational structure, authority and job design, human resource management, leadership, and communication, operations management, and business analytics. Students completed a group report and an individual reflection on their experience. Over 92% of graduate students in the class indicated that the project was a positive learning activity.     

Reconceptualising moderation in asynchronous online discussions using grounded theory

This article reports a grounded theory study of the moderation of asynchronous online discussions, to explore the processes by which tutors in higher education decide when and how to moderate. It aims to construct a theory of e‐moderation based on some key factors which appear to influence e‐moderation. It discusses previous research on the definition and practice of e‐moderation, and then describes the study, which involved four e‐moderators working in two different university contexts. Key themes on e‐moderation, which emerged using a grounded theory approach, are discussed. It proposes a framework for e‐moderation and suggests that as a facilitative activity, it should be sufficiently contained within a ring‐fenced learning arena. Factors outside and inside the ring‐fence that appear to influence e‐moderation and their implications for future theory development and validation are discussed.     

Personalised knowledge representations: the missing half of online discussions

In this paper, we highlight a concern with using online discussion for learning. We argue that there is a lack of technological support for the development of personalised knowledge representation for most online discussion forums. Analyses of existing discussion forums suggest that there is a range of collective knowledge representation mechanisms which support a group or a community of learners. However, such mechanisms may not necessarily lead to learners' internalisation of collective knowledge into personalised knowledge. We discuss how internalisation can be facilitated through the notion of knowledge objects, while externalisation can be mediated by idea artefacts. These notions are translated into technological supports and suggestions of how online discussions can be designed differently from the common threaded discussion.     

Development of a participation style scale for online instructional discussions

Educational technology research and development - The purpose of this study is to develop a standardized measurement tool that can be used to determine the participation styles of individuals...     

Empirical manifestations of power among adult learners in online discussions

This study examined the nature of power manifestations in a specific online learning setting. The two online classes selected for this study were Master’s level courses in a professional school at a large state university in the United States. A total of 1340 postings were made in the two classes over the span of the semester. To test the research question, frequency analysis and the Mann-Whitney U test were conducted, using gender and race as the independent variables. The results of the study suggest the possibility that the online discussion environment attenuates the power of gender-based privilege and perhaps undercuts race privilege, even though there was an element of inequality based on power between the racial groups in an indication of power manifestations.     

Identifying patterns of collaborative knowledge exploration in online asynchronous discussions

This study investigated 6 weeks of online asynchronous discussions in a graduate-level course involving eleven students. The research purposes of this study were to identify patterns of collaborative knowledge exploration (CKE) and to suggest new analytical dimensions for investigating online discussions. Based upon a unique theoretical framework integrating the concepts of transition community and discourse community, three major dimensions of online asynchronous learning were adopted in the analysis. The first dimension focuses on the various forms of social negotiation in the discourse. The second dimension regards references to various learning resources, while the third is related to the coherence of the resources utilized. Based upon these dimensions and the analysis of the participating students’ online asynchronous discussions, this study suggested ten different patterns of CKE representing the cognitive processes of Elaborating, Challenging, Correcting, and Debating. We argue that the proposed analytical framework allows us to interpret the sociocultural and cognitive aspects of students’ interactions for online problem-based learning. In addition, the results suggest that the more cognitively demanding the pattern is, the less frequently it occurs. Potential factors contributing to the observed findings are discussed in this study.     

Effects of different types of instructor comments in online discussions

The current study examined the effects of different types of instructor comments on student engagement in an online discussion. In particular, this study examined three comment types: (1) praise-oriented comments, agreeing with students’ initial messages and recapping their ideas, (2) elaboration-encouraging comments, requesting elaboration on the initial messages, and (3) perspective-widening comments, suggesting different or thought-provoking opinions responding to the initial messages. Seventeen graduate students enrolled in an online course were recruited. A content analysis was employed to evaluate the levels of knowledge construction. Interactivity was measured by the number of posts and idea units. The findings revealed that perspective-widening comments facilitated students’ evaluation on the peer postings and brought up diverse perspectives, contributing to knowledge construction. While elaboration-encouraging comments led to high interactivity among students, praise-oriented comments had no significant effect on the frequency of interactivity.     

Facilitating online reflective learning for health and social care professionals

Drawing upon survey data and relevant literature, this paper compares the Radio and Television University System (RTVUS) in China, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), and the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) in respect of academic courses offered, course delivery mode, student characteristics, funding, and staffing. Similarities and differences are discussed, and the impact of socio-cultural factors in shaping distance education systems in different societies is examined.     

From Interaction to Intersubjectivity: Facilitating online group discourse processes

This article examines the online discourse that took place in representative threads from two classes, seeking to document indicators that students did or did not engage in co‐construction of knowledge. Stahl's (2006 Stahl, G. 2006. Group cognition: Computer support for building collaborative knowledge, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.  [Google Scholar]) social theory of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is used along with discourse analysis methods to examine these course dialogues. Findings show the class that had a peer‐like, consistent facilitative instructor and discussion anchored around questions and shared artifacts was more likely to engage in discussion leading to the negotiation of knowledge and understanding. This class relied on social acknowledgements, questions, and shared exploration of perspectives and theories throughout their discussion. These elements and strategies appear to be important components that make up for lower levels of tacit understanding in online environments, thus enabling learners to interact in social learning processes. The other class, which lacked a facilitative instructor, did not have the same results. Although interaction levels were equal and students carried topical motifs such as the phrase “faster, better, cheaper” from message to message, students in this other class did not engage deeply or develop new understanding of the course material through the discussion.     

Facilitating active social presence and meaningful interactions in online learning

Online learning has minimized many barriers and constraints that are common in traditional learning environments. However, due to the absence of face-to-face contacts, students and instructors are usually faced with the lack of active social presence and meaningful interactions in online learning. This article explores a review of the literature on social presence and various types of interactions in online learning environments in the context of a class project. The findings suggest need for online instructors to explore effective ways to design and facilitate active social presence and meaningful interactions in online learning.     

Making a difference online: Facilitating service-learning through distance education

Development in the understanding and education of responsible citizenship is an important priority for higher education institutions. Evidence of this importance is expressed in the mission statements of many colleges and universities throughout the United States. As increasing numbers of students take advantage of distance education, it is essential to consider both the ways students can engage in experientially based learning environments that promote civic engagement as well as the manner by which institutions can fulfill this aspect of their missions. This article explores service-learning pedagogy delivered in an online format, specifically a case study describing the way one institution, University of Illinois at Springfield, successfully uses the Internet to provide such instruction.