Impacts of role assignment and participation in asynchronous discussions in college-level online classes

Xie, Kui; Yu, Chien; Bradshaw, Amy C.

doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2013.09.003

Cited by 93 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…For example, Schellens, Van Keer, and Valcke (2005) found that students who played a summarizer role were able to achieve a higher level of knowledge construction. In addition, Xie et al (2014) reported on the positive effects of assigning a role. They found that assigning a moderator role could promote greater student participation.…”

Section: Role Assignments As An Instructional Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They found that assigning a moderator role could promote greater student participation. Students who were assigned the moderator role posted more messages and stayed logged in longer than students who were not assigned a moderator role (Xie et al, 2014). Wise and Chiu (2012) focused on the influence of assigning various roles on the levels of knowledge construction including: (1) sharing information; (2) exploring dissonance; (3) negotiating meaning; (4) testing and modifying; and (5) applying by using the model developed by Gunawardena, Lowe, and Anderson (1997).…”

Section: Role Assignments As An Instructional Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As online courses and programs have increased, the online discussion board has become one of the most important spaces for knowledge construction through communication and social interactions between students and instructors in asynchronous online learning (Xie, Miller, & Allison, 2013;Xie, Yu, & Bradshaw, 2014;Wise & Chiu, 2012). Multiple studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of asynchronous online learning environments for knowledge acquisition by undergraduates in nutritional sciences, but effectiveness of discussion boards specifically were not addressed (Cohen, Carbone, & Beffa-Negrini, 2011;Franko, Cousineau, Trant, Green, Rancourt, Thompson, & Ciccazzo, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the Effect of Scripted Roles on Cognitive Presence in Asynchronous Online Discussions

Olesova

Slavin

Lim

2016

OLJ

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The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of scripted roles on students' level of cognitive presence in asynchronous online threaded discussions. A quantitative content analysis was used to investigate: (1) what level of cognitive presence is achieved by students' assigned roles in asynchronous online discussions; (2) differences between students' cognitive presence when the asynchronous online discussions occur during a 5-week intensive summer class versus a 15-week regular class (fall and spring); and (3) the impact of the types of questions on students' cognitive presence in role-based asynchronous online discussions across three semesters in an online introductory nutrition course. The participants in this study were 139 undergraduate students at a major public university in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The results of this research correspond to the findings of previous research that indicate scripted roles can be an effective strategy to improve both learning processes and outcomes. In addition, this study found differences in students' level of cognitive presence (exploration and integration) based on the course length. Finally, this study found evidence that the types of questions asked related to the level of cognitive presence, i.e., higher level questions can lead to higher level of cognitive presence and vice versa.

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Section: Role Assignments As An Instructional Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Role Assignments As An Instructional Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Exploring the Effect of Scripted Roles on Cognitive Presence in Asynchronous Online Discussions

Olesova

Slavin

Lim

2016

OLJ

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“…Research has investigated ways to enhance critical thinking outcomes by focusing on what instructors can implement, including the introduction of protocols in AOD (Hew & Cheung, 2011;Zydney et al, 2012), use of supporting materials (Alexander, Commander, Greenberg, & Ward, 2010;Bai, 2009), AOD design (Darabi, Arrastia, Nelson, Cornille, & Liang, 2011;Kalelioglu & Gulbahar, 2014;Richardson & Ice, 2010), message labelling (Schellens, VanKeer, DeWeaver, & Valcke, 2009;Topcu, 2010), and the use of student facilitation (Hew & Cheung, 2008;Xie, Yu, & Bradshaw, 2014). Other studies have focused on how critical thinking can be evaluated within the AOD using some form of content analysis of discussion transcripts (Beckmann & Weber, 2016;Darabi et al, 2011).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of a post-asynchronous online discussion assessment to enhance student critical thinking

Klisc

McGill

Hobbs

2016

AJET

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Asynchronous online discussion (AOD) is used in many tertiary education courses, and assessing it has been shown to enhance critical thinking outcomes. There has, however, been debate on what should be assessed and how the assessment should be implemented. The most common form of assessment involves grading the individual discussion contributions, but it has been suggested that employing a culminating task based on the AOD may be effective. This preliminary study compared the effect on student critical thinking of two approaches to AOD assessment: using a post-AOD assessment, and assessing the discussion contributions themselves. The results, though tentative, showed that while both assessment approaches resulted in significant improvements in student critical thinking, there was no difference in the impact on critical thinking skills between using the post-AOD assessment and assessing the discussion contributions. This result suggests that the form of assessment used in an AOD may be less important than the fact that assessment is included. Interviews with students also provided some insight into ways in which they perceived the discussion environment had contributed to their critical thinking skills. The findings of this study pave the way for further research in this important area.

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“…• The most influential factor for participation was the connection to grades (Gerbic, 2006) ; • Students in online classes participated more actively than students in face-to-face classes (Lobel, 2005;Pilkington & Walker, 2003) • Students with previous or current face-to-face experience with peers participated more actively in online discussion than those without face-to-face experience with such peers (Brooks & Bippus, 2012) • Feedback and involvement from the instructor and teaching assistant were related to higher levels of student participation (Wuttikietpaiboon, 2012); • Participation varied by gender (Cheng et al, 2012;Im, 2004); • Participants taking assigned or predetermined roles such as moderator or manager showed higher levels of participation (Pilkington & Walker, 2003;Poole, 2000;Xie et al, 2014); • The mix of cognitive styles in a group might influence activity level (Cunningham-Atkins et al, 2004).…”

Section: Participants' Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies on Participants’ Interactions in Internet-Mediated Discussion Boards as a Course Component in Formal Higher Education Settings

Zhao

2015

OLJ

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This systematic review and synthesis of existing empirical studies examines peer-reviewed research articles published between January 2000 and May 2014 on the use of Internet-mediated discussion boards in higher education settings with a specific interest in the participants' interactions. Forty-two primary studies were examined after a systematic search and full text review. The findings from the primary studies regarding participants' interactions were analyzed using constant comparison coding techniques. The analysis and its results indicate several potential directions for future research, and connect the primary studies to provide a more holistic understanding of the participants' interactions in Internetmediated discussions in the higher education setting.

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Impacts of role assignment and participation in asynchronous discussions in college-level online classes

Cited by 93 publications

References 53 publications

Exploring the Effect of Scripted Roles on Cognitive Presence in Asynchronous Online Discussions

Exploring the Effect of Scripted Roles on Cognitive Presence in Asynchronous Online Discussions

Use of a post-asynchronous online discussion assessment to enhance student critical thinking

A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies on Participants’ Interactions in Internet-Mediated Discussion Boards as a Course Component in Formal Higher Education Settings

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