One of the challenges of asynchronous online discussions is soliciting student responses that involve critical thinking. Too often students answer one another with "I agree" or "That's what I think" and the discussion dead ends. By providing students with models of good questioning techniques instructors will see the class…

Since 2001, the author has researched the value of asynchronous discussion for student learning, with the support of the Visible Knowledge Project. Many of the author's observations about the value of asynchronous discussion were previously documented by other researchers. The author has found that asynchronous discussion can involve more…

The development of on-line research practice across international boundaries is now a viable proposition using available asynchronous technologies such as computer conferencing. As has been reported in previous papers (Grodzinsky, et al, 2002; Griffin, et al, 2002) such use has proved to be extremely valuable for supporting the teaching of…

Providing tools for dialogue exchange does not ensure that students will respond to teammate postings or that online groups will grow in cohesiveness (Murphy, 2004). Students decide whether or not to reply, and it is increasingly important to understand how students make these decisions due to the increase in distance education, Millennials, and…

This article elaborates a model for understanding pedagogy in online educational forums. The model identifies four key components. Intellectual engagement describes the foreground cognitive processes of collaborative learning. Communication processes operating in the background accumulate an ever richer store of shared understandings that enable…

Development workers studying at the graduate level benefit from exposure to the great variety of cultures and worldviews. In the Australian National University's Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development (MAAPD) program, peer learning is giving current and future development workers in the field and in the classroom the chance…

The primary purpose of this exploratory study is to provide insight on how to use online discussions to foster collaborative learning and how to design assessment processes to evaluate the effectiveness of those discussions. This study focuses on the pedagogical role of discussion, effective practices in discussion, guidelines for creating…

The objective of this research was to compare the quality and quantity of teacher and student interaction in an on-line versus face-to-face learning environment. A Master's level course on nursing theories was taught by the same professor by both methods. Transcripts of the face-to-face class and on-line postings were analyzed to identify…

The opportunity to engage in discussion with others about teaching issues is essential to a teacher's professional development, and can potentially be afforded through online discussions. The following study explored the use of online discussion as a way to engage beginning teachers in professional development. An investigation was conducted to…

This paper reports on a case study which identifies and illustrates sources of difference in agreement in relation to reliability in a context of quantitative content analysis of a transcript of an online asynchronous discussion (OAD). Transcripts of 10 students in a month-long online asynchronous discussion were coded by two coders using an…

Asynchronous computer conferencing refers to the use of computer software and a network enabling participants to post messages that allow discourse to continue even though interactions may be extended over days and weeks. Asynchronous conferences are time-independent, adapting to multiple time zones and learner schedules. Such activities as…

RIT Online Learning courses have an overall course completion rate of 94%. For lower-division courses the rate is 92%, undergraduate 93%, and graduate 96%. In this case study we will share additional measurements we have used to monitor student success and describe strategies we have used to promote online discussion as a key component of…

This article empirically validates an existing content analysis scheme and addresses a main concern of researchers about text-based, online transcripts in the form of code-recoding by mapping our scheme to the practical inquiry, cognitive presence model's five phases directly to realise higher-order thinking or critical thinking aspects for our…

Online and face-to-face courses are often viewed and studied as two distinct worlds, but the social field of the teacher who teaches them may well include both, and both the teacher and the courses he or she teaches may be transformed by the movement from one environment to the other. Susan Lowes explores this two-way interaction between…

Computer-mediated distance education holds potential for providing professional development opportunities for teachers. This study investigated teaching and learning through written asynchronous and synchronous communications in an online graduate education course. Types of student participation during four weeks of discussions in the course, two…