Background Study: Asynchronous online discussions are vital venues for collaborative knowledge construction. However, the lack of appropriate instruction designs poses challenges in promoting deep and substantive engagement with the core subject matter. This paper explores how to enhance adult students' knowledge construction in the context of…

The integration of web-based discussion tools in education has expanded rapidly, yet their pedagogical use remains largely unstructured, often resulting in fragmented discussions and limited learners' engagement. This gap reflects the absence of empirically grounded instructional models that align digital discourse with principles of collaborative…

The study examines the impact of artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced gamification on learning outcomes and motivation in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. A mixed-methods approach and quasi-experimental design were employed to compare the effectiveness of three instructional strategies: adaptive learning paths, conversational agents,…

This book supports teaching and learning through online discussion in higher education contexts such as universities, colleges, and polytechnics. It presents an explicit focus on popular asynchronous discussion tools and methods, with attention to disciplinary variety and key principles for successful learning-oriented discussion. It tackles the…

Background: The use of chatbots as learning assistants is receiving increasing attention in language learning due to their ability to converse with students using natural language. Previous reviews mainly focused on only one or two narrow aspects of chatbot use in language learning. This review goes beyond merely reporting the specific types of…

An online curriculum intervention focusing on electronic interactions structure and percent composition was developed using a modified Knowledge Integration design framework. A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the design and student perceptions of their experiences. A sample of 58 students enrolled in an introductory chemistry…

Scholars from three universities in three different parts of the world--North America, Africa, and Eurasia--across different cultures, disciplines, and contexts, collaborated with the objective of advancing transversal skills and intercultural competences through immersing their students in international virtual teamwork. Students and lecturers…

Funded by a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning grant from a University in western Canada, this paper reports on findings from an educational design research study (McKenney & Reeves, 2012) investigating the ways, and the extent to which, particular technological supports and other interventions impacted the acquisition of academic writing…

The current experimental study examined the effects of graphic organizers in a collaborative learning context where students constructed knowledge during online discussions. As the results could vary depending on how students interacted with the graphic organizers, this study compared two different approaches: instructor-provided versus…

Online discussions have been proliferating in US higher education. Due to its widespread incorporation into university courses, instructors have been making efforts to design effective online discussions to enhance student learning. Ground rules play an important role in regulating student behaviors and performance in online discussions. This…

Purpose: Open online courses have expanded opportunities for people to learn remotely. However, few online experiences offer participants ways to create projects and actively engage with course materials while developing meaningful personal connections with one another. The purpose of this paper is to share strategies implemented in a large online…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of three Structured Divergent discussion board prompt designs on knowledge construction in a graduate online course. According to Andrews (1980), the form of the question affects the extent of the response within a discussion. The Playground prompt, the Brainstorming prompt, and the Focal prompt…

Design of instruction is an important feature in teacher education at fulfilling the needs of 4Cs ("critical thinker," "communicator," "collaborator," "creator") developing "a globally competitive learners". As Instructional design models (ID) need to move from adopting a standard approach to…

Globally, e-learning is gaining popularity as its potential contributions to economic and social development are recognised. However, its full potential has not been realised, as most e-learning practices merely replicate traditional existing teaching methods and have not fully exploited the interactive and social components of peer learning.…

Purpose: This report explores the notion of signature pedagogies within the field of e-learning for higher education. Methodology: We build on previous work that examined signature pedagogies in education, linking the concepts of signature pedagogies, the profession of education and e-learning as a means to help educators develop their practice…