This study aimed to investigate end-of-course achievements, cognitive levels of the preservice teachers' posts, interaction types and their perceptions about asynchronous online discussions. In this mixed method research study, 72 pre-service teachers were included adopting a convenience sampling method. Moreover, 10 volunteering pre-service…

Asynchronous online discussion boards are frequently utilized as a pedagogical tool within traditional, hybrid, and online collegiate courses. Research has found teacher candidates can be disenchanted with the monotonous structure of traditional asynchronous online discussion boards. In educator preparation, we claim to understand teacher…

Due to the predominance of test-oriented practice, one major challenge faced in Japanese high school classrooms is the lack of learning activities to develop higher order thinking. The purpose of this action research study was to explore an extracurricular blended learning program created to develop the higher order thinking of English language…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of conducting asynchronous online discussion forums on low-achieving EFL students in Taiwan. 124 non-English program students from a technological university participated. Based on a textbook, one to three questions were assigned every other week. An asynchronous learning mode was implemented…

Following the appraisal framework (Martin & White, 2005), in particular the two discourse-semantic systems of Engagement and Attitude, this study examines the extent to which second language learners in a US-Spain telecollaborative project (a) engaged with their own ideas and those of their partners and (b) expressed their attitude towards…

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of structured discussion by giving participants in online discussion groups different roles in transactional distance perception and knowledge sharing behaviors. In the study, a quasi-experimental design was utilized with pretest and posttest control groups. The study was conducted with 111…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of online students' cognitive presence in a peer-facilitated discussion environment, and to identify the peer facilitation techniques that can enhance cognitive presence development. In this study, 738 discussion messages were examined by both qualitative and quantitative content…

The present study investigates the temporal elements affecting asynchronous discussion board messages over a semester, ways in which time is contextualized in space and content, and students' spatio-temporal practices within fixed frames. The theoretical framework uses Lefebvre's rhythm analysis, Bakhtin's chronotope, and…

This study reports on a mixed methods study which explored 32 Iranian pre-service teachers' perceptions of attending online asynchronous discussion forums during two seven-week online introductory courses in corpus linguistics. Data were collected through a questionnaire, discussion forum entries and online text-based semi-structured interviews.…

More and more educational institutions have been moving towards delivering courses and programs at a distance. Although asynchronous online courses overcome the constraints of time, students feel isolated due to the lack of real-time communications. One possible solution to overcome this isolation been suggested that learner's online behavior and…

Over the past 20 years, researchers have begun to examine data from asynchronous computer-mediated student discussions in courses. Some results have shown students to demonstrate lower or mid-level thinking skills, while others suggest students routinely demonstrate higher-order thinking skills. The authors investigated the relationship between…

The dynamics of the student-student relationship within the asynchronous online classroom, as evidenced by conversations in an online discussion board, is a balancing act potentially more complex than those occurring in real-time. In order for learning to truly be considered effective, a collaborative, safe environment needs to exist among…

This study investigated how the different discussion approaches in Facebook influenced students' scientific knowledge acquisition and the nature of science (NOS) views. Two eighth- and two ninth-grade classes in a Taiwanese junior high school participated in the study. In two of the classes students engaged in synchronous discussion, and in the…

There has been an unquestionable upsurge in distance education in recent years. Given this, it is extremely important to understand the experience of online courses from students' perspectives. The purpose of the current qualitative study is to understand student attitudes about distance education in a specific context, namely that of a…

As institutional and market pressures move more faculty into the online teaching space, renewed discussions are occurring about how to best teach online, and what features of online courses are best to employ. A distance learning staple, the online discussion, or asynchronous discussion forum (ADF) is an easy strategy for faculty to employ in an…