Influence of group size on students' participation in online discussion forums

2013 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 123-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jungjoo Kim
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Online Discussion Forums

Fostering Higher Knowledge Construction Levels in Online Discussion Forums

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 44-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khe Foon Hew ◽  
Wing Sum Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Knowledge Construction ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Online Discussion Forums ◽  
Student Facilitation ◽  
Facilitation Techniques

Prior research has suggested that higher levels of knowledge construction (e.g., where opinions are argued, challenged, or negotiated) have rarely been demonstrated in student online discussions. In this study, the authors replicate prior research on group size, discussion duration, and student facilitation techniques to examine the influence of these factors on the attainment of higher level knowledge construction. Data were collected from 12 online discussion forums involving undergraduate students and students’ reflection logs. Analysis of the data confirms a significant positive correction between higher level knowledge construction occurrences and group size. No correlation is found between the discussion duration and the occurrences of higher level knowledge construction. Further analysis between the higher and lower performing forums suggests that a certain critical mass, which appears to be a group size of about 10 participants, may be required to direct the discussion to advanced levels of knowledge construction. In addition, results show that students in higher performing forums used the facilitation technique of pointing, highlighting unanswered or unresolved issues statistically significantly more than their counterparts in lower performing forums.

Fostering Higher Knowledge Construction Levels in Online Discussion Forums

2012 ◽  
pp. 74-85
Author(s):  
Khe Foon Hew ◽  
Wing Sum Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Knowledge Construction ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Online Discussion Forums ◽  
Student Facilitation ◽  
Facilitation Techniques

Prior research has suggested that higher levels of knowledge construction (e.g., where opinions are argued, challenged, or negotiated) have rarely been demonstrated in student online discussions. In this study, the authors replicate prior research on group size, discussion duration, and student facilitation techniques to examine the influence of these factors on the attainment of higher level knowledge construction. Data were collected from 12 online discussion forums involving undergraduate students and students’ reflection logs. Analysis of the data confirms a significant positive correction between higher level knowledge construction occurrences and group size. No correlation is found between the discussion duration and the occurrences of higher level knowledge construction. Further analysis between the higher and lower performing forums suggests that a certain critical mass, which appears to be a group size of about 10 participants, may be required to direct the discussion to advanced levels of knowledge construction. In addition, results show that students in higher performing forums used the facilitation technique of pointing, highlighting unanswered or unresolved issues statistically significantly more than their counterparts in lower performing forums.

scholarly journals Using Design-Based Research to Develop Meaningful Online Discussions in Undergraduate Field Experience Courses

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Johnson ◽  
Laurie Hill ◽  
Jennifer Lock ◽  
Noha Altowairiki ◽  
Christopher Ostrowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Organizational Design ◽  
Field Experience ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Task Completion ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Design Based Research ◽  
Online Discussion Forums ◽  
Group Structures

<p class="3">From a design perspective, the intentionality of students to engage in surface or deep learning is often experienced through prescribed activities and learning tasks. Educators understand that meaningful learning can be furthered through the structural and organizational design of the online environment that motivates the student towards task completion. However, learning engagement is unique for each student. It is dependent on both how students learn and their intentions for learning. Based on this challenge, the design of online discussions becomes a pedagogical means in developing students’ intentionality for the adoption of strategies leading to deep learning. Through a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach, iterative design of online learning components for undergraduate field experience courses were studied. For this paper, the focus of the research is on examining factors that influenced deep and surface levels of learning in online discussion forums. The results indicate that design factors (i.e., student engagement, group structures, and organization) influence the nature and degree of deep learning. From the findings, two implications for practice are shared to inform the design and scaffolding of online discussion forums to foster deep approaches to student learning.</p>

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