Online class size, note reading, note writing and collaborative discourse

Researchers have long recognized class size as affecting students?? performance in face-to-face contexts. However, few studies have examined the effects of class size on exact reading and writing loads in online graduate-level courses. This mixed-methods study examined relationships among class size, note reading, note writing, and collaborative discourse by analyzing tracking logs from 25 graduate-level online courses (25 instructors and 341 students) and interviews with 10 instructors and 12 graduate students. The quantitative and qualitative data analyses were designed to complement each other. The findings from this study point to class size as a major factor affecting note reading and writing loads in online graduate-level courses. Class size was found positively correlated with total number of notes students and instructors read and wrote, but negatively correlated with the percentage of notes students read, their note size and note grade level score. In larger classes, participants were more likely to experience information overload and students were more selective in reading notes. The data also suggest that the overload effects of large classes can be minimized by dividing students into small groups for discussion purposes. Interviewees felt that the use of small groups in large classes benefited their collaborative discussions. Findings suggested 13 to 15 as an optimal class size. The paper concludes with a list of pedagogical recommendations and suggestions for new multimedia software features to enhance collaborative learning in online classes.     

Influence of group configuration on online discourse writing

This study examines the impact of different strategies for grouping students in online, discourse-intensive distance education courses. The mixed methods research focused on note writing productivity (based on 366 participants in 25 classes) and participants' perceptions (12 graduate students and 10 instructors) relating to three different class configurations (large whole class, small whole class, large class divided into subgroups). Each configuration exhibited advantages and disadvantages in terms of supporting note writing, however, the data analyses suggested that the advantages for writing in subgroups outweighed those of the other two conditions. Splitting larger classes into smaller subgroups appears to reduce information overload and encourages more focused, in-depth discussions. The research concludes with a list of pedagogical recommendations and suggests new software features that may help learning within specific group configurations. This study may have implications for both practitioners and researchers who wish to promote more fruitful online discussions.     

Foster strengths and circumvent weaknesses: Advantages and disadvantages of online versus face-to-face subgroup discourse

This article points out some advantages and disadvantages of online over face-to-face subgroup discourse. Using a mixed methods study methodology, five online graduate-level courses were investigated and the experiences from twenty-two participants were described to identify key advantages and disadvantages of subgroup structures used to evaluate graduate students' and instructors' experiences. Outcomes revealed that online small group discussions have more advantages over face-to-face ones. Online small group discussions can be an effective strategy to interweave whole-class discussions with small group discussions in order to reduce overall information loads in large classes while providing more opportunities for interaction. However, online small group discussions have some disadvantages over face-to-face discussions. The findings may have implications for both practitioners and researchers studying online small group discourse. They could serve as a base for researchers to further explore the issue to achieve fruitful online discourse.     

An investigation of student practices in asynchronous computer conferencing courses

This study investigated the online practices of students enrolled in graduate-level distance education courses. Using interviews and a questionnaire as data sources, the study sought to: (a) identify common practices that students adopt in asynchronous discussions, and (b) gain an understanding of why students adopt them. An analysis of the data suggests that many of the practices are coping mechanisms developed to help students more easily meet course participation requirements. Some of these are time saving strategies designed to reduce information overload (e.g., skimming messages rather than reading them carefully). Other strategies are designed to help students project an image of themselves as knowledgeable and collaborative course participants. It is argued that although these practices provide students with a level of efficiency in terms of meeting course requirements, they may inadvertently undermine learning.     

The relationship between class size and online activity patterns in asynchronous computer conferencing environments

This study analyzes the relationship between class size and student online activity patterns in a series of 28 graduate level computer conferencing courses. Quantitative analyses of note production, average note size, note opening and note reading percentages found a significant positive correlation between class size and mean number of notes generated. Significant negative correlations were found between class size and average note size and between class size and percent of notes opened. Analyses of average reading speeds among large classes and small classes revealed that students in large classes were more likely to scan lengthy notes (i.e., notes that contain more than 350 words). Possible explanations for these results are discussed.     

Email small group peer review revisited

Attention to email exchanged among a small group of student peers supercedes discussion of networked computer labs and is distinguished from research on collaborative classroom work in general, on online peer tutoring in writing centers, on email communication in online professional writing courses, and on online discourse in general. Email peer response within small groups is different from larger-scale, one-to-many computer-based communication tools (CBCT) on class mailing lists, bulletin boards, blogs, and wikis on the one hand and smaller-scale, one-to-one email exchange between an individual student and a peer tutor on the other hand. The benefits of assignments that require small groups to respond electronically and asynchronously to each other's drafts are analyzed and illustrated: rhetorical/thematic, discursive/environmental, technological, logistical/time management. The practicalities of students’ exchange of drafts, deadlines, and other guidelines are explained and illustrated in typical student email responses and model instructor handouts.     

Learning from reading argumentive group discussions in Facebook: Rhetoric style matters (again)

We explore the potential of learning from reading discussions in social network settings. Undergraduates were asked to read an argumentive discussion between students of a closed, course-related Facebook group. The discussion revolved around a social-economic-ethical, ‘hot’ topic of debate and contained several links to online resources in support of the discussants’ opinions. Based on previous research on argumentive discourse style, two different online discussions were created to reflect either a disputative or deliberative discourse goal, while controlling for all other verbal content. Students in a control condition only received the links to the same online resources, without the discussions. Following the reading phase, declarative knowledge on the topic was significantly lower in the disputative discourse condition, but no differences were found between the deliberative argumentation and the control condition. Reading behavior measures (time-on-task, time spent reading the online information resources, number of online information sources, time spent reading the discussion) could not account for the differences in knowledge performance. A program for future research is outlined to explore the effects of learning through reading discussions, the role of argumentive style, and the affective and cognitive processes underlying them.     

Effects of online teaching presence on students' interactions and collaborative knowledge construction

This study analysed the instructors' teaching presence of three courses conducted by an instructor to explore the effects of the instructors' online teaching presence on students' interactions and collaborative knowledge constructions. Content analysis, social network analysis, and lag sequential analysis were used to explore the mechanism of teaching presence on students' interactions and collaborative knowledge construction. Results demonstrate that the design and organization, as well as facilitating discourse, can facilitate students' interaction, reduce the number of peripheral students, and facilitate students' collaborative knowledge construction, especially in the knowledge sharing, discovery, discussion, and application, whereas direct instruction has positive effects on teachers' centrality and negative effects on knowledge negotiation and testing. The result can give the instructors some guidance on online teaching practices.     

When groups decide to use asynchronous online discussions: collaborative learning and social presence under a voluntary participation structure

The purpose of this study is to explore how groups decide to use asynchronous online discussion forums in a non-mandatory setting, and, after the group decision is made, how group members use online discussion forums to complete a collaborative learning project requiring complex data gathering and research processes. While a large body of research on computer-mediated communication (CMC) has documented successful intervention strategies to promote and sustain online discussion forums, little of the research has examined the use of online discussion forums in voluntarily contexts, wherein the decision to use online discussion forums is a personal decision and participation is not a graded component. This study approaches the research questions using a naturalistic case study of one graduate-level blended learning course with 55 students. Employing both student interviews and content analysis methods, this study revealed that the factors affecting the group decision to use online discussion forums are (1) successful or unsuccessful experiences during the first trial, (2) perceived affordances of CMC tools, and (3) the interplay between the nature of collaborative tasks and perceived efficiency. The content analysis of online postings in two voluntary groups revealed that when groups decided to use online discussion forums, participation levels were almost equal among individual group members, and discussion threads were sustained until the final completion of the collaborative project.     

Group awareness tools: It’s what you do with it that matters

This study examined the effect of using a group awareness tool on online collaboration. Furthermore, we examined whether the effect of using a group awareness tool on online collaboration is mediated by group awareness (i.e., students’ awareness of their group members’ levels of participation). To answer these questions, we determined how often and how long 107 secondary education students used the Participation-tool (PT), a group awareness tool designed to visualize group members’ relative contribution to the online collaborative process. Our analyses show that duration of PT use (how long students displayed the tool on their screens) significantly predicted group members’ participation in the online dialogue, their participation when writing collaborative texts, equality of participation within the group, and coordination and regulation of activities in the relational space (i.e., discussing the collaboration process with group members). No effect of using the PT on group performance was found. Mediation analyses showed that the effect of using the PT is only partially mediated by group awareness: an indirect effect of using the PT, via enhanced awareness of participation, on student participation during chat discussions and the collaborative writing process was found.     

An automatic group composition system for composing collaborative learning groups using enhanced particle swarm optimization

One goal of collaborative learning is to maximize the learning performance of all participating students. In order to achieve this aim, the first step is to consider how to assist instructors in forming well-structured collaborative learning groups with a good work atmosphere to promote successful outcomes for all members. Generally, understanding levels and interests of students are two grouping criteria that are usually considered by practicing instructors. Nevertheless, when the instructors face a large number of students, simultaneously considering the two grouping criteria to form the students in an appropriate collaborative learning context is almost impossible. To address this problem, this study formulates a group composition problem to model the formation of collaborative learning groups that satisfy the two grouping criteria. Moreover, this study is based on a novel approach called particle swarm optimization (PSO) to propose an enhanced PSO (EPSO) for composing well-structured collaborative learning groups. In addition, the experimental results have demonstrated that the proposed approach is an applicable and robust method that can aid instructors in planning different kinds of collaborative learning processes.     

Exploring students' learning effectiveness and attitude in Group Scribbles‐supported collaborative reading activities: a study in the primary classroom

Improving students' reading comprehension is of significance. In this study, collaborative learning supported by Group Scribbles (GS), a networked technology, was integrated into a primary reading class. Forty‐seven 10‐year‐old students from two 4th grade classes participated in the study. Experimental and control groups were established to investigate the effectiveness of GS‐supported collaborative learning in enhancing students' reading comprehension. The results affirmed the effectiveness of the intervention designed. In the experiment group, students' learning attitudes, motivation and interest were enhanced as well. Further analyses were done to probe students' interaction processes in the networked collaborative classroom and different collaboration patterns and behaviours were identified. Based on the findings obtained, implications for future learning design to empower L1 learning were elaborated.     

Enhancing digital reading performance with a collaborative reading annotation system

As children now spend considerable time reading electronic media, digital reading skills and good reading comprehension are essential. However, many studies agree that screen-based reading leads to shallow reading, short attention spans, and poor comprehension. Therefore, this work presents a collaborative reading annotation system with a reading annotation and interactive discussion scaffold (CRAS-RAIDS) for improving reading performance in collaborative digital reading environments. This study used a quasi-experimental design. Fifty-three Grade 5 students were recruited from two classes of an elementary school in Taoyuan County, Taiwan. One class was randomly designated the experimental group used the proposed CRAS-RAIDS support for collaborative reading. The other class was designated the control group and used the traditional paper-based reading annotation method and face-to-face discussions. The two groups were then compared in terms of reading attitude, reading comprehension, and use of reading strategy in an active reading context. Analytical results show that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in direct and explicit comprehension, inferential comprehension performance, and use of reading strategy. Moreover, the experimental group, but not the control group, had a significantly improved reading attitude in the total dimensions and in the behavioral and affective sub-dimensions. Additionally, the experimental group showed positive interest and high learning satisfaction.     

Distinguishing knowledge-sharing, knowledge-construction, and knowledge-creation discourses

The study reported here sought to obtain the clear articulation of asynchronous computer-mediated discourse needed for Carl Bereiter and Marlene Scardamalia’s knowledge-creation model. Distinctions were set up between three modes of discourse: knowledge sharing, knowledge construction, and knowledge creation. These were applied to the asynchronous online discourses of four groups of secondary school students (40 students in total) who studied aspects of an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and related topics. The participants completed a pretest of relevant knowledge and a collaborative summary note in Knowledge Forum, in which they self-assessed their collective knowledge advances. A coding scheme was then developed and applied to the group discourses to obtain a possible explanation of the between-group differences in the performance of the summary notes and examine the discourses as examples of the three modes. The findings indicate that the group with the best summary note was involved in a threshold knowledge-creation discourse. Of the other groups, one engaged in a knowledge-sharing discourse and the discourses of other two groups were hybrids of all three modes. Several strategies for cultivating knowledge-creation discourse are proposed.

Toward a classification of discourse patterns in asynchronous online discussions

The goal of this study was to develop a classification for a range of discourse patterns that occur in text-based asynchronous discussion forums, and that can aid in the distinction of three modes of discourse: knowledge sharing, knowledge construction, and knowledge building. The dataset was taken from Knowledge Forum® databases in the Knowledge Building Teacher Network in Hong Kong, and included three discussion views created for different classes: Grade 5 Science, Grade 10 Visual Arts, and Grade 10 Liberal Studies. We used a combination of qualitative coding and narrative analysis as well as teachers’ understanding of online discourse to analyze student discussions. Nine discourse patterns were identified. These patterns revealed a variety of ways in which students go about their collaborative interactions online and demonstrated how and why students succeed or fail in sustaining collaborative interactions. This study extended the three modes of online discourse and developed different discourse patterns, which are efforts to provide instructional guidance. The implications of supporting productive discourse and the enactment of CSCL innovations in classrooms are discussed.     

Toward a Complexity of Online Learning: Learners in Online First-Year Writing

In response to the growing presence of online first-year writing courses, this paper describes a case study of two online first-year writing courses and addresses the questions: What do students in an online first-year writing course perceive as good study habits, and what helps them succeed? Data includes surveys, online discussions, course management statistics, and selected interviews. The study is supported by social cognitive theory described by psychologist Albert Bandura; this methodology allows for examination of internal, external, and behavioral characteristics of participating students. Results of the study indicate that students who rated themselves as making good use of study time also succeeded in the course. Insights from students include information about study activities, management of study time, access to technology, and attitudes about online courses. A surprising result of the study was that students did not consider communication with peers as a productive study activity, despite a deliberate attempt by instructors to build peer interaction into the course. Yet students also reported high levels of engagement and positive attitudes about online learning. The social cognitive lens provides helpful insights about these complex findings by examining the external, internal, and behavioral aspects of online first-year writing students in this study.     

The relationships among group size,participation, and performance of programming language learning supported with online forums

This study examined the relationships among group size, participation, and learning performance factors when learning a programming language in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) context. An online forum was used as the CSCL environment for learning the Microsoft ASP.NET programming language. The collaborative-learning experiment was performed with one large group and 15 small groups.A total of 120 students participated in this experiment as part of a half-semester ASP.NET programming language course. The course contained an online forum for supporting the students' social activities and participation. This study used a participation-weighted rate for different participation types. A ‘learning score’ and a ‘learning satisfaction’ score were used to measure learning performance.The results of this study were as follows: (1) the online forum support aided collaborative learning, regardless of group size; (2) group sizes did not significantly influence learning scores directly but significantly influenced participation, and small groups had higher participation rates, which positively influenced learning scores; and (3) learning satisfaction using the online forum was higher than the average score. Small groups had higher learning satisfaction rates, and participation did not significantly influence learning satisfaction.Due to this study's results, we recommend that programs design instruction with small groups for teaching programming languages in online forums, support student-centered discussions, and encourage high levels of student participation to increase learning performance.