The Influence of Instructional Methods on the Quality of Online Discussion

Autor/inn/en	Kanuka, Heather; Rourke, Liam; Laflamme, Elaine
Titel	The Influence of Instructional Methods on the Quality of Online Discussion
Quelle	In: British Journal of Educational Technology, 38 (2007) 2, S.260-271 (12 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0007-1013
DOI	10.1111/j.1467-8535.2006.00620.x
Schlagwörter	Teaching Methods; Distance Education; Content Analysis; Case Studies; Group Discussion; Debate; Higher Education; Discourse Analysis; Virtual Classrooms; Educational Technology; Correlation; Electronic Mail + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Distance study; Distance learning; Fernunterricht; Inhaltsanalyse; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Gruppendiskussion; Debating; Streitgespräch; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Diskursanalyse; Unterrichtsmedien; Korrelation; Elektronischer Briefkasten
Abstract	In this case study, we examined the influence of five groups of communication activities on the quality of student's contributions to online discussion. The activities were the nominal group technique, debate, invited expert, WebQuest and reflective deliberation. Quality of discussion was operationalised as "cognitive presence", a construct developed to investigate the role of critical discourse in higher, distance education contexts. Using the quantitative content analysis technique, the postings of 19 students in an undergraduate university course were assigned to one of the four categories of cognitive presence. Across the five activities, the proportion and number of contributions categorised in the highest phases of cognitive presence was low (20.21%), but was highest during the Webquest and debate activities. There are three advantageous qualities of these two activities, we argue: (1) They were well structured; (2) They provided clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the students; and (3) They provoked the students to explicitly confront others opinions. (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10