January 2012 Volume 15 Number 1 - Educational Technology ...

Lee, J. (2012). Patterns of Interaction and Participation in a Large Online Course: Strategies for Fostering Sustainable Discussion.
Educational Technology & Society, 15 (1), 260–272.
Patterns of Interaction and Participation in a Large Online Course: Strategies
for Fostering Sustainable Discussion
Jiyeon Lee
Myongji University, Bangmok College of Basic Studies, Republic of Korea//jiyeonlee@mju.ac.kr
ABSTRACT
This case study investigated patterns of interaction and participation in a large online course. 88 Korean
undergraduates participated in online fora during 2 weeks. It was found that there was a comparatively high
portion of metacognitive interaction and higher phase of knowledge construction. However, it was found that
students posted required number of messages at once around due date and selectively responded to peers’
initiations without turn-taking. There were few responses despite many readings of peers’ postings to meet the
required number and type of posting. The results showed that the discussion question and evaluation criteria
influenced patterns of interaction and participation, and the phase of knowledge construction. Online
instructional strategies were suggested for successful online discussion, especially to achieve sustainable
discussion.
Keywords
Online interaction, Asynchronous fora, Knowledge construction
Introduction
The use of online courses and web-based communication has been growing exponentially with the expansion of
online technology in colleges and universities. According to the results of a survey administered by the National
Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), 56 percent of all degree-granting higher education institutions offered
distance education courses in 2000-2001. 12 percent of all institutions showed that they planned to offer a distance
education course in next 3 years (Waits & Lewis, 2003). The results from the most recent survey supported by Alfred
P. Sloan Foundation confirmed fast growth of online learning in higher education. Over 4.6 million students were
taking at least one online course during the fall 2008 term and more than one in four higher education students now
take at least one online course based on the results (Allen & Seaman, 2010). Accordingly, fora have been considered
one of the important components of online course (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001; Marra, Moore, & Klimczak,
2004) with its widespread use.
Online fora characterized by asynchronous, text-based, and many-to-many communication have provided learners
with flexible time and place independent learning, and facilitate a learning community with higher level of thinking
with much learner-learner interaction (Bodzin & Park, 2000; Moore & Mara, 2005; Tutty & Klein, 2008). Learners
have opportunities to share their own experience with peers in a shared electronic place which contributes to forming
a good relationship (Chai & Tan, 2009). Text-based asynchronous interaction facilitates critical reflection by
threaded discussion and enough time to reflect, think, and search for information (De Wever, Schellens, Valcke, &
Van Keer, 2006; Pena-Shaff & Nicholls, 2004). All contents of online interaction are permanently stored and thus it
helps students reflect on the learning process (Li, 2004). Suitable scaffolding and easily following the flow of
discussion in online forums result in collaborative learning (Kanuka & Anderson, 1998; Veerman & Veldhuis-
Diermanse, 2001). Sharing experiences, negotiating the meaning, and exchanging of resources and perspectives
contribute to facilitating collective knowledge construction (Gunawardena, Lowe, & Anderson, 1997; Kanuka &
Anderson, 1998; Moore & Marra, 2005). Students practice debate skills and gain deeper understanding by interaction
with peers as a result (Reiser & Dempsey, 2002).
Despite the educational potential of using asynchronous threaded discussion, studies still found that students spent
too much time presenting their ideas to develop discussion (Hathorn & Ingram, 2002). They often produced
discussions that lacked relevance, and participated less in a discussion (Islas, 2004). Students sometimes did not read
peers’ postings and posted only to meet the required numbers (Bodzin & Park, 2000). Students often simply posted
answers to the questions and relied heavily on the instructor’s feedback (Chai & Khine, 2006).
As a result, online fora could not unconditionally guarantee educational potentials for the instructor. Learners’ ways
of communication in online fora did not simply transfer from face-to-face to online environments, thus it is necessary
to develop appropriate e-pedagogies (Li, 2008-2009). Tutty and Klein (2008), for example, suggested that face-toface
collaboration might be better suited for learning regarding well-defined facts and procedures. Virtual
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