scholarly journals Students’ critical thinking level: examining Wimba Voice Board and text online discussions

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biao Bin Pang ◽  
Khe Foon Hew
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Online Discussions

Designing Asynchronous Discussions to Teach Critical Thinking

2009 ◽  
pp. 276-287
Author(s):  
John Miller
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Opposite Effect ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Central Component ◽  
College Level ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Constructivist Pedagogy ◽  
Asynchronous Discussions

A central component of constructivist pedagogy at the college level is the modeling and practicing of critical thinking, and since Socrates, discussion has been the basic vehicle for accomplishing this. Advocates of online teaching have argued that the written and asynchronous nature of online discussions enhance its ability to teach critical thinking. Unless online discussions are properly designed, however, these apparent advantages may in fact have the opposite effect. This chapter sets forth six basic principles for designing online discussions that model and shape critical thinking experiences for students, and illustrates them with examples from two different online college literature classes.

scholarly journals Enhancing learning through the discussion forum

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nantha Kumar Subramaniam
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Discussion Forum ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Online Discussion Forums ◽  
Collaborative Discussion

Asynchronous online discussion forums play an important role in adult online courses, and have many possible functions. Our experience in using the discussion forums in online courses for task-based collaborative discussion has led us to many questions about the optimal ways of using online discussion to support collaborative learning, such as how should instructors structure online discussions in a way that it promotes collaborative learning? What should instructors do to enhance learners' reflective thinking, critical thinking, or problem solving in online collaborative discussions? The challenges of using forum in learning have also been highlighted by many researchers. In this paper, we present a so-called “smart” discussion forum to support, monitor and facilitate task-based collaboration for the learning process of adult learners to advance their development of critical thinking.

scholarly journals Using the Photovoice Method to Elicit Authentic Learning in Online Discussions

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-138
Author(s):  
Beatriz M Reyes-Foster ◽  
Aimee DeNoyelles
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Authentic Learning ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Course Content ◽  
College Classrooms ◽  
Points Of View

While online discussions remain popular in college classrooms, mixed results persist about their effectiveness in eliciting authentic learning. This case study explores how students perceive the influence of the Photovoice method on their authentic learning, critical thinking, engagement, and peer interaction in an asynchronous online discussion. Photovoice is a research method combining photography with social action, in which people express their points of view by photographing scenes that highlight certain themes. Students in an online undergraduate course engaged in an online discussion which asked them to connect personal images to the course content. Students reported that this strategy supported authentic learning, critical thinking, engagement, and interaction; in addition, a correlational analysis found that these factors are highly interrelated. This case study proposes recommendations for practitioners interested in using a similar approach.

Relationship between Types of Question Prompts and Critical Thinking in Online Discussions

2013 ◽  
pp. 197-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer C. Richardson ◽  
Ayesha Sadaf ◽  
Peggy A. Ertmer
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Student Thinking ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Student Responses ◽  
Question Prompts ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Structure Discussion

This chapter addresses the relationship between types of initial question prompts and the levels of critical thinking demonstrated by students’ responses in online discussions. The chapter is framed around a research study involving discussion prompts that were coded and classified using Andrews’ typology (1980). Students’ responses (n=1132), taken from 27 discussion forums, were coded using the four-stage Practical Inquiry Model (PIM) (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2001). Among the nine question types explored, Critical Incident questions were most effective in generating high levels of student thinking. This was followed by Lower Divergent, Shotgun, and Analytical Convergent question responses that mainly resulted in students achieving the Integration phase of the PIM. Moreover, validation of the discussion prompts provides an updated typology that categorizes question prompts based on the verbal structure of online discussions. This chapter provides important implications for instructors who teach online, especially those looking for general guidelines regarding how to structure discussion prompts to elicit high quality student responses.

(Re)Assessing Student Thinking in Online Threaded Discussions

2013 ◽  
pp. 265-280
Author(s):  
Felicia Saffold
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Student Thinking ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Threaded Discussions ◽  
Online Discussion Forums

A teacher educator examines the level of critical thinking of her preservice teachers participating in an urban education course through online discussions. The objective was to see if online discussions, which were the heart of the learning process, could be an effective strategy to promote critical thinking skills. Using the revised version of Bloom’s Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) as a guide, participants’ posts and responses were assessed to determine the quality of thinking that occurred in the online discussion forum. Results show that utilizing online discussion forums can be an effective pedagogy for classes where complex, often controversial issues such as social justice, equity, and white privilege are discussed.

scholarly journals Critical Thinking in Asynchronous Online Discussions: A Systematic Review | La pensée critique dans les discussions asynchrones en ligne : examen systématique

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua DiPasquale ◽  
William Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Common Goal ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Asynchronous Online Discussions ◽  
Mise En Pratique

Enhancing critical thinking is a common goal of higher education. Designing and facilitating learning environments in which critical thinking may develop is a key responsibility for instructors. In this paper, we seek to inform future research and practice by investigating instructional strategies that could be used to promote critical and reflective thinking in asynchronous online discussions. Our literature review was qualitative and systematic, and focused specifically on strategies that were effective in fully-online higher education contexts. Thematic analysis was used to synthesize the findings and conclusions from the various studies into recurrent themes and sub-themes. The results of the analysis indicated that practitioners should employ a multi-step approach to facilitating critical thinking and reflection in asynchronous online discussions. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.Améliorer la pensée critique est un objectif courant de l’éducation supérieure. Concevoir et faciliter des environnements d’apprentissage dans lesquels la pensée critique peut se développer est une responsabilité importante pour les instructeurs. Dans cet article, nous cherchons à renseigner les études et les pratiques futures en examinant les stratégies didactiques qui pourraient être utilisées pour promouvoir une pensée critique et réfléchie dans les discussions asynchrones en ligne. Notre examen des publications a été qualitatif et systématique. Il a été particulièrement axé sur les stratégies qui étaient efficaces dans les contextes d’éducation supérieure entièrement en ligne. L’analyse thématique a servi à synthétiser les résultats et les conclusions des différentes études en thèmes et thèmes sous-jacents récurrents. Les résultats de l’analyse indiquent que les intervenants devraient se servir d’une approche en plusieurs étapes pour promouvoir la pensée critique et réfléchie dans les discussions asynchrones en ligne. Une discussion de ce que cela implique pour les recherches et la mise en pratique est incluse.

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