Going Blended with a Triple-Entry Activity: Students’ Online Discussions of Assigned Readings using Marginalia

In this paper, we describe and investigate small group discussions of assigned readings in an online version of a “triple-entry activity” in a blended course used an annotation tool, Marginalia. We wondered if students would interact in this structured, critical, reflective reading activity as effectively online as they had when the activity was undertaken on paper in face-to-face classes. We investigated what happened, why, and if successful, and how these findings might inform the use of annotated discussions in the future. We found 30% of comments acknowledged the value of ideas expressed in a group member’s response to a reading, 30% extended those ideas, 11% connected the reading to personal experience, 9% were questions, and 6% answers. Approximately 60% of the interactions were between one group member and the author of the response; 40% involved comments that were connected to each other as well as the author’s response to the reading. Students felt using Marginalia to comment on classmates’ responses and having classmates comment on their responses facilitated their learning from assigned readings. The instructor agreed and felt the online discussions also contributed to the development of a community of learners between face-to-face classes. In addition, reading students’ responses and discussions before each class informed the instructor’s preparation for in-class activities.

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Increasing Social Presence in Online Learning through Small Group Discussions

The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning ◽

10.19173/irrodl.v17i3.2293 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Mete Akcaoglu ◽

Eunbae Lee

Keyword(s):

Online Learning ◽

Small Group ◽

Group Size ◽

Social Presence ◽

Social Space ◽

Online Courses ◽

Group Versus ◽

Online Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Small Group Discussions

Social presence is a difficult to achieve, but an imperative component of online learning. In this study, we investigated the effect of group size on students' perceptions of social presence in two graduate-level online courses, comparing small group versus whole class discussions. Our results indicated that when in small group discussions, students perceived a higher level of social presence in terms of sociability, t(32) = 3.507, p = .001; social space, t(29) = 3.074, p = .005; and group cohesion, t(32) = 3.550, p = .001. We discuss how placing students in small and permanent discussion groups can augment social presence. Designers and educators of online learning can strategically modify group size to promote social presence in asynchronous online discussions.

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Do discussions in like-minded groups necessarily lead to more extreme opinions? Deliberative democracy and group polarization

International Political Science Review ◽

10.1177/0192512117692136 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 41-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Kim Strandberg ◽

Staffan Himmelroos ◽

Kimmo Grönlund

Keyword(s):

Deliberative Democracy ◽

Online Discussions ◽

Group Polarization ◽

Linguistic Minority ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Face To Face ◽

Negative Opinion ◽

Political Reasoning ◽

Minority Participants

In today’s society, we can easily connect with people who share our ideas and interests. A problem with this development is that political reasoning in like-minded groups easily becomes lop-sided since there is little reason to critically examine information that everyone seems to agree with. Hence, there is a tendency for groups to become more extreme than the initial inclination of its members. We designed an experiment to test whether introducing deliberative norms in like-minded discussions can alleviate such group polarization. Based on their attitudes toward a linguistic minority, participants were divided into a positive and a negative opinion enclave. Within the two enclaves, the participants were randomly assigned to group discussions either with or without deliberative norms. Both face-to-face and online discussions were arranged. We found that free discussion without rules led to group polarization in like-minded groups, whereas polarization could be avoided in groups with deliberative norms.

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Synchronous and Asynchronous Discussions: Effects on Cooperation, Belonging, and Affect

Online Learning ◽

10.24059/olj.v22i4.1517 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Amy T Peterson ◽

Patrick N. Beymer ◽

Ralph T. Putnam

Keyword(s):

Cooperative Learning ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Online Courses ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Face To Face ◽

Asynchronous Interaction ◽

Small Group Discussions ◽

The Relationship ◽

Robust Evidence

Supporting productive peer-to-peer interaction is a central challenge in online courses. Although cooperative learning research provides robust evidence for the positive outcomes of face-to-face cooperative learning (Johnson & Johnson, 1989), online modes of cooperative learning have provided mixed results. This study examines the effects of synchronous versus asynchronous interaction on students’ sense of cooperation, belonging, and affect in online small-group discussions. Fifty-two undergraduate students were assigned to synchronous and asynchronous interaction conditions. The findings support prior research that asynchronous communication interferes with the relationship between cooperative goals and the outcomes of cooperation. Results inform theory and practice, by showing that asynchronous cooperative learning may not work as designed because the presence of cooperative goals do not predict cooperative outcomes.

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The Gender Gap in Political Discussion Group Attendance

Politics & Gender ◽

10.1017/s1743923x18000892 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 315-338 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Edana Beauvais

Keyword(s):

Gender Gap ◽

Voting Behavior ◽

Discussion Groups ◽

Political Discussion ◽

Political Rights ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Face To Face ◽

Women's Participation ◽

Small Group Discussions ◽

Discursive Politics

AbstractAlthough women and men enjoy formally equal political rights in today's democracies, there are ongoing gaps in the extent to which they make use of these rights, with women underrepresented in many political practices. The gender gap in democratic participation is problematic because gendered asymmetries in participation entail collective outcomes that are less attentive to women's needs, interests, and preferences. Existing studies consider gender gaps in voting behavior and in certain forms of nonelectoral politics such as boycotting, signings a petition, or joining a protest. However, almost no work considers gendered variation in discursive politics. Do women participate in small, face-to-face political discussion groups at the same rate as men? And does gender intersect with other identities—such as ethnicity—to impact attendance at political discussion groups? I use data from the Canadian Election Study 2015 Web Survey to answer these questions. I find that women are significantly less likely to attend small-group discussions than men and that ethnicity intersects with gender in some important ways. However, I find no evidence that other social attributes—poverty or the presence of young children in the home—suppress women's participation in political discussion groups more than men's.

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THE EBB AND FLOW OF ONLINE DISCUSSIONS: WHAT BLOOM CAN TELL US ABOUT OUR STUDENTS’ CONVERSATIONS

Online Learning ◽

10.24059/olj.v9i1.1802 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Katrina A. Meyer

Keyword(s):

Online Discussion ◽

Online Discussions ◽

Online Environment ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Face To Face ◽

Online Mode ◽

Need To Evaluate ◽

The Face ◽

Interesting Area ◽

Ebb And Flow

This study looks at online discussions within the context of a group endeavor and attempts to evaluate three assertions: 1) students in an online discussion proceed through higher levels of thinking; 2) Online conversations follow an “ebb and flow” pattern; 3) The level of the first posting to the discussion influences the level of subsequent postings. Postings were classified by the Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives and were graphed to help analyze the assertions. There was only modest support for the first assertion and better support for the second and third assertions. Analyzing online discussions as a group endeavor may well prove an interesting area of research for those interested in applying the existing body of literature and theory on group discussions in the face-to-face arena to the online environment. Researchers need to evaluate whether this literature is applicable to online discussions and what distinctions can legitimately be made between group discussions in the face-to-face or online mode.

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Student Perceptions of Face-to-Face and Online Discussions: The Advantage Goes To . . .

Online Learning ◽

10.24059/olj.v11i4.10 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Katrina A. Meyer

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Affirmative Action ◽

Student Perceptions ◽

Online Discussions ◽

Political Tolerance ◽

Self Assessment ◽

Face To Face ◽

The Face ◽

Online Setting ◽

And Gender

Thirteen students in a graduate-level course on Historical and Policy Perspectives in Higher Education held face-to-face and online discussions on five controversial topics: Diversity, Academic Freedom, Political Tolerance, Affirmative Action, and Gender. Students read materials on each topic and generated questions for discussion that were categorized by Bloom’s taxonomy so that the level of questions in the two discussion settings would be closely parallel. Upon completion of each discussion, they answered questions that addressed depth and length of the discussion, ability to remember, and a self-assessment of how the student learned. Students’ assessments show a consistent preference for the face-to-face discussion but a small number of students preferred the online setting. However, what is perhaps more interesting is a minority of approximately one-third of the students who perceived no difference between the settings, or that the two settings were perhaps complementary.

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Designed Learner Interactions in Blended Course Delivery

Online Learning ◽

10.24059/olj.v15i1.183 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Reba-Anna Lee ◽

Brian Dashew

Keyword(s):

Instructional Design ◽

Best Practices ◽

Design Process ◽

Course Delivery ◽

Student Interactions ◽

Face To Face ◽

Instructional Design Process ◽

Hybrid Delivery ◽

Academic Technology ◽

Blended Course

In transitioning to a hybrid delivery model, faculty are presented with an opportunity to engage in a systematic instructional design process which can bring coursework in line with pedagogical best practices that may not exist in traditional face-to-face classes. This paper presents a model whereby Marist College Academic Technology & eLearning staff focuses faculty attention on designing effective student interactions with content, the instructor, and other students. These interactions promote deeper levels of engagement in student learning.

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