An Exploratory Examination of Student-Led, Asynchronous Collaborative Online Discussions in Fostering Higher-Order Cognitive Skills and Ethical Leadership Learning

Previous studies have contextualized student-led, asynchronous online discussions as collaborative learning experiences that positively impact students’ learning and foster higher order cognitive skills. From a leadership education perspective, student-led discussions have come to the fore as a helpful resource for deepening learning because of their focus on collaboration and shared leadership. While literature on student-led online discussions, leadership learning, and cognitive skill is plentiful, there is no single study that explores all these elements together or fully points to how practicing meaning-making in online, asynchronous leadership courses can inform larger cognitive processes. Thus, the purpose of this conceptual content analysis-based study was to examine 35 undergraduate students’ collaborative discussion board posts at the beginning, middle, and end of an online, asynchronous Ethics and Leadership class to assess not only if and to what extent students expressed cognitive skills, in general, but also if and to what extent they understood ethical leadership via these types of discussions. Further, from an exploratory lens, this study examined if there was a relationship between expression of higher order cognitive skills and more complex ethical leadership understanding. Results indicate that, while students achieved higher order cognitive skills and more holistic ethical leadership understanding overall, robustness of student engagement could be situational in nature and expressions of cognitive skills and ethical leadership understanding tapered as the course progressed. Additional findings and implications are discussed.

Cutaneous Kaposi’s sarcoma in an HIV-negative patient with Crohn’s disease on thiopurine immunosuppression

We present the rare case of a 61-year-old man with Crohn’s disease who developed a cutaneous Kaposi’s sarcoma in the setting of long-term treatment with 6-mercaptopurine. Deciding on the best course of management provided a clinical challenge in an ‘evidence-light’ area. Relevant case reports and guidelines were reviewed. In general, the withdrawal of immunosuppressive therapy is advised; however, a multidisciplinary, case-by-case approach is also emphasised. The patient’s lesion was removed and, following collaborative discussion, immunosuppression was continued post resection. This is thought to be the first reported case involving a Kaposi’s sarcoma in inflammatory bowel disease where immune therapy was not subsequently discontinued.

A preliminary study on visually impaired students in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic

This article problematizes the status of the visually impaired students in Bangladesh under the COVID-19 global pandemic. We inquire into two inter-related questions: (a) what level and quality of technological access does a visually impaired student have in their higher education institution (e.g. a university or government-affiliated college operating under a university)? And, (b) how are these students coping academically under the pandemic? Our preliminary study employed mixed methods for data collection, encompassing a quantitative survey questionnaire followed by qualitative phone interviews. We reached out to approximately 15 male and female students enrolled in public and private higher educational institutions in the country. The findings will be instrumental to initiate a collaborative discussion among academics and practitioners in the government, non-government and private sectors in the country and around the Global South.

Collaborative Discussion Using Padlet-based Materials in Writing for ESP Course

Collaborative discussion is a purposeful means for lecturers to assist students’ ideas in writing. This research, therefore, aims to determine the effect of collaborative discussion using Padlet-based materials that have been previously developed by researchers for Mechanical Engineering students to enhance learning outcomes. This research was conducted at second-year undergraduate in a class of 40 students. This research was classified as a pre-experimental design. Moreover, the quantitative data were collected by using pre-test and post-test to the sample class. The finding revealed descriptive statistics of the sample studied, pre-test and post-test. For the pre-test value, an average learning outcome or mean of 60.13 is obtained. While for the post-test score, it was obtained the average value of learning outcomes of 77.25. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient or correlation is equal to 0.867 with a significance value (Sig.) of 0.000. The finding indicates that Collaborative learning using Padlet-based teaching materials in Mechanical Engineering class could influence students’ writing outcomes.

The Collaborative Discussion Model: Developing Writing Skills through Prewriting Discussion

This study aims to investigate the effect of peer-assisted prewriting discussion on second language (L2) academic writing and its benefits for students with different proficiency levels. While there is a significant body of research exploring the positive impact of collaboration on L2 writers' written performance and the ways it could be organised, there is little practical consideration on how to formulate explicit instruction. The rationale for this research lies in designing and arranging explicit instruction that could lead to L2 learners producing a higher quality writing output. Based on both qualitative and quantitative methods, and drawn on students’ written texts and data analysis, the current study was conducted to devise and test a proposed model, which the author will term the ‘collaborative discussion model’ (the CDM). The control and experimental groups of Russian EFL students (n = 48) were engaged in written assignments after naturally occurring discussions and then the latter group was involved in an instructor-led discussion. The practice writing tasks were rated with the analytic rubric used in IELTS, assessing task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range. The findings suggest that collaborative prewriting tasks, accomplished in the experimental group of students with different levels of L2 proficiency, may encourage students to engage more in reflection about the content and language of the text. As the texts produced after introducing the CDM were scored higher, especially on the criteria of task response and lexical resource, it is suggested that scaffolding prewriting discussions can potentially augment the writing skills of learners and the CDM can be used as a complementary activity to address the challenges associated with academic writing. The results of the questionnaire can imply that there are benefits of explicit instruction for students with different levels of L2 proficiency, although in nuanced ways and different degrees.

Social Annotation, Critical Literacy, and Justice-Directed Educator Learning

This paper/award presentation is shared on behalf of the Marginal Syllabus leadership team having received the 2020 National Technology Leadership Initiative Award, presented by the English Language Arts Teacher Educators group of the National Council of Teachers of English. Annotation is first introduced as a familiar yet often underappreciated practice in literacy education. Second, the social and critical qualities of annotation are briefly reviewed, with attention to the benefits of social annotation for students’ literacy learning and critical social annotation as a means by which literacy teacher educators can foster close reading and collaborative discussion about equity-oriented topics. Third and finally, the Marginal Syllabus is introduced and discussed. The Marginal Syllabus is a project that leverages critical social annotation for public conversation about education equity. Since 2016, the Marginal Syllabus has advocated for and productively advanced justice-directed educator learning and critical literacy education.

Using Three Social Network Analysis Approaches to Understand Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

Sharing the same philosophy of “relations matter” with computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), social network analysis (SNA) has become a common methodology in the CSCL research. In this research, I use SNA methods from relational ties, network modes, and integrated methods perspectives to understand attributes of relations in CSCL. I design, conduct, and evaluate three SNA analytics on the same dataset from an online course to understand CSCL entities, relations, and processes. This online collaborative discussion in this course stresses students’ knowledge inquiry, construction, and building through peer interactions. Results show that compared to traditional SNA methods, these three SNA approaches can reveal more detailed, richer picture of the collaborative learning processes, particularly, the interactional, multi-modal, and temporal aspects. Moreover, these SNA approaches are generalizable for understanding similar CSCL settings. Based on the results, this research proposes methodological implications to further apply and develop SNA in the CSCL field.

A Course on the Future of Work: Building the Scaffold While Standing on It

We have entered the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Disruption is coming—in fact, it is here. New paradigms are forming, which will bring significant change to the workplace. It is unclear what changes will come to pass and what will be their ultimate impact on the workplace. But our discipline of management bears a deep responsibility to prepare our students for this future workplace in their role as employees and their roles as leaders and managers. In this article, we share our journey in addressing this rapidly emerging issue so that others may benefit from what we learned. First, we argue that the topic of the 4IR and the future of work should be a required part of the business school curriculum. Second, we detail the process we followed in developing a management elective on the 4IR, including our insights into developing a course in a relatively unfamiliar territory. Third, we end with a call for an ongoing collaborative discussion on approaches to teaching this new area from a management perspective.

Factors That Influence Length of Membership in a Customer-Driven Organization: A Village

Membership is a critical feature of the survival of customer-driven organizations. As a membership-driven organization based on neighbors helping neighbors, many Villages express difficulty in having enough members and lack confidence in sustainability. This is the first study examining the association between length of membership and motivation for becoming a Village member. ShareCare, the first Village, was founded in 1994. We used an open-ended questionnaire to gather information from a representative sample of current Sharecare members (N=100). Three researchers were involved in coding responses with discrepancies resolved via collaborative discussion. Length of membership was categorized as: less than 10-years, and more than a 10-year membership. Motivations to join membership in ShareCare were categorized as: instrumental, social, and altruistic. We conducted three separate logistic regressions with covariates controlled to examine associations between length of membership and various motivations to become a ShareCare member. While the most frequent reason for joining was instrumental where the member would receive service (e.g., care coordination, and home visit), the least motivation for joining was altruism, where the member could help other members (e.g., running errand, and lawn care). More than a 10-year membership was not associated with social or instrumental motivation to join ([OR] 0.50, p = 0.27, [OR] 0.94, p = 0.95) whereas more than a 10-year membership was associated with altruistic motivation to join ([OR] 5.31, p = 0.02). Our findings provide guidance regarding motivating members to join and maintain membership in a consumer-driven organization.

Investigating Sequence Patterns of Collaborative Problem-Solving Behavior in Online Collaborative Discussion Activity

Collaborative problem solving (CPS) is an influential human behavior affecting working performance and well-being. Previous studies examined CPS behavior from the perspective of either social or cognitive dimensions, which leave a research gap from the interactive perspective. In addition, the traditional sequence analysis method failed to combine time sequences and sub-problem sequences together while analyzing behavioral patterns in CPS. This study proposes a developed schema for the multidimensional analysis of CPS. A combination sequential analysis approach that comprises time sequences and sub-problem sequences is also employed to explore CPS patterns. A total of 191 students were recruited and randomly grouped into 38 teams (four to six students per team) in the online collaborative discussion activity. Their discussion transcripts were coded while they conducted CPS, followed by the assessment of high- and low- performance groups according to the developed schema and sequential analysis. With the help of the new analysis method, the findings indicate that a deep exploratory discussion is generated from conflicting viewpoints, which promotes improved problem-solving outcomes and perceptions. In addition, evidence-based rationalization can motivate collaborative behavior effectively. The results demonstrated the potential power of automatic sequential analysis with multidimensional behavior and its ability to provide quantitative descriptions of group interactions in the investigated threaded discussions.