Using Asynchronous, Online Discussion Forums to Explore How Life Sciences Students Approach an Ill-Structured Problem

To foster students’ learning of critical-thinking skills, I previously introduced ill-structured problems to provide students opportunities to apply content knowledge and thinking skills. However, I noted that my third-year, life sciences students were not solving such problems effectively. Therefore, I used a grounded approach and conducted content analysis of students’ forum discussions to understand their problem-solving approaches. The students worked in small groups using asynchronous, online discussion forums (AODFs) to discuss their approaches to solving an ill-structured problem posed. Each group submitted their solution to the problem in an essay. From my analysis of students’ posts at AODFs, students seemed fairly competent in using domain-specific knowledge and certain domain-general skills in scientific argumentation. However, they lacked the ability to properly define the problem scope and, consequently, failed to address the problem adequately. The study illuminated students’ challenges and provided me possible ways to plan relevant scaffolds in subsequent iterations of the activity.

Using Asynchronous, Online Discussion Forums to Explore How Life Sciences Students Approach an Ill-Structured Problem

To foster students’ learning of critical-thinking skills, I previously introduced ill-structured problems to provide students opportunities to apply content knowledge and thinking skills. However, I noted that my third-year, life sciences students were not solving such problems effectively. Therefore, I used a grounded approach and conducted content analysis of students’ forum discussions to understand their problem-solving approaches. The students worked in small groups using asynchronous, online discussion forums (AODFs) to discuss their approaches to solving an ill-structured problem posed. Each group submitted their solution to the problem in an essay. From my analysis of students’ posts at AODFs, students seemed fairly competent in using domain-specific knowledge and certain domain-general skills in scientific argumentation. However, they lacked the ability to properly define the problem scope and, consequently, failed to address the problem adequately. The study illuminated students’ challenges and provided me possible ways to plan relevant scaffolds in subsequent iterations of the activity.

Critical ‘intercultural awareness’ enhancement: Effects of using asynchronous online discussion with Thai tertiary students

In the globalized era, the interaction between people from different cultures increases dramatically. This affects the way the English language is used, and how the language is taught at all levels of education. Regarding this, English language teachers are recommended to reconsider their current classroom practices in light of the above issue. One basic recommendation is to incorporate other cultural aspects besides just the American and British models commonly used today. However, research on developing learners’ critical ‘intercultural awareness’ (ICA) is rare in the literature, particularly regarding the use of asynchronous online discussion (AOD) at the Thai tertiary level. This study aimed to investigate the AOD use to develop critical ICA and to examine the effects of such AOD use on the learning of Thai students. Twelve ICA-enhanced AOD tasks were developed as instructional instruments. From these, research instruments were developed, including a pretest, a posttest, a self-reported questionnaire, and an in-depth interview. Two groups of Thai students with different English proficiency levels were selected to join the experiment, classified as a high proficiency (HP) group and a low proficiency (LP) group. After AOD implementation, their performances were assessed. Findings revealed improvements in the performances of both groups, with the mean posttest scores being higher in both groups, with the HP group demonstrating better performance. In addition to posttest scores, the participants provided positive perceptions of the AOD tasks, with no significant differences in the perceptions between groups. The interview responses revealed the students’ perceptions that the AOD tasks were challenging, but provided them with an opportunity to think critically about the culturally related questions. This study highlights the benefits of developing critical ICA in an ELT classroom with the AOD use, especially HP students, even though it may not work very well with LP students.

Using Asynchronous Online Discussion in the 7-12 Science Classroom

In the age of post-secondary courses being moved to an online format, the use of asynchronous online discussion (AOD) is at an all-time high. However, though universities are using this method of discussion, K-12 educators are only beginning to explore it. This chapter examines the advantages of 7-12 teachers using AOD in science classrooms, how it aligns with national science standards, the theoretical framework, and explores one manuscript found about a high school science teacher using AOD. The subject of pendulum motion is selected, and each component of the 5E model is described, and potential AOD questions are written for the 5E model pertaining to pendulum motion. Tips and best practices are then discussed for writing AOD questions for science, and further implications described of using this model in 7-12, including a pilot program, creating a prototype model for 7-12, and curbing potentially emotionally charged argumentation devoid of credible evidence.