IS THE WHOLE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS? A COMPARISON OF SMALL GROUP AND WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD ACTIVITY IN ONLINE COURSES
Methods for characterizing asynchronous text-based discussions have received significant attention in the literature. In this study, we examine student and instructor posts made in seventeen undergraduate mathematics courses over the duration of a fifteen-week semester (n=6964 posts). We apply our...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Online Learning Consortium
2019-02-01
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| Series: | Online Learning |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/1646 |
| _version_ | 1797326884666605568 |
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| author | Catherine A. Bliss Betty Lawrence |
| author_facet | Catherine A. Bliss Betty Lawrence |
| author_sort | Catherine A. Bliss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Methods for characterizing asynchronous text-based discussions have received significant attention in the literature. In this study, we examine student and instructor posts made in seventeen undergraduate mathematics courses over the duration of a fifteen-week semester (n=6964 posts). We apply our previously developed multifactor discussion board metric to compare differences in student participation, quantities of student posts, quality of posts, extent of threading, and instructor presence in small group and whole class discussion board activities. Results from this study indicate that small group discussions contained greater levels of student participation, greater quantities of posts per student and greater numbers of educationally valuable (content-related) posts per student as compared to whole class discussions within these courses. Interestingly, small group discussions contained a greater proportion of less educationally valuable posts as compared to whole class discussions.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:30:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ada9fec3a11f47068b5a7b9589a62482 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2472-5749 2472-5730 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:30:38Z |
| publishDate | 2019-02-01 |
| publisher | Online Learning Consortium |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Online Learning |
| spelling | doaj.art-ada9fec3a11f47068b5a7b9589a624822024-02-03T11:47:46ZengOnline Learning ConsortiumOnline Learning2472-57492472-57302019-02-0113410.24059/olj.v13i4.1646IS THE WHOLE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS? A COMPARISON OF SMALL GROUP AND WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD ACTIVITY IN ONLINE COURSESCatherine A. BlissBetty Lawrence Methods for characterizing asynchronous text-based discussions have received significant attention in the literature. In this study, we examine student and instructor posts made in seventeen undergraduate mathematics courses over the duration of a fifteen-week semester (n=6964 posts). We apply our previously developed multifactor discussion board metric to compare differences in student participation, quantities of student posts, quality of posts, extent of threading, and instructor presence in small group and whole class discussion board activities. Results from this study indicate that small group discussions contained greater levels of student participation, greater quantities of posts per student and greater numbers of educationally valuable (content-related) posts per student as compared to whole class discussions within these courses. Interestingly, small group discussions contained a greater proportion of less educationally valuable posts as compared to whole class discussions. https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/1646Distance LearningDiscussion BoardAsynchronous LearningCooperative LearningCollaborationEducationally Valuable Talk |
| spellingShingle | Catherine A. Bliss Betty Lawrence IS THE WHOLE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS? A COMPARISON OF SMALL GROUP AND WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD ACTIVITY IN ONLINE COURSES Online Learning Distance Learning Discussion Board Asynchronous Learning Cooperative Learning Collaboration Educationally Valuable Talk |
| title | IS THE WHOLE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS? A COMPARISON OF SMALL GROUP AND WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD ACTIVITY IN ONLINE COURSES |
| title_full | IS THE WHOLE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS? A COMPARISON OF SMALL GROUP AND WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD ACTIVITY IN ONLINE COURSES |
| title_fullStr | IS THE WHOLE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS? A COMPARISON OF SMALL GROUP AND WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD ACTIVITY IN ONLINE COURSES |
| title_full_unstemmed | IS THE WHOLE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS? A COMPARISON OF SMALL GROUP AND WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD ACTIVITY IN ONLINE COURSES |
| title_short | IS THE WHOLE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS? A COMPARISON OF SMALL GROUP AND WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD ACTIVITY IN ONLINE COURSES |
| title_sort | is the whole greater than the sum of its parts a comparison of small group and whole class discussion board activity in online courses |
| topic | Distance Learning Discussion Board Asynchronous Learning Cooperative Learning Collaboration Educationally Valuable Talk |
| url | https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/1646 |
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