Education is a perpetually evolving field, especially with the rapid advancement of technology and the upsurge of the globalization phenomenon (Crawford and Kirby 2008). Students need to become familiar with social interactions that they will eventually encounter in the future. However, in order for students to effectively participate in…

Synchronous online learning (SOL) provides an opportunity for instructors to connect in real-time with their students though separated by geographical distance. This meta-analysis examines the overall effect of SOL on cognitive and affective educational outcomes, while using asynchronous online learning or face-to-face learning as control groups.…

Drawing on interactionist and socio-cultural theories, tools provided in computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments have long been considered able to create an environment that shares many communicative features with face-to-face communication. Over the past two decades, researchers have employed a variety of strategies to examine the…

This study addressed the argument that online courses rarely use discussion strategies that are specifically designed and constructed for soliciting learners' cognitive presence and higher-order thinking. Prompted by this argument, the authors conducted a meta-analysis of the empirical studies that examined the effectiveness of discussion…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to explore the impact of asynchronous discussion on the quality and complexity of college students' arguments. Three different cohorts of students registered in a physical science course in 2009 Fall, 2010 Spring, and 2010 Fall semesters were briefly supported with scaffolding in class and then…