ERIC Number: ED665426
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
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Available Date: N/A
The Effects of Politeness in Shaping Discourse in Online Debates
Allan Jeong; Ming Ming Chiu
International Association for Development of the Information Society, Paper presented at the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA) (21st, Zagreb, Croatia, Oct 26-28, 2024)
Computer-supported collaborative argumentation is an online activity that can engage students in deep discussion and analysis of complex problems. Given the potentially confrontational nature of argumentation, using polite language becomes a strategic approach to prevent breakdowns in group communication and nurture productive dialogues. This study aims to understand how politeness and argumentation moves influence subsequent conversation dynamics in online debates. Student postings in threaded discussions (from 20 online debates containing 2,008 messages posted by students across five semesters of a graduate-level course on distance education) were coded and scored on politeness and impoliteness using natural language processing software. The scored postings were examined to determine how impoliteness and politeness impact students' proclivity to engage in and produce more sustained argumentative exchanges to evaluate presented claims thoroughly. The findings from this study reveal the possible effects of specific behaviors on how students engage in argumentation and provide guidance on what behavioral standards to emphasize when students participate in group debates. Moreover, the findings lay the groundwork for establishing behavioral standards with clearer definitions of specific linguistic markers. Future iterations of netiquette guidelines can draw upon the findings from this study and future studies to furnish students with concrete examples that illustrate the practical application of each behavioral norm. [For the full proceedings, see ED665357.]
Descriptors: Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis, Computer Mediated Communication, Debate, Persuasive Discourse, Communication (Thought Transfer), Student Behavior, Graduate Students, Graduate Study, Distance Education, Technology Uses in Education, Learner Engagement, Behavior Standards, Masters Programs, Discussion (Teaching Technique), Asynchronous Communication, Conflict
International Association for the Development of the Information Society. e-mail: secretariat@iadis.org; Web site: http://www.iadisportal.org
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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