Learning within incoherent structures: the space of online discussion forums

By Matthew Thomas. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 2002

494 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Subfields: Communication, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Education

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/fd0d56b2bc7b7fe3f5b640040a57ed0e89a95162

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Communication

In Developmental and Educational Psychology

In Education

Citations in the corpus

Assessing Student Perceptions of the Benefits of Discussions in Small-Group, Large-Class, and Online Learning Contexts (2012, result): “…with some of the studies pointing out that online discussions sometimes are serial monologues and lack the interactive back-and-forth of face-to-face conversational discussions (e.g. Thomas 2002) but contradicts others showing that students evaluate the online format positively (e.g. Chang 2006).”
Asynchronous Discussions and Assessment in Online Learning (2007, background): “Conversely, some researchers argue that the virtual learning interface of an online discussion forum may not promote the coherent and interactive dialogue necessary for conversational modes of learning (hewitt, 2001; Thomas, 2002).”
The influence of instructional methods on the quality of online discussion (2006, result): “…the effectiveness of reflective deliberation has been inconsistent and conflicting with some research showing impressive results (Passman & McKnight, 2002), some showing undesirable results (Thomas, 2002) and others showing it is effective under certain conditions (Gorsky, Caspi & Tuvi-Arad, 2004).”
Online Learning in Higher Education: a review of research on interactions among teachers and students (2003, background): “The biggest contribution of the CSCL literature to date is in developing theory and technological tools that support theory (Koschmann, 1996, 2002).”
Teaching Courses Online: A Review of the Research (2006, background): “; Thomas, Julie A.; Lan, William Y.; Cooper, Sandi; Ahern, Terence C.; Shaw, Shana M.; and Liu, Xiaoming, "Teaching Courses Online: A Review of the Research" (2006). Faculty Publications: Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education.”
Facilitating Cognitive Presence in Online Learning: Interaction Is Not Enough (2005, background): “The first is that if students are to reach a high level of critical thinking and knowledge construction, the interaction or discourse must be structured and cohesive (Aviv et al. 2003; Pawan et al. 2003; Thomas 2002; Wu and Hiltz 2004).”
Learners' Perspectives on what is Missing from Online Learning: Interpretations through the Community of Inquiry Framework (2006, background): “However, as Thomas (2002) cautioned, "the attainment of a discourse that is both interactive and academic in nature is difficult within the online environment of the traditional threaded discussion" (p. 359). The present inquiry further revealed that threaded discussions can make it hard to inject e”