Investigating Socially Situated Identity in Peer-Moderated Online Collaborative Learning: A Discourse Analysis Study

• In Event: 30.064 - Alternative Analyses of Learners' Interactions

Abstract

Identity is a dynamic social process that can influence students’ engagement in online learning. In peer-moderated online collaborative learning, students switch between two institutional identities, facilitator and participant. These socially-situated identities are developed via computer-mediated discourse. In this study, we theorized the process as a plausible continuum between facilitator and participant in order to understand the interaction between discourse identity and institutional identity. Empirical data from asynchronous online discussion activities in an online course were analyzed. The results suggest that (1) four types of discourse identity patterns emerged from the negotiation sphere centered on institutional identities; (2) students were intensively involved in identity negotiation through an iterative process of presenting “who I am” and ascribing “who you are”.

Authors

• Lin Lu, The Ohio State University

• Serkan Izmirli, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University

• Sheng-Lun Cheng, The Ohio State University - Columbus

• Kui Xie, The Ohio State University