Assessing Online Academic Discussion From a Knowledge-Building Perspective: An Exploratory Case Study

• In Event: 15.045 - Assessment, Learning Readiness, and Online Learning and Teaching Practices

Abstract

Online discussion forum is an important component for most online courses. There are different approaches to evaluating the quality of online discussion. This study proposed a multiple-dimensional evaluation framework from a knowledge building perspective. The proposed framework focused on how a topic was advanced in a sub-thread, what was the knowledge building outcome for each student, and what contribution each individual student made. Additionally, by examining six online discussion threads in one online course, we proposed three levels for each dimension.

Authors

• Jiaming Cheng, Texas Tech University

• Lili Zhang, Syracuse University

• Jing Lei, Syracuse University