Instructor Participation in Asynchronous Online Discussions: A Comparative Study

• In Event: Online Discussion and Interaction

Abstract

The way instructors participate in asynchronous online discussions has the potential to affect student engagement. This study aimed to compare the effects of two instructor participation approaches: replying to student posts on discussion boards and commenting on student posts on grade pages. The study examined the impact on both the quantity of student participation and the quality of student posts. The findings revealed that when the instructor replied on discussion boards, there was significantly more interaction between students than when the instructor commented on the grade pages. However, the number of student posts had no significant difference between the two approaches. Notably, both approaches contributed to a gradual improvement in the quality of student posts over time.

Authors

• Jiarui Xie, The Ohio State University

• Mimi Adjei, The Ohio State University

• Ana-Paula Correia, The Ohio State University