Vanessa L. Peters

An investigation of student practices in asynchronous computer conferencing courses

This study investigated the online practices of students enrolled in graduate-level distance education courses. Using interviews and a questionnaire as data sources, the study sought to: (a) identify common practices that students adopt in asynchronous discussions, and (b) gain an understanding of why students adopt them. An analysis of the data suggests that many of the practices are coping mechanisms developed to help students more easily meet course participation requirements. Some of these are time saving strategies designed to reduce information overload (e.g., skimming messages rather than reading them carefully). Other strategies are designed to help students project an image of themselves as knowledgeable and collaborative course participants. It is argued that although these practices provide students with a level of efficiency in terms of meeting course requirements, they may inadvertently undermine learning.

Scaffolding Knowledge Communities in the Classroom: New Opportunities in the Web 2.0 Era

Researchers in the learning sciences have long recognized the potential of online spaces to support learning activities; however, the pervasiveness of social media construction typically associated with “Web 2.0” represents a new context for researching learning and instruction. This chapter reports two studies that used a wiki to deliver a new curriculum model that blends scripted inquiry activities with collaborative knowledge construction in secondary school biology. The researchers collaborated with three experienced science teachers to create engaging curricula where four classes of grade-ten biology collaboratively developed a community wiki about human physiology and biodiversity. Students then used the wiki as a primary resource for subsequent inquiry activities. We analyzed student achievement and engagement with the curriculum to evaluate the success of the model. The findings suggest that a carefully designed scripted activity can complement and enhance the value of a knowledge community approach within secondary school settings.

Co-designing curricula to promote collaborative knowledge construction in secondary school science

We describe a two-year study of a rich secondary science curriculum that was codesigned in close partnership with teachers, technology specialists and even school administrators. The goal of the research was to provide empirical support for a recent model of learning and instruction that blends the two perspectives of knowledge communities and scaffolded inquiry. A design-oriented method was employed, where the first iteration of the curriculum was evaluated in terms of its fit to the model, as well as its impact on student learning. Based on a set of design recommendations, a much more substantive curriculum was developed for the second iteration, leading to rich measures of student collaboration and deep understanding of the targeted science concepts. This paper describes our co-design process, which allowed teachers to lead the curriculum design and classroom enactment while researchers contributed design guidelines according to the theoretical model.

The relationship between student interaction and message readability in asynchronous online discussions

The current study explores the relationship between the readability of computer conferencing messages and the level of student interaction in asynchronous online discussions. Large-scale quantitative analyses were performed on the activity logs of 37 graduate-level distance education courses at the University of Toronto. The mean Reading Ease and Grade Level scores of student messages were found to be significantly correlated with the mean number of messages that students write, the percentage of student messages that reply to other messages, and mean message size. A correlation was also found between the readability of instructor messages and student messages. Consequently, the data suggest that a positive relationship exists between readability and the level of student online interactivity. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.

Student competition in computer-mediated conferencing courses

The current study explores student perspectives on competition in asynchronous computer conferencing courses. A survey was distributed to 57 students enrolled in graduate-level distance education programs. Nine of these students participated in extensive interviews. The findings indicate that students experience subtle forms of competition while participating in their online courses. Most manifestations of competition appear to have few educational benefits. It is posited that marking schemes that focus on individual accomplishments may increase feelings of competition and undermine efforts to foster collaborative practices. To reduce the negative effects of competition, course instructors may need to develop assessment strategies that reward group, rather than individual, accomplishments.