Learner participation profiles in an asynchronous online collaboration context

摘要

The purpose of this study was to propose and validate a measurable model of learner participation in the context of online asynchronous discussion. We supplemented the findings of a main study (Study 1) with an empirical case study (Study 2). In Study 1, we modeled three levels of learner participation: peripheral participant, inbound participant, and full participant. Subsequent validation tests confirmed that the proposed learner participation profiles were sufficiently distinct from one another in terms of message quality and final score. Study 2 demonstrated how the profiling method might be duplicated in various online collaborative learning contexts. In addition, the case study further demonstrated the validity and reliability of the profiles using mixed data. The results show that the classifications explained learner engagement level in three dimensions: cognition, behavior, and emotion.