Learning from Each Other: Dialogic Argumentation in an Online Academic Environment
31 Pages Posted: 22 Aug 2013
Date Written: 2013
Abstract
How do online discussions promote learning? Under what conditions do students learn in asynchronous discussion-based forums? This paper builds upon research exploring how an online academic social networking site can provide an environment in which students engage in dialogic argumentation by voicing their diverse perspectives, challenging their peers through counterarguments, and articulating their differences. Focusing mainly on process where the unit of analysis is the written discourse rather than individual student characteristics and learning outcomes, our data is drawn from an academic website populated by three undergraduate classes in Spring 2012 and Spring 2013. We perform content analysis on 375 peer-to-peer responses contained in asynchronous, online discussion forums established by professors. By closely examining argumentative interactions, we find mixed evidence of learning. About half of all interactions do not contain argumentative elements; on the other hand, about half do provide tools necessary for students to build knowledge through arguing with each other in an online environment.
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