Analyzing Students’ Cognitive Processing Patterns of A Socioscientific Issue Learning Activity with Online Discussion from A Process Perspective - Results of Quantitative Content Analysis and Lag Sequential Analysis
Abstract
Socioscientific issues (SSI) are frequently used to enhance student’s decision ability and critical thinking skills as SSI are generally ill-structured and lack of definite solutions. To help students be more immersed in the authentic problems, role-playing instructional strategy is commonly used. In this regard, this study thus employed a socioscientific issue role-playing learning activity, which students had to collaboratively work via asynchronous online discussion. While previous studies mostly focused on examining the collaboration outcomes, little attention has been paid to the collaboration process. Nonetheless, by inspecting learners’ behavioral patterns in the collaboration process, the instructors would be able to provide adequate guidance for learners’ can collaborate more efficiently. Therefore, this study seeks to propose a novel approach to depict the cognitive processing patterns that learners exhibited in the collaboration process by employing Quantitative Content Analysis (QCA) and Lag Sequential Analysis (LSA). Results of this study showed that students of different roles exhibited diverse cognitive processing patterns in online discussion. Results are discussed and expected to serve as guidance for conducting SSI related learning activity and subsequent collaborative learning research.
References
T. D. Sadler and D. L. Zeidler, ‘Patterns of Informal Reasoning in The Context of Socioscientific Decision Making,’ Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 42, no. 1, 2005, pp. 112.
T. D. Sadler and D. L. Zeidler, ‘The Significance of Content Knowledge for Informal Reasoning Regarding Socioscientific Issues: Applying Genetics Knowledge to Genetic Engineering Issues,’ Science Education, vol. 89, no. 1, 2005, pp. 71.
L. D. Chen, M. N. Frolick, and A. Muthitacharoen, ‘Investigating The Use of Role Play Training to Improve The Communication Skills of IS Professionals: Some Empirical Evidence,’ Journal of Computer Information Systems, vol. 43, no. 3, 2003, pp. 67.
T. D. Sadler, S. Barab, and B. Scott, ‘What Do Students Gain by Engaging in Socioscientific Inquiry?,’ Research in Science Education, vol. 37, no. 4, 2007, pp. 371.
T. D. Sadler, ‘Informal Reasoning Regarding Socioscientific Issues: A Critical Review of Research,’ Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 41, no. 5, 2004, pp. 513.
Dillenbourg, P., Järvelä, S., & Fischer, F. (2009). The Evolution of Research on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning. In N. Balacheff, S. Ludvigsen, T. de Jong, A. Lazonder, & S. Barnes (Eds.), Technology-Enhanced Learning (pp. 3-19): Springer Netherlands.
A. P. Rovai, ‘Facilitating Online Discussions Effectively,” The Internet and Higher Education, vol. 10, no. 1, 2007, pp. 77.
H. T. Hou, S. M. Wang, P. C. Lin, and K. E. Chang, ‘Exploring The Learner’S Knowledge Construction and Cognitive Patterns of Different Asynchronous Platforms: Comparison of An Online Discussion Forum and Facebook,’ Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 2013, pp. 1.
A. C. Jeong, ‘The Sequential Analysis of Group Interaction and Critical Thinking in Online Threaded Discussions,’ The American Journal of Distance Education, vol. 17, no. 1, 2003, pp. 25.
R. Bakeman and J. M. Gottman, Observing Interaction : An Introduction to Sequential Analysis, 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
L. Rourke and T. Anderson, "Validity in Quantitative Content Analysis," Educational Technology Research & Development, vol. 52, no. 1, 2004, pp. 5.
L. W. Anderson, D. R. Krathwohl, and B. S. Bloom, A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing : A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Complete ed. New York: Longman, 2001.
H. T. Hou, ‘Analyzing the Learning Process of an Online Role-Playing Discussion Activity,’ Journal Educational Technology & Society, vol. 15, no. 1, 2012, pp. 211.
Lin, P.-C., Hou, H.-T., Wang, S.-M., & Chang, K.-E., “Analyzing Knowledge Dimensions and Cognitive Process of A Project-Based Online Discussion Instructional Activity Using Facebook in An Adult and Continuing Education Course.,” Computers & Education, vol. 60, no. 1, 2013, pp. 110.
G. W. Bock, R. W. Zmud, K. Young-Gul and L. Jae-Nam, ‘Behavioral Intention Formation in Knowledge Sharing: Examining The Roles of Extrinsic Motivators, Social-Psychological Forces, and Organizational Climate,’ MIS Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 1, 2005, pp. 87.
K. Kreijns, P. A. Kirschner, W. Jochems and H. Van Buuren, ‘Determining Sociability, Social Space, and Social Presence in Asynchronous Collaborative Groups,’ CyberPsychology & Behavior, vol. 7, no. 2, 2004, pp. 155.
G. Veletsianos, ‘How Do Learners Respond to Pedagogical Agents That Deliver Social-Oriented Non-Task Messages? Impact On Student Learning, Perceptions, and Experiences,’ Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 28, no. 1, 2012, pp. 275.
Lucas, M., Gunawardena, C., & Moreira, A., “Assessing Social Construction of Knowledge Online: A Critique of The Interaction Analysis Model,” Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 30, 2014, pp. 574.
C. N. Gunawardena, C. A. Lowe, and T. Anderson, ‘Analysis of A Global Online Debate and The Development of An Interaction Analysis Model For Examining Social Construction of Knowledge in Computer Conferencing,” Journal of Educational Computing Research, vol. 17, no. 4, 1997, pp. 397.
