Introduction
The article for the summary is called “Broadening the notion of participation in online discussions: examining patterns in learners’ online listening behaviors” and written by Wise, Speer, Marbouti, and Hsiaois. The need for research in the sphere of online discussion boards arises from their poor performance and unpopularity among students. According to the authors, the article presents both scientific and practical interests. The former is due to the lack of data on what specific actions the users perform to get acquainted with the topic and react to it. The latter comes from the need to make such learning platforms user-oriented (Wise, Speer, Marbouti, & Hsiao, 2013).
Research Problem and Questions
The authors have focused on the problem of poor participation of students in online discussions. They argue that the issue of students rarely initiating proper discussions might result from the lack of attention paid to the previous posts left by the others. In the context of this study, the authors introduce the term “online listening,” which they define as a productive behavior aimed at processing previously added information. The study brings up two research questions: one refers to the behavioral pattern types and their manifestation in online discussion boards and the other covers the periodicity of their appearance.
Methods
The research involved analyzing the online system logs from 96 male and female students participating in the online discussions on the topic of organizational behavior. The logs contained data on access time, duration, choice of topic, and time-stamped events of posting and reading posts. The process of data analysis included categorizing the actions by type and speed and then matching them with seven variables to deduce the clusters or patterns. For a clear demonstration of patterns in operation, the authors used the case study method, choosing one participant per pattern.
Results
Statistically, users spent most of the time listening (73%). The clustering analysis allowed the identification of three major clusters. The first (31%) was comprised of students who were not substantially committed to listening and posting. The second and the most populated cluster (49%) consisted of students, who were keener on listening and posting, showing greater session continuity with more posts, replies, and the time spent on reading. The third cluster (20%) was represented by the most engaged individuals, who viewed and contributed to almost all topics. Case studies covered the details of the most prominent representatives’ behavior.
Implications
The study has revealed that listening plays a key role in online learning. Regarding the first cluster, the authors suggest that their casual involvement might be a result of bad grade avoidance. The second cluster results showed greater interest possibly due to the desire for a positive evaluation. The third group’s engagement was attributed mostly to their desire to understand the topics deeply. However, the authors suggest that their inclinations for such behaviors need to be deeply examined. Practical implications of the study include the possible introduction of feedbacks based on the student’s behavior drawbacks. As to the limitations, the researchers note that different topics for online discussions may yield different results.
References
Grand Canyon University. (2013). GCU UNV-501 Lecture 2. A collection of Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ.
Wise, A. F., Speer, J., Marbouti, F., & Hsiao, Y. T. (2013). Broadening the notion of participation in online discussions: Examining patterns in learners’ online listening behaviors. Instructional Science, 41(2), 323-343.