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Investigating the Effects of Scaffolding Adaptiveness and Frequency for Asynchronous Online Discussion: An Experimental Study

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Blended Learning: Engaging Students in the New Normal Era (ICBL 2022)

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Abstract

Asynchronous online discussion is an essential student-centered learning activity for online instruction, and its effectiveness is largely dependent upon the scaffolding received by students during discussion. This study conducted a true experiment to investigate the combined effects of two design features of scaffolding: content adaptiveness and release frequency. A total of 39 second-year undergraduate students were randomly assigned into three groups: (a) fixed scaffolding with concurrent release; (b) fixed scaffolding with successive release; (c) adaptive scaffolding with successive release, and group difference in their learning participation and outcomes were examined. The study results revealed that successive scaffolding was beneficial for maintaining learning participation, but it might lead to inferior learning outcomes. Scaffolding adaptiveness had limited impact on both participation and learning outcomes. Based on the research findings, three practical implications were proposed to inform the properly design and implementation of scaffolding for online discussion.

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Acknowledgement

This research was funded by Teacher Education Specialized Grant of Central China Normal University, grant number CCNUTEIII 2021-10, and Key Research Project of Co-Innovation Center for Educational Informatization and Balanced Development of Basic Education, grant number xtzdwt2021-003.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Artificial Intelligence in Education, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China

    Xu Han, Heng Luo, Qinglin Huang, Xinyan Deng & Zhili Zhang

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  1. Xu Han
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  2. Heng Luo
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  3. Qinglin Huang
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  4. Xinyan Deng
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  5. Zhili Zhang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heng Luo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Richard Chen Li

  2. Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China

    Simon K. S. Cheung

  3. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Peter H. F. Ng

  4. Tung Wah College, Hong Kong, China

    Leung-Pun Wong

  5. Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China

    Fu Lee Wang

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Han, X., Luo, H., Huang, Q., Deng, X., Zhang, Z. (2022). Investigating the Effects of Scaffolding Adaptiveness and Frequency for Asynchronous Online Discussion: An Experimental Study. In: Li, R.C., Cheung, S.K.S., Ng, P.H.F., Wong, LP., Wang, F.L. (eds) Blended Learning: Engaging Students in the New Normal Era. ICBL 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13357. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08939-8_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08939-8_21

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-08939-8

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