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Challenge or connect? dialogue in online learning environments

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Abstract

THERE IS INCREASING INTEREST in creating frameworks for online discussions to improve learning outcomes in higher education environments. Many of these frameworks rely on and promote argumentation-based “challenge” models as the primary mode of discourse. This study tested one existing framework, created by Gunawardena, Lowe, and Anderson (1997), with four small groups in an online higher education environment. Asynchronous discussion transcripts of the four groups as they completed goal-oriented tasks were analyzed for both what the groups talked about and how they created new knowledge together. Using computer-mediated discourse analysis techniques, the Gunawardena et al. (1997) categories were operationalized into functional moves to capture the knowledge construction process. Findings show that rather than a challenge model of argumentation discourse, participants engaged in a relationship-oriented discourse of connection. Educators should be aware of both models of discourse, challenge and connect, because emphasizing only argumentation before trust has been developed among members of the group could result in unproductive conflict.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Trena M. Paulus is an Assistant Professor in Collaborative Learning in the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, housed in the College of Education, Health & Human Sciences at the University of Tennessee. She has taught and conducted teacher training in the areas of English as a second/foreign language, computer-assisted language learning, and online collaborative learning both in the United States and abroad. Her current research is in the area of computer-mediated communication, discourse analysis methods, and distance education. She holds a PhD in Instructional Systems Technology and a MA in Applied Linguistics.

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Paulus, T.M. Challenge or connect? dialogue in online learning environments. J. Comput. High. Educ. 18, 3–29 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03032722

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