Students' Learning in Asynchronous Discussion Forums: A Meta-Analysis

Asynchronous discussion forums are among the most preferred tools chosen to foster learning opportunities and knowledge construction. To reveal the cognitive engagement evidenced in the transcripts of the discussion forums, this study presents 51 papers. 17 papers reported research on students' attitude toward the use of ICT for learning, 16 papers revealed methodologies used in the field and 18 papers presented knowledge construction collaboration processes in online discussion forums. The primary sources for searching the papers were journals, proceedings and book chapters on educational technology. The starting point was the journals and proceedings that directly address ICT in education. The analysis shows that the majority of studies reported the level of students' knowledge construction remained in low level of cognitive engagement. The significance of the communication taking place through the mediation of computers seemed to depend greatly on the design of the classroom processes and explicit and tacit roles of teachers in providing straightforward guidance about students' participation in asynchronous discussions.