How students emerge as learning leaders in small group online discussions

Abstract

In this study, we examined the role of leadership styles and multi‐dimensional learner engagement in how students emerge as learning leaders in asynchronous online discussions. Grounded in the conceptual framework of two dominant leadership styles of transformational and transactional leadership, this study applies the two leadership styles—transformational leadership and transactional leadership—to the Leader Identification Method (LIM) which defines three types of leader roles (i.e., full, transactional and attractive facilitator) in online learning. We collected data from 20 students enrolled in a graduate‐level online course that required participation in 12‐week discussion activities. Results of the longitudinal data analyses show that person‐focused, transformational leadership and active participation in online discussions were significant factors that enabled students to emerge as learning leaders. Students are more likely to become leaders by exhibiting transformational leadership behaviour and productively interacting with one another in an online discussion community.

Should you become a leader in online collaborative learning? Impact of assigned leadership on learning behaviors, outcomes, and perceptions

“…Lastly, replying behavior proved to be the only leader behavior that predicted member participation. According to Kim et al [ 7 ], replying with individualized messages is considered a person-focused leadership behavior, which induces positive emotions among group members, and more frequent member presence and engagement in online collaboration as a result.…”

“…There are two preconditions for its occurrence: 1) the absence of an assigned leader or the negligence of the assigned leader, and 2) the presence of group members with strong working and organizational capabilities [ 13 , 26 ]. It is found that members with high intelligence, active participation, and positive self-views are more likely to emerge as leaders [ 7 , 13 , 27 ].…”

“…More recently, researchers have shifted their attention to the context of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), where students are divided into groups for collaborative knowledge construction and problem solving [ 4 , 5 ]. In particular, the importance of leadership has been emphasized in the context of online collaborative learning, due to its great demand on learner autonomy and social interactions [ 5 – 7 ].…”

“…The literature has investigated student leadership in online collaborative learning from various perspectives, including effective leadership behaviors [ 8 , 9 ], distinctive leadership styles [ 10 ], moderation effect of learning task [ 11 , 12 ], leadership emergence and distribution [ 7 , 13 , 14 ], and effectiveness of peer-led group learning [ 15 , 16 ].…”

The Effect of Student-Led Small-Group Discussion as a Pre-writing Task on the Development of EFL Students’ Writing

“…L2 acquisition is necessarily a social not individual activity and therefore occurs through interactions with others (Lantolf, 2000). it course performance (Kim, Lee, & Wang, 2020). Such student-student interactions can be particularly beneficial to students of a more reserved disposition (Coffey, 2012).…”