Knowledge articulation dialog increases online university science course outcomes

Abstract

University graduate level science courses (over four different semesters) were investigated to measure how knowledge articulation dialog (in discussion forums) improved essay and case study scores. The knowledge articulation teaching methodology was integrated from the educational psychology and knowledge management literature while Socratic questioning was drawn from the education community of practice. A quasi-experiment (with strong degree of control) was configured, with teaching method (knowledge articulation versus questioning) being the treatment factor. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, ANOVA, MANOVA and MANCOVA techniques were utilized to test the hypothesis.

Skype Synchronous Interaction Effectiveness in a Quantitative Management Science Course

“…A final relevant education psychology principle is Conversation Theory, developed by Pask (1975) to improve quantitative courses (statistics). Although this predates the availability of the Internet for education delivery, the concepts were successfully applied to online courses (Klemm, 2002; Mooij, 2009; Strang, 2010d). A key principle underlying conversation theory is the “teach‐back” in which one person interacts with another about what they know from their perspective (Pask, Kallikourdis, and Scott, 1975).…”

“…Knowledge sharing and conversation theory were applied during instruction to improve grades in an online science course (Strang, 2010d). Although his study tested asynchronous discussion, the principles could extend to synchronous interactions.…”

“…Throughout the lectures, students could be prompted to interact online by using two of the six Socratic questioning principles (Hintikka, 2008): clarifying concepts and probing assumptions. An important finding in Strang's (2010d) study was to avoid probing for exhaustive perspectives when using Socratic questioning to stimulate knowledge interaction; instead problem‐based learning dialog should be used to guide students using examples, helping them to build correct mental models (Strang, 2010d).…”

Asynchronous Knowledge Sharing and Conversation Interaction Impact on Grade in an Online Business Course

“…Finally, applying knowledge-sharing and conversation theory during online courses was found to be effective for e-learning (Crow & Smith, 2005;Kosnik, 2001;Strang, 2010c;Tan, 2003).…”

Do the Critical Success Factors From Learning Analytics Predict Student Outcomes?

“…There are numerous empirical studies published in scholarly peer-reviewed journals beyond the scope of learning analytics where researchers have found statistically significant links between student performance in online courses and activity-related factors (Blumenthal et al., 2014; Chang, Wu, Kuo, & You, 2012; Farrington, 2014; P. A. Gibson & Dunning, 2012; Hu, Lo, & Shih, 2014; Kaufman & Schunn, 2011; Lu & Law, 2012; Lu & Zhang, 2012; Mirriahi & Alonzo, 2015; Pombo & Talaia, 2012; Russell, 2015; Shih, 2011; Strang, 2010, 2011, 2013a; Thomas, Reyes, & Blumling, 2014; Wichadee, 2014; Zacharis, 2015). Thus, there may be relevant concepts in other domains that show how student activity in online courses may be related to estimating performance as well as how that knowledge could be applied to improve teaching.…”