Students’ Level of Participation, Critical Thinking, Types of Action and Influencing Factors in Online Forum Environment

Due to the advancement of Internet technology, online
learning is widely used in higher education institutions. Online
learning offers several means of communication, including online
forum. Through online forum, students and instructors are able to
discuss and share their knowledge and expertise without having a
need to attend the face-to-face, ordinary classroom session. The
purposes of this study are to analyze the students’ levels of
participation and critical thinking, types of action and factors
influencing their participation in online forum. A total of 41
postgraduate students undertaking a course in educational technology
from a public university in Malaysia were involved in this study. In
this course, the students participated in a weekly online forum as part
of the course requirement. Based on the log data file extracted from
the online forum, the students’ type of actions (view, add, update,
delete posts) and their levels of participation (passive, moderate or
active) were identified. In addition, the messages posted in the forum
were analyzed to gauge their level of critical thinking. Meanwhile,
the factors that might influence their online forum participation were
measured using a 24-items questionnaire. Based on the log data, a
total of 105 posts were sent by the participants. In addition, the
findings show that (i) majority of the students are moderate
participants, with an average of two to three posts per person, (ii)
viewing posts are the most frequent type of action (85.1%), and
followed by adding post (9.7%). Furthermore, based on the posts
they made, the most frequent type of critical thinking observed was
justification (50 input or 19.0%), followed by linking ideas and
interpretation (47 input or 18%), and novelty (38 input or 14.4%).
The findings indicate that online forum allows for social interaction
and can be used to measure the students’ critical thinking skills. In
order to achieve this, monitoring students’ activities in the online
forum is recommended.

• N. I. Bazid
• I. N. Umar

• Critical thinking
• learning management system
• level of online participation
• online forum.

[1] K.F. Hew and W.S. Cheung. “Higher-level knowledge construction in
asynchronous online discussions: An analysis of group size, duration of
online discussion, and student facilitation techniques”. Instructional
Science, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 303–319. 2010.
[2] C.M. Cheong, and W.S. Cheung. “Online discussion and critical
thinking skills: A case study in a Singapore secondary school”.
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 24, no. 5, 19,
2008.
[3] C.S.L Ng, W.S. Cheung, and K.F. Hew. “Interaction in asynchronous
discussion forums: peer facilitation techniques”. Journal of Computer
Assisted Learning, vol. 28, no. 3, 280-294. 2012
[4] S.S. Cheng, E.Z.F. Liu, and R.S. Shieh. “Identifying the indicators
attracting users to online question and answer discussion forums”. Social
Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, vol. 40, no.2, 283-
292. 2012
[5] A. Bandura. Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social
Cognitive Theory. Prentice-Hall, 1986.
[6] E. Hustad, and A.B.A. Arntzen, “Facilitating teaching and learning
capabilities in social learning management systems: Challenges, issues,
and implications for design”. Journal of Integrated Design and Process
Science, vol. 17, no.1, 19, 2013.
[7] S. Bach, P. Haynes, and L.J. Smith, Online Learning and Teaching in
Higher Education Open University Press, 2007.
[8] E. Yukselturk, “An investigation of factors affecting student
participation level in an online discussion forum”. The Turkish Online
Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 9, no. 2, 9, 2010.
[9] T. Adeyinka, and I. Abdulmumin, Pattern of Undergraduates'
Participation in the Online Discussion Forum at the University of Ilorin,
Nigeria. Journal of Information Technology Management, 22(3), 18,
2011.
[10] A.G. Picciano, “Beyond student perceptions: Issues of interaction,
presence, and performance in an online course”. Journal of
Asynchronous Learning Networks, vol. 6, no. 1, 2140, 2002.
[11] B. Arend, “Encouraging critical thinking in online threaded
discussions”. The Journal of Educators Online, vol. 6, no. 1, 23, 2009.
[12] D.R. Newman, B. Webb, and C. Cochrane, “A content analysis method
to measure critical thinking in face-to-face and computer supported
group learning”. Retrieved fromhttp://www.qub.ac.uk/mgt/papers/
methods/contpap.html, 1996.
[13] M. Landis, D.K. Swain, and J.M. Friehe, “Evaluating critical thinking in
class and online-comparison of the Newman method and the Facione
Rubric”. Communication Disorders Quarterly, vol. 23, no.3, 2007.
[14] I.N. Umar, and N.H. Ahmad, “Trainee teachers’ critical thinking in an
online discussion forum: A content analysis”. Malaysian Journal of
Learning & Instruction, vol. 7, 17, 2010.
[15] B. Allan, and D. Lewis, Virtual Learning Communities: A Guide for
Practitioners: Open University Press, 2005
[16] J. Coldwell, A. Craig, J. Mustard, and T. Paterson, “Online students:
relationships between participation, demographics and academic
performance. The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, vol.6, no. 1, 10,
2008.
[17] S.Vonderwell, and S. Zachariah, “Factors that influence participation in
online learning”, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, vol.
38, no. 2, 213-230, 2005.
[18] C. Vrasidas, and M. McIsaac, “Factors influencing interaction in an
online course”, The American Journal of Distance Education, vol. 13,
no.3, 22–36. 1999.
[19] S. Ho, “Evaluating students' participation in online discussions”.
Retrieved from: http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw02/papers/refereed/
ho/paper.html, 2002.
[20] J.R. Landis and G.G. Koch, “The measurement of observer engagement
for categorical data”, Biometrics, vol. 33, np. 20, 1977.
[21] L. Bye, S. Smith, and H.M. Rallis, “Reflection using an online
discussion forum: Impact on student learning and satisfaction. Social
Work Education, vol. 28, no.8, 841-855, 2009.