E-Moderation Skills in Discussion Forums: Patterns of Online Interactions for Knowledge Construction

Abstract

Discussion forums have the potential for enabling knowledge construction during online interactions, especially when facilitated by a skilled e-moderator. Unfortunately, most e-moderators are not provided training for facilitating discussions, and hence may only summarise information and deliver factual knowledge without encouraging elaboration or reflection among the learners. Hence, this study focused on developing e-moderation skills in discussion forums by investigating the patterns of interactions among 24 students in an undergraduate course. This study employed one group pre-test and post-test experimental group design to measure student’s interaction patterns after undergoing training for e-moderation. After moderating online discussion forums, a content analysis of the transcripts of the discourse in their forum was conducted to understand the nature of the interaction patterns and the quality of the discussions. The results revealed that training had contributed to a significant increase in domains of social interaction, sharing information, egocentric elaboration, allocentric elaboration, application and transfer, coordination, and reflection. The skillset in this study can be applied by e-moderators to effectively facilitate online learning for knowledge development. It is recommended that instructors in higher education institutions be equipped with skills to scaffold students in constructing knowledge.