Deep Learning: The Knowledge, Methods and Cognition Process in Instructor-led Online Discussion Free

The framework of deep learning for distance education is established through the categorization of the five kinds of interactions proposed by Oliver and Mcloughlin; social, procedural, expository, explanatory, and cognitive, into three general processes; methods, information, and cognition (Du & Havard, 2003). The first stage of integrating these learning processes is the acquisition of knowledge, representing a surface level of understanding. Skill development, the second stage of the framework, is often accomplished through drill and practice. Students operating at these two levels develop a know-how of the material, but on a very limited basis. The third stage represents cognition in which the student begins to conceptualize and apply learning to solve problems. A deeper understanding of the material fosters creative use of the subject content. New and innovative types of assignments that require students to apply their recently acquired skills and knowledge encourage higher-order thinking. Without deep learning, students will simply imitate the instructor, rather than apply their learning to new problems (see Figure 1).

Two fundamental concepts inherent in the proposed framework are adopt and adapt. Students with a surface understanding of material can effectively adopt what the instructor does, but are unable to adapt their learning to unique situations because they have not developed a deeper learning of the material. They lack the strong grasp of the material required in adapting to a complex learning environment. Assignments familiar for the student measure surface learning while new and innovative assignments measure the student’s deep learning. Adopt and adapt become very important when change is introduced in the distance learning environment regarding the material students are learning. It is not enough to adopt what the instructor teaches. Encouraging students to effectively adapt to changes in the distance learning environment requires students to think for themselves rather than rely on learning guidance from the instructor (Brookfield, 1982). In this type of distance learning environment, the instructor acts as a facilitator, requiring students to take more responsibility in the learning process. The role of facilitator is complex, but through the proposed framework, techniques and student activities are diagramed to assist in reducing this complexity.

Distance education requires special course design techniques, special methods of communication, as well as special organizational and administrative arrangements (Moore, 1989). To further explore the framework of deep learning for online discussion, we applied the framework during two semesters of a graduate level multimedia design for instruction course.

This multimedia design for instruction course is required for all students enrolled in the Master of Science in Instructional Technology (MSIT) program. Students enrolled in the MSIT program and in this course represent a wide range of diverse backgrounds. They reside throughout the state of Mississippi, and in Tennessee and Alabama. Each semester approximately 30 students are enrolled in this course. The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of hypermedia/ interactive multimedia technology through working with various hypermedia/multimedia tools. Students are introduced to the design and production process of developing multimedia applications and are provided the opportunity to learn various tools concentrating on different aspects of the technology: text, graphics, audio, animation, and video. Through working with these tools, students are expected to develop an understanding and the skills required for the creation of instructional tools for application in education and industry settings. Students are required to apply design principles necessary for the creation of hypermedia/multimedia when developing multimedia-based applications.

The course simulates practices in the multimedia industry. Students work in groups and take on different roles in the multimedia development process. The contexts for learning in this course are primarily interactive, collaborative, multidisciplinary, and student centered. Students are required to actively participate in weekly discussions regarding specific multimedia development topics. Assignments on learning different tools are given to assess application skills. Students must write a research and reflective paper on hypermedia/ interactive multimedia instruction. Group projects for the semester both develop and assess students’ ability to comprehensively apply the theoretical and technical requirements for multimedia design for instruction. Through these activities we have observed students developing deep thinking in higher-order problem solving, from the foundation of surface understanding to deeper understanding exhibited by problem resolution.

The online learning environment for this course is created in WebCT (see Figure 2).

WebCT is a database-driven Web-based course management system designed to support online learning environments (Hutchins, 2001). We have been using WebCT in our university teaching for several years now and recognize that one of the major benefits of the use of this technology is the facility it provides to incorporate learning activities that help to develop students’ deep learning and understanding, exhibited through higher-order problem solving and inquiry (Tiene, 2002). The database elements available in WebCT enable the instructor to record, manage, and support the activities and interactions of a large number of students. There are several important aspects about this environment regarding skill development, theoretical and technical issues, and the application of skills and knowledge toward the successful development of a comprehensive multimedia instructional tool (Popolov, Callaghan, & Luker, 2002). Through online group communication using the asynchronous discussion feature and synchronous chat available through WebCT, students’ skills and knowledge regarding multimedia development are enhanced. The social aspect of the learning environment is critical (Vygotsky, 1978). This requires focused attention by the instructor, as knowledge is socially constructed and enhanced through peer-to-peer and instructor-to-peer communication (Boud, Cohen, & Sampson, 1999;,Kitchener, 1983; Kitchener & King, 1981).

The strategies used through framework application may assist others in implementing the framework within their own distance learning environments. Application of the framework within the context of a distance learning environment will be described. The methods, knowledge, and cognition framework serves to foster and encourage learning, and specifically deep learning in an online environment. Through implementation of the three-stage framework, we have established a learning environment that encourages deep learning with synchronous and asynchronous tools for students to collaborate on set problems, share resources, post solutions, and compare and review answers from other groups (Popolov et al., 2002).

A structured and moderated online discussion may be defined as a Web-based bulletin board for peer learners to communicate and collaborate, where the instructor takes active responsibility to structure, scaffold, and moderate the collaboration. The structure of the bulletin board is divided into the three processes related to the proposed framework of methods, knowledge, and cognition. Through this structure, a number of key skills are demonstrated by students in the higher-order problem solving process; from surface understanding to deeper understanding.

Students complete assignments requiring them to apply their surface learning and develop their deeper learning. The difficulty of the assignments progresses, challenging students to hone their abilities and problem-solving skills. Scaffolding is important throughout the process and is most pronounced during the first two assignments. As students’ deep learning develops and their competence to accomplish the assignments increases, the necessity to scaffold is reduced (Gredler, 1997). The assignments in this course consist of two technical projects: a theoretical research paper and a comprehensive technical and theoretical final group project. The purpose of these assignments and their structure is to scaffold students’ learning from surface to deep. Online discussion is used extensively in this course as a means to develop deeper learning. The WebCT bulletin board is composed of three categories; technical, theoretical, and comprehensive, corresponding to the three general process of the framework; methods, information, and cognition.

Students use Macromedia Dreamweaver and Macromedia Fireworks as the two main multimedia development tools for this course. Within the technical category of the bulletin board, discussion points are further categorized into topic technical issues, practice issues, and peer discussion. Students are presented two questions per week within the topic technical issues related to the technical aspects and use of Dreamweaver and Fireworks. Students must respond to the question presented and must also critique one other peer’s response. Students are also presented with weekly practice assignments progressing in difficulty from relatively simple at the beginning of the semester. As they work through the assignments, they must post one question regarding an issue they encountered while working on the assignment. They must also answer at least one peer’s question that was posted. The peer discussion category of the bulletin board is available for open discussion about Dreamweaver and Fireworks, and students are required to post at least one new item they learned while using either of these multimedia development applications. If a student posting is unclear or needs refining, the instructor may question the post for clarification. All students are encouraged to seek clarity on bulletin board postings. The instructor models the behavior for seeking this clarity, and students soon follow this behavior. For example, the instructor may post a question regarding topics such as form creation, tables, or layers in Dreamweaver. Students respond to this question and soon learn to post questions and insight on their own.

The theoretical category of the bulletin board consists of three questions posed by the instructor to the students over a 3-week period prior to the middle of the semester. Through focused and concise answers, students are able to develop the foundation for their theoretical research paper. Students are encouraged to discuss the question and offer opinions on how the question may be addressed. Responses do not occur immediately; instead, students spend time clarifying the questions among themselves. Discussion occurs during the week. Toward the end of the week, students begin to formulate and post their responses. Discussion continues as students submit their responses. Students must also critique two other peers’ responses each week. In the critique, students must provide constructive criticism and assist in further developing each peer’s topic further. The questions are meant to be a guide to assist students in topic development for the individual paper assignments. The first question guides students toward describing how the specific multimedia development tools used in the course may be used. They must cite their reading assignments within their response to support their claims. An example of the first topic question posted by the instructor for the students follows:

The second question focuses on instructional design principles. There are two required textbooks for this course, and relevant articles provided by the instructor, posted online, which serve as additional reading. Students must describe how instructional design principles are applied in an actual multimedia development project, including details related to the learner and context. The second topic question posed to students by the instructor follows:

The third question requires students to propose a group project they will collaborate on and submit as their final comprehensive project. Their responses must include details regarding the learner, instructional context, subject content, and the needs for the proposed multimedia instruction. They must provide a rationale for the development tools they wish to use. They must also describe the instructional strategy they will use and describe why they chose that particular strategy. The third question posted by the instructor within the structured topic discussion portion of the bulletin board follows:

After thorough discussion of the topics and submitting responses to all three questions, students must then complete a theoretical reflective paper. The instructor provides guidelines for the reflective paper, due 2 weeks after the conclusion of the structured topic discussion. The guidelines posted by the instructor regarding the paper follow:

The outcome of the comprehensive final project is a Web-based instructional tool. The project combines the technical aspects and theoretical issues discussed online during the semester. The groups must apply instructional design principles toward the development of a “real” Web-based educational product. There are three progress points during final project development that are meant to focus students toward the desired outcome in a professional manner. These points consist of a proposal presentation, a progress report, and a final project and presentation with documentation. The groups are composed of five students, with one serving as the coordinator. Asynchronous and synchronous discussion occurs among the groups. The bulletin board is used by the group for introductions. The group must decide which member will accomplish what task, based on the proposed project. The topic is decided on through discussion and deliberation among the group members. Each member proposes a topic and must negotiate online to determine which topic the group will agree on for the final product. As group members begin gathering information on their chosen topic, they post this for other group members. Discussion and clarification is often necessary as the information is refined (Flynn & La Faso, 1972). Synchronous chat offers the group opportunities to discuss issues in real time. Specific chat dates and times are decided on through the bulletin board. Students meet in their group’s chat room to discuss issues with the instructor and to present their proposal and progress report. Each group conducts their final presentation through chat with the instructor present. At each progress point, the instructor serves as a discussant, judging the students’ work, and providing insight regarding improvements or enhancements as necessary. Students receive immediate feedback from the instructor and must respond to questions posed by the instructor regarding the final product.

The proposed framework and the design of the discussion activities applied within the framework provide students both adoptive and adaptive learning opportunities. The technical and theoretical discussion aspects occur as students complete the first two assignments. This provides a strong surface level of understanding regarding the multimedia development tools used in this course. The theoretical portion of the discussion, as students respond and critique one another’s responses to the three questions posed by the instructor, provides students with a strong surface understanding of the instructional design principles for multimedia development. Students begin moving toward adaptive learning as they begin focusing their efforts on the final comprehensive project. Through asynchronous and synchronous discussions regarding the development of the instructional product, students move from surface to deep learning. The instructor role in online discussion is vital and the three functions—class member, initiator, and discussant—are important in cultivating deep learning in online discussion. The learning, enhanced through the role served by the instructor, is adaptive as students are creating a product to fulfill an instructional need where no one correct or true answer exists.

It is patently clear to us that the methods, knowledge, and cognition framework provides very powerful contexts for learning the course content. The online discussion environment and assignments designed by the instructor encourage students to interact with the course content, to read and explore beyond the immediate setting, and to reflect on what is being read (Warschauer, 1997). At the same time, the discussion and assignments encourage and support many other useful skills, including negotiation, written communication, diversity, constructive criticism, strategy development and execution, and reflection.

When the assignments undertaken by the students exposed to this form of learning environment are examined in the light of a framework proposed by Bennett, Dunne, and Carre (1999), its capacity to support students achieving deep understanding level immediately becomes evident. Based on the framework we have proposed, the distance learning setting helped and encouraged students to practice and develop higher order thinking across the full range of methods, knowledge, and cognition. The following major points, based on our experiences, emphasize the importance of the instructor role in designing the discussion environment and assignments in an online course. It is our intent to further investigate each of these points to substantiate our claims.

1. The assignments, and specifically the discussions, required learners to plan their steps, explore the domain, and work toward a goal. Similar to Fenwick, students perceived their most valuable learning was related to two main areas: group process and self-knowledge (Fenwick, 2002). Regarding group process, students needed to confront unexpected outcomes and hurdles, reflect and judge their progress, and use a variety of learning strategies to develop their solution. In the group setting, students were required to work with others and maintain a good working relationship throughout the semester. On a day-to-day basis, they needed to be cooperative and attentive to the group’s needs, defend their own stance, negotiate, and give and accept criticism.

2. The assignment discussions regarding the assignments required students to apply various technologies available to them in the learning environment. These include e-mail, chat, and the bulletin board. Through the strategies for dynamic discussion, students consolidated large amounts of information obtained and discussed how to delineate the importance and value of the information toward assignment completion. They needed to interpret the information and balance the multiple perspectives presented. Succinct summaries of the information required reflection and critical thinking.

3. Students’ reflections on the course based on e-mail, collaborative discussion, and chat demonstrate their positive attitudes regarding the course. Their satisfaction with the structure of the online environment was expressed in the individual student evaluations gathered at the end of the semester. Through their final documentation submitted with their final product, students described their appreciation for their diligent work.

4. Finally, in terms of managing assignments, these activities compelled students to identify subtasks and to conceptualize the problem they were required to solve and how it could best be managed. The activities required the students to formulate a plan and execute the course of action and to reflect on the directions and outcomes. Each member of the group takes on specific responsibilities, executes tasks to benefit the group, and works together with team members towards achieving a common goal. This finding is similar to other research (Dehler & Parras-Hernandez, 1998; Hinds & Weisband, 2003). Amid differing opinions and perspectives, groups were highly capable of resolving the problems assigned throughout the course.

The three roles of the instructor in online discussion presented in this paper identify critical elements for creating a discussion environment for deep learning. Each distinct role—class member, initiator, and discussant—and the corresponding discussion type—flexible peer, structured topic, and collaborative task—provided students with an interactive task-oriented discussion environment as shown in Figure 3. In the beginning of the semester, during flexible peer discussions on technical issues, the instructor models the desired discussion behavior. Students begin to adopt this behavior and actively discuss the issues presented by the instructor. As the instructor initiates structured topic discussion regarding theoretical issues, the discussion behavior now demonstrated by the students continues, creating a supportive learning environment. Finally, as students are engaged in the collaborative task discussions, their adaptive learning is enhanced and challenged. They must be able to respond succinctly and concisely to questions and react promptly to specific project and process focused questions posed by the instructor. Adoptive learning gradually transforms into adaptive learning exhibited by higher order problem solving skills.

Online discussion strategy is imperative for student learning; however, further investigation is necessary in order to determine the effect of the multiple instructor roles has on student learning. What is the specific impact of the instructor roles (class member, initiator, and discussant) on student learning outcomes? Future research guided by this question may assist in addressing why many distance-delivered courses experience high attrition rates that result from factors such as students feeling isolated, unmotivated, overwhelmed, or unchallenged. Based on the framework and the dynamic discussion strategy proposed, student participation is encouraged in all aspects of the requirements for course completion. Students are made to feel as if they are part of a community, where their input is valued by their peers and where their suggestions are encouraged, a conclusion similar to that of Blumenfeld, Marx, Soloway, and Krajcik (1996). The supportive environment created in a dynamic discussion serves to assist students who may feel overwhelmed by the course requirements. Motivation to learn and share ideas is encouraged and evolves naturally as the course progresses. Continuous peer review of posted responses to items challenges each student to provide their best input for the learning community created through dynamic discussion.

Dynamic discussion is an integral part of an online course. However, the amount of time and percentage of the course spent in a particular discussion environment has yet to be explored with the proposed framework. As students work through the assignments, the importance of discussion, the sharing of ideas and opinions, cannot be ignored. The assignments in this course require extensive peer-topeer discussion throughout the semester in order to achieve the desired outcomes for the course. Through the structure of the dynamic discussion presented in the framework, students engage in discussion as part of assignment completion. In a sense, the discussion and the assignment cannot be separated; both act as a means for attainment of the course goal. Future study questions that address the relationship of dynamic online discussion with the overall course learning experience will be posed. The nature of online interactions and communications must be understood by both instructors and instructional designers (Pincas, 1998). The strategies we have proposed for creating dynamic discussion serve to facilitate online interactions among diverse learners and assist in effective interactions for assignment completion.

Providing students with a learning environment that will assist them in achieving the course goal is important, but we must look beyond the boundaries of a single course. The framework proposed and the strategies for dynamic discussion provide an environment in which students may learn beyond the course goal. Future study addressing how deep learning evolves through the proposed framework will provide insight regarding transfer of problem solving ability to ill-structured problems and unfamiliar environments. Initially it appears students build on the adoptive learning taking place through assignments designed to promote adaptive learning and challenge their cognitive abilities resulting in deep learning. Students’ cognitive process is challenged through learning to use collaborative tools, learning to work collaboratively on complex learning assignments, and learning how to collaborate at a distance both asynchronously and synchronously.

Three strategies for dynamic online discussion—flexible peer, structured topic, and collaborative task discussion—were presented. This paper examined these discussion structures and the three distinct roles—class member, initiator, and discussant—demonstrated by the instructor in the promotion of deep learning through the use of online discussion. The roles of the instructor are critical in the implementation of discussion strategies and design of student tasks for significant learning in online collaborative environments. While research will continue, this article has theoretical and practical implications for instructors in designing and facilitating asynchronous and synchronous discussion.