The Role of Visual Feedback and Reflection in Online Discussion

Abstract

A growing number of studies have shown the importance of student interaction, which may influence learning outcomes, in computer-supported collaborative learning. To encourage productive interaction between students in online discussion, this study provided undergraduates (n=102) with visual feedback on participation frequency, a time series of participation, a social network, and a profile of discussion messages. Participants significantly improved their online discussion through reflection on the feedback. In addition, the quality of reflection on visual feedback was significantly related to the improvement of online discussion. We discussed how to improve the quantity and quality of student interaction in online discussion through visual feedback and reflection.