Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 20

Internet Learning Journal – Volume 4, Issue 1 – Spring 2015
Strategies
Encourage learners to relate their own
experiences
Ask learners to post at least two responses to
peers: Hence encourage contribution
Ask learners to relate discussion posts with
text, videos, lecture, slides and other
resources provided
Ask learners to summarize their discussion
threads
Application
The learners can learn from their experiences
and also will also play attention to the
discussions if they know that the experiences
are used later.
Ensures peer learning and contributes to
social learning
Encourages learners to utilize the course
resources
Provides learners to reflect on their and
others’ comments
Kam and Hoop (2013) proposed that “learners can share data from their experiments,
discuss the common pattern in their results, question discrepant data, challenge
misconceptions, and form evidence-based conclusions” (p. 80). An online class should
provide the learners the opportunity to discuss, question, criticize and challenge in order to
achieve learners’ cognition, motivation and affective learning.
McCroskey (2006) suggested that instructor’s communication can have significant
impact on learners’ affective learning. Instructors can play role in directing class discussions
in the right direction. Their positive and constructive feedback in timely manner can reduce
learners’ anxiety and concerns. If practiced effectively, the asynchronous class discussion
can produce more affective learning as compared to that of synchronous discussions
(Cleveland-Innes & Ally 2007). Moore and Kearsley (1996) proposed transactional theory
where the authors emphasized the transactional distance between learners and instructors.
Classes with only lectures and no communication contain large transactional distance.
While, classes that indulge interactions are perceived to have low transactional distance.
Bloom (1956) asserted the importance of instructor’s emotional responses to
influence learning. The lower level (knowledge, comprehension and application) and higher
level (analyze, synthesize and evaluate) of thinking are achieved through careful and
planned facilitation. Burill (2011) advocated that providing meaning to learning is the
effective way of practicing Bloom’s Taxonomy in increasing students’ motivation and
learning. Baker (2010) and Russo and Benson, (2005) proposed positive relation between
instructor’s presence and affective learning of the students. Some studies (Baker, 2010; Ni,
2004) evidenced positive relationship between instructor’s immediacy and learners’
affective learning.
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