Learners' Characteristics and Critical Thinking in Online Asynchronous Collaborative Learning

• Main Authors: Nantha Kumar Subramaniam,, Abdullah Mohd Zin,, Sufian Idris,
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education
• Online Access: http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/366/2/learners%27.PDF; http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/366/

Collaborative learning is an established technique for teaching and learning in which the students have their own learning responsibilities for each other and for themselves. This is a social process in which the learners learn from peers by participating interactively with learning materials, observing the solution approach adopted by every peers, ensure each peer is focused towards the task and motivated in highlighting issues and decisions. The potential benefits that can be obtained by the learners learning through collaborative learning are enormous. In spite of various studies on collaborative learning in asynchronous learning environment, not much focus has been given on the effect of learners characteristics on the critical thinking when collaborating online in the small groups of diversified learners to solve a given problem. Critical thinking is an important component in the students online discussion in small groups which has diversified learners. This paper attempts to answer the following question: Are there any differences in learners' actual critical thinking ratio during the online collaboration attributable to their characteristics? This study is conducted in premise of that the learners learning is not so much a matter of building up correct responses or eliminating incorrect responses. The most important thing is for students to have the opportunity in a group to test the adequacy of their ideas. It is how critical thinking skills are developed in the online group discussion. (Authors' abstract)