Redesigning Student’s Thinking Processes through Advanced Discussion Forums

The Nature Of The Threaded Discussion Forums

Online learning environments are considered independent in nature however; to foster positive student success they are dependent upon the depth of the interaction process with peer communication. In other words, although students are taking the course independently and within independent locations their success is highly dependent upon collaborative efforts. As early as 1995 with a study per Anuradha A. Gokhale collaborative education fosters academic success due to the level of peer interaction and student involvement. Collaborative learning within an e learning environment enhances students’ ability to listen and comprehend peer responses. This connects to extending individual thought processes through peer insights and therefore extending content connections for a deeper understanding of the material presented. The students’ independent thinking is accommodated by the collaborative effort. No one student is successful on his or her own; it is due to the overall interaction process to extend the overall thinking process.