Janine Delahunty

This article combines a sociocultural model of classroom talk with a linguistically-oriented model (systemic functional linguistics) to explore what characterizes effective asynchronous online discussion in higher education (HE). While the benefits of discussion are commonly accepted in face-to-face learning, engaging students in effective asynchronous discussion can often be 'hit or miss', due in part to the shift to interacting asynchronously. This hybrid mode of spoken-like/written-like communication demands skills which are rarely made explicit, often with the assumption that students (and lecturers) are proficient. The combined framework presented here enabled macro-and micro-understandings of discussion forums through an array of resources in the SFL model and the talk type descriptors to map linguistic features of knowledge constructing talk in an Australian postgraduate HE context. The notion of 'listening' (or attending to others) is proposed as a crucial condition for whether discussion progresses beyond simply 'posting'. Consequently, this article provides much needed insight into the murky space of asynchronous discussion forums.

Introduction: What is self-efficacy, why is it worthy of attention in higher education, how are self-efficacy beliefs linked to teaching and learning excellence and what is “excellence”
anyway? These are some points of discussion found in the first few pages of Laura Ritchie’s book, directing the reader towards strategies in later chapters that are drawn from real-life situations aimed at helping the practitioner recognise and apply principles for building strong self-efficacy beliefs in their students. The author argues that the impact of self-efficacy on learning is “fundamental to everything” (p. vii); she writes from her years of teaching and research in higher education, and as a recipient of a UK National Teaching Fellow award ...

Online learning has an important place in widening access and participation in higher education for diverse student cohorts. One cohort taking up online study in increasing numbers is that of mature-age, first-in-family students. First-in-family is defined as those who are the first in their immediate family, including parents, siblings, partners and children, to undertake university studies. This paper looks at the experience of 87 first-in-family students, for whom the opportunity to study open-entry, online undergraduate units through Open Universities Australia has made it possible for them to embark on a university education. Using a qualitative methodology, in-depth interviews and surveys were conducted with these students as part of a wider study into First-in-Family students (O’Shea, May & Stone, 2015). Findings include the important role that opportunity plays in providing the impetus for study, as well as the importance of support and encouragement from family, friends, colleagues and institutions in being able to continue the journey.

available for download here:  http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/4123
This thesis explores the nature of engagement in asynchronous discussion forums in fully delivered online courses in higher education; in particular, online engagement as part of the total subject design. It addresses a number of research questions to understand how online discussion forums shape the teaching-and-learning experience, namely: What kinds of knowledge are socially constructed in online forum interactions? What is the role of interpersonal contributions in fostering/inhibiting student engagement in forum interaction, and in building a sense of community? What is the role of the instructor in mediating online discussion?

The study was motivated to understand how interaction - essential for reducing isolation, constructing knowledge and building community - was affected by the disruption to interactivity caused by lack of physical presence, hence of immediacy for clarification; lack of meaning-making cues (gesture, voice variation etc); and the incongruence of written discussion, i.e. interacting in a written format. It is concerned with pedagogical implications for online participants, as achieving effective interaction can be elusive in online discussion forums.
The study investigated three postgraduate online TESOL classes at an Australian regional university. It adopts a qualitative multiple case study design to examine the discussions as they unfolded in an authentic online classroom environment over one academic semester. Data comprises discussion forum texts, supplemented by interviews (with academic subject designers, instructors and students) and surveys of student perceptions (on learning and community), as well as pedagogic artifacts from the learning sites (topic guides, discussion tasks, learning resources etc).

The research reported takes a socio-semiotic approach; that is, it draws on the complementarity of sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978) and social semiotics (Halliday 1978; 1985). The combination of Sociocultural and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) theories provides a robust framework to analyse the complexities of language use in the online teaching-learning context, enabling focus to move from the macro-level of context, to the micro-level of specific instances of text. The interpersonal dimensions of forum interactions were examined using Appraisal – the system offered within SFL theory to account for linguistic expressions of affect, opinion and evaluation.  Similarly, the joint construction of knowledge, ideas via forum dialogue, are described using Transitivity and Logicosemantics – systems which describe the nature of ideas being exchanged and the relations between them.
The analysis reveals that identity formation is an important but under-explored area in online learning concluding that social dis/alignments and perceptions of (positive/negative) identity caused learners to become more or less engaged in interaction. It suggests that ‘identity trajectory’ is a way of understanding the opportunities for engagement that are taken up or constrained by one’s perceptions of identity, constructed in socially negotiated relationships. The study demonstrates the crucial role of instructor mediation in shaping dialogic opportunities that move learners towards new understandings. Close attention to the unfolding language choices of the participants provides fresh insights into the complex relationships between the intersubjective and experiential in adult learning environments.

Finally the study proposes three online talk types – non-dialogic online talk, online cumulative talk and online exploratory talk. This highlights the notion of attending to (the online equivalent of face-to-face ‘listening and responding’) as a precursor to effective online interaction which opens dialogic space for co-construction of knowledge.

The thesis provides detailed analyses and commentary on how online discussion forums shaped the teaching-learning experience of the participants. The significance of the study is its contribution to online pedagogy and online design, which takes into account the agency of adult learners, the role of the instructor, and the development of mutual understanding and interpersonal connectedness. Importantly, it highlights that assumptions cannot be made of the online communicative expertise of learners (nor instructors) for engaging in pedagogically-effective asynchronous dialogue.

This review focuses on three interconnected socio-emotional aspects of online learning: interaction, sense of community and identity formation. In the intangible social space of the virtual classroom students come together to learn through dialogic, often asynchronous, exchanges. This creates distinctive learning environments where learning goals, interpersonal relationships and emotions are no less important because of their ‘virtualness’, and for which traditional face-to-face pedagogies are not neatly transferrable.  The literature reveals consistent connections between interaction and sense of community. Yet identity, which plausibly and naturally emerges from any social interaction, is much less explored in online learning. While it is widely acknowledged that interaction increases the potential for knowledge-building, the literature indicates that this will be enhanced when opportunities encouraging students’ emergent identities are embedded into the curriculum. To encourage informed teaching strategies this review seeks to raise awareness and stimulate further exploration into a currently under-researched facet of online learning.

Identity became apparent as an important theme while investigating the role of interaction in the asynchronous discussion forums of an online post-graduate TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) education subject. Identity emerged through dialogic choices as students projected an impression of themselves, negotiated their positioning within the group, and established what was valued in this context. Without usual face-to-face meaning making cues, what students post to the forums carry the load of what they mean. Discourse analysis of the initial forums using systemic functional linguistics, provided insights into how identity was being constructed concurrently through interpersonal manoeuvring. This reveals a process of multiple identity construction, with the effect of perceived negative identity discussed. The impact of different tasks on identity formation is also considered.

Ready or not, teaching staff in higher education are expected to embrace various technologies in learning and teaching. For online discussion to be productive, lecturers need not only to be cognizant of the complex relationship between interpersonally and experientially oriented dialogue moves, but also be aware of language choices through which the academic content of the subject is collaboratively negotiated (Verenikina, Delahunty and Jones, in press). Thus it is important for lecturers (as well as students) to understand how to manage this mode of communication, in which face-to-face pedagogies are not directly transferable due to the gap created by separation in time, place, physical and geographical location and the ‘interruption’ this creates for discussion (Delahunty, Verenikina & Jones, 2014). This paper reports the experiences of staff at a large regional university. Firstly it presents data collected through an anonymous online survey for the purpose of understanding lecturers’ needs, and provides a contextual backdrop for how online discussion was experienced by staff across two faculties.  Secondly, it describes the implementation of the Guide, specifically the attitudes and opinions of interviewed lecturers who used the Guide. The project sought to better understand the experience of lecturers using online forums for co-constructing knowledge from the perspectives of cultural-historical theory (originated by Vygotsky 1978) which allows us to conceptualise effective social interactions through notions of scaffolding (Hammond & Gibbons, 2005), and systemic functional linguistics (SFL) (Halliday & Matthiessen 2014). Combining these frameworks allowed us to explore the lecturers’ conceptions of the role of dialogue in the teaching-learning experience. Using the SFL resource of Appraisal (Martin & White, 2005) close examination of attitudes and opinions was enabled through a comprehensive range of descriptive categories for evaluative language choices that lecturers used to reflect on their experience.

Delahunty, J., Verenikina, I. & Jones, P. (2014). Socio-emotional connections: identity, belonging and learning in online interactions. A literature review. Technology, Pedagogy and Education. 23 (2), 243-265
Halliday, M. & Matthiessen, C. (2014). An Introduction to Functional Grammar, 4th Edn. Abingdon, Oxford, UK: Routledge.
Hammond, J. & Gibbons, P. (2005). Putting scaffolding to work: The contribution of scaffolding inarticulating ESL education. Prospect, 20(1), 6–30.
Martin, J. R. & White, P. R. (2005). The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Verenikina, I., Delahunty, J. & Jones P. (in press). Scaffolding productive online discussion to enhance university students’ learning. The Internet and Higher Education
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind In Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press