Facilitating learners' online discussions in completing group assignments

Abstract

The common practice over the past few years in Malaysia tertiary institutions is the use of online forum with the assistance of the instructor to promote effective teamwork in completing group work. The benefits of using an online discussion during and outside classroom have been discussed widely by various educationists and it has become a much emerging literature. Despite this, there are still some studies in Malaysia context that showed otherwise. Thus, a qualitative case study using purposive sampling was conducted to examine whether students’ online discussions could improve students' understanding on the assignment topic and contents. The findings indicated that the strategic use of online discussion forum guided by the instructor could effectively enhance students’ understanding to complete group assignments.