ERIC EJ1066310: What Engages Students in MetaL-FrOG? A Triarchy Perspective on Meta-Cognitive Learning

2008·14.7 MB·English

by  ERIC

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WHAT ENGAGES STUDENTS IN METAL-FROG? A
TRIARCHY PERSPECTIVE ON META-COGNITIVE
LEARNING

NG SEN FAY

FIRUZ HUSSIN HUSSIN'*

AssTRACT
[Is paper presents the centat Ideas of @ grounded thecry resecrch by the name of Miorcty Perspective on
_Metacogatve Learning in Free Online Groups. or iP on Metel-F10"h shor. The reach sting wos onne learning
‘communty on the platform of Free Onine Group web (FOS) Intended for postgraduate students. The research
‘examined the phenomenon of learning engagement through FrOG portals. It was conciced that three factors
Ccontibutedto Metal FOG: Motlaton, Cognitive Resources and ro earning Behaviors. Furthe cncfssrevected hese
{tree components tobe destediearingoutcomesthemaahes.

Keywords: Colloberaine Leming. Computermedioted Communication, Human-computer Infeface, Leeming

Communities, Medioin Education, Teaoher Education,

INTRODUCTION
leaner engagement Is the key to teaming success
(Horington, Olver & Reeves, 2003; Lim 2004). Hence,
Inducing leamer engagement inthe soting of onine
learing communis i citical for nerecsng loaning
utcomes. According to Huang (2002), the cerence in
‘he setting of online leaning fom the conventional
classoom means aferent fechniques ond perceptions
must be employed to lead to success, Discussion:
fented, aunt, project-based, inquiry focused, ond
Coleboratve leorring a all choroctersics of enna
cussion groups (bd). But here ore no less pitfals and
factor hat innit cote sociaearning ontne (Ke & Cart
(Chetan, 2006; Monn, 2005}, 50 he lssue is what facto
lengage students In onine discussions, ossuming
Inleraied socia intecacton mears higher leaming
[Ronure, 1962; Mcloughlin, 2002}. Online leaner
Ccommuniies. 08 inferaciing organizations, Inevikibly
Invowve estangement,lt-outs, Imbcionce of power
‘welch esutsncsappointed ieamers Forexarple, Mann
(2005) desorbed he scenario:
“Feo! unable fo engage or contibute In ways which
‘re meaningful ond productive forthe realization of
{her own potential and learning requirements, This
‘may Inctude he experience of feeling held bock,

‘locked, nibited. exranged or olaed from what
they are learning. and the study practices and
Learning processes both indlcual and sociot, which
(ore pastor her particular leaning conte". 43).

‘Tistnding of wnat engages students in one scusson

‘Wn tu, lay the ground work to answer the question

“now fo engage sudentsin online actwe eaming?” Other

‘0c phenomena of onine learning that cre worth

‘examining: students sruggle to appear sat online; fear

(of misinterpreting communication norms; ond

Uunceraies about appropriate behavior, resources of

tearing andcontience.

‘he outhors examined studenis! looming experences

Lung Yahoo Groups which was playuty coinedos FOG"

{ecronym for Fee Onine Group Web}, by one of the

‘authos in an gore study (Hush &Soleh, 2008), Forth

‘scussion ofthis pape the meaning ofthe fr "FOG"

\WoE not limited 40 "Yahoo" type nine communication

Potts, but was goneralzed to cover the unique

‘experience of one learing whe using Yohoo Groups os

how the paricipants saw i. As thre are many forms of

‘enn nstuctional fol o sottwore, the soclal context of

{ferent onine leaning communities vary considerably

‘wth the myriad of vatable technologies. For example,

stance leaning clattes rely tolely on online

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‘communication. and conventional class ute cnn
‘communication os on added resource. The Metal FrOG-
expetencelintnisstudybelongedtothelatier
|-Ltereture Review
1 fa sudentoentered fearing. | feamed by
‘observing my couse mates messages s00%at
learning) solve youn problems{wnentm doingmy
fosk 2}, 1 0 slr regulated ond cicovery
feaming. lent 966]
Technology and intemet provide etfectve affordances
fond « suitable ervonment for scatocing human-o-
human interaction and engagement (Ciaxk, Sampson,
‘Weinberger & Etens 2007), an Important and effective
mechanism for leaming [Bonduo, 1962). At higher
education level, adut students are capable of
Considerable conus othe class om the workand
lhe experiences. The often entals creating @ communty
ofleamingandimutualsharng
Lave & Wenger (1998) describe Community of Practice
(CoP) 08 0 group of members who interact reguaty to
Imnprove(rtentonat or otherw) the practice forutul
‘concern of apasson, However upon coke examination,
MataL-#0¢ snot CoPinthe stictest meaning Thereare
‘tye ctteia of CoP (1) Domain: Tis crea is parialy
‘met. Outward, Meta-HOG Is concerned wih learing
ppeychology (subject content mates) ond how to team
psychology fearing ise! (meta-cognitwe process
(vera mere much leaning toting place, expcty
‘otherwise, 2} Cornmunty: There ka growing community
Of MetaLFIOG members, (3) Pactice: Ciera unmet
Metal-#10G consis of mamas tha! seek fo arsociote
the Metal FOG leaning experience wih hel practices
The members came from various backgrounds inthis
study. Dicusons about pedagogical ideat wore not
frequent
‘The use of telecernmunications does not automaticaly
foster students’ abies to engage In professional
reflecton actives wth one another [Cit Mullen, Lovin &
larton, 2001). FOG, os @ web-based learning tool
Provides ease and suppor for social and relectNe
Teaming. butt does not teach’, whe the nstuctor and

OG membere do. MetoL-hOS ie exentaly cferent
‘tom usualclossoomieoming ondtoce-tofoce teaching
foranumberotreosons.
\Werschaver (1997) examines fve features of Computer-
Mecioted Colaboratve (CMC) leaning: (o] text based
‘ond computer mediated heracton ) many-to-many
‘communication (¢] tme- ond ploce- Independence
(@) ong distance exchanges, and (8) hpernedt Inks,
‘Tete fe featuset are In contast 10 face-to-face
Instuction where the progress of lesions managed is
subjectto content and curiculum development
‘Clark (2007) examined fhe ancivical framewors for
‘easing paricipaton Interaction for onine dloiogc
‘tgumentation and proposed the folowing: 1. format
‘ergumentaion stuctue, 2. conceptuot quay 3. nature
‘ond function of contibutions within the lclogue,
4. epistemic nature of reasoning, and 6. argumentation
sequences and Interaction pattems. Dialogic
‘argumentation according fo Cit (2007) Yocuses onthe
Interactions of Indviduas or groups attempting to
‘convince one another of he acceptabilly and vakaty of
‘tomate Ideas (2.3437. Tho Kdeas re applicable and
‘canbs etiapclotedio Metal FOG to acerian extent,
But accorcing fo the author Metol FOG is urique forthe
reasons its not systematc, has no system. no fick, do
not center ona pre-determined top, mult-cimensionat
‘ond muf-crectiond,loosel-organited, showing fucty
‘ond unpredictably. This vation ond paraelsm
Understandable the face of unkmiled posses of
{s06%0! context! of onine lecrning. In fact, enais of
Met HOG revealed argumentative discussion, which
‘appeared o be rate, students were seen fo be reserved
‘ond “pote” in rejecting anothers idea, typical of the
cute in the East (Wfams, 1970) such af that of
Malayso. Negative reactions were observed when an
Idea wasrefute. For example, Eniry697:
“Your foea isnot wrong fo use Kots Learning Stes
‘Modal but why you mentioned that you do no agree
wh mine. Pease critique frtictze} ine andi ave a
‘concrete solution ond stify It why THE LECTURE
DEMONSTRATION {5 NOT APPUCABLE TO. BANDURA

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SOCIALLEARNING. Deor foam please gle your ows
00 [smiley of cringr.

“Tiss subjocted fo the fring cultures In wich ontne
leaming experiences tate place. nine wth he tenet of
‘meaningful earning, Metal #06 is stuation-bound and
ot conten-specte. For exemple, thi is cfferent orn
‘tweaded online fours. The 9ucc85s of MetoL FOG is
Highly dependent on the portcipants’ copacty In
entving “earning nodes, ports where potential now
Teaming topics stom from current ccusons. ts aso
dependent he parictpanis engagement in exploing
the various posites of learing experiences. This
subject Yo the tree proposed tHoxchic components:
Ccogntive resources. motivation ond pro-leaming
ehawors

\eideck,Keamey and Plax (2001) lated ne reasons for
students using e-malfo Interact wih hel feachers: 1.10
Clary course motos and procedures, 2. oF means of
feffciont communication. ond 3. for personalsocil
reasons, Waldeck ond ossocioter observation expiained
the motvational ospects of e-mall communication
leaming. Hectlok. MeGee andMtag (2000) enavzedtne:
‘communication between univerty couse inshucton:
fond pre-senice teachers reported through e-mall and
Identied several themes: 1. netuctional growth, oF
Improvement In thelr Instuctional ond pedogogcol
nowedge, 2. emotional ctlachment, 8. why students
faled he preservice teachers analyzed he factor hat
Jed fo the Inoteate in fale rote of ehsont), 4, eo
{evoluaton, reflection learning. 6. using what Is leamed
(apeling the por knowedge), and 6, the e-mail
‘experience. By and lage, these oe observable features
‘of active Meta FIOG. in surmony he previous research
Ientted « nuriber of key themes that expiained the
nine colaberativolearing benavier

Bulding on these previous stuces, this paper seeks to
‘map new relational explanations to themes eloted 10
‘engagement wtin the online leomer community, Tis
foundational framework woud accommodate and
Integrate the themes that explore the rlctionship and
Interiay ofthe treeinter-dapendent component fh
rchic Perspecive (i) that determine tne success of

Metal FOG: cognitive resources, assured respons,
‘motivation, ondlosty pro-earring behavior.
2.Sottng andpartctpants
Fee online gioupseb (FOG), a form of open source
‘oninoteok wosutedosamedum ofnshuctionporatetto
foce-o-ace insuction In the couse “Peychology of
Learring’, under the program of Master of Instuctlonal
Technology (MI. ct Universty of Malaya. FIOG sence I
{tee and functions seomiessy witin perconal eat
‘eccounts of users. Dung tis study, record of e-mat
‘ronsactons was documented automaticaly onine at 2
<designatedhomepoge,
[Atotolot 16:new participants registered under tne paper
however two students opted out at the end of the
‘semester, Voluntary exfemal patcioants conssted of
former students of the program, research asistants ang
research parines of he instuctors. The gue of extemal
Paticioans who posted emals to the FOG wos
fecotded os sever, while a larger number con be
powtvely csumed to have been engaged in postive
Paricloation and vicarousleaming trough ne FOG.
‘There were no spectiod topics of scusion on the FOG.
The FOG wos utteed pimatly os a platform for
{reto-cognitve coaching (Hussn, Felder & Brent, 2006)
by the instuctorin order fo break the bases of leamer
readiness rune, 1966). Meto-cogniion (Flavell, 1976) s
“thing about thinkng’. The Instuctor defined the
‘meaning of coaching onthe FOG forthe benef ofa the
paticioots:
“COACHING If on Infondive form of Irsruction, one
which rls. on Inferpersonat and guidecHnira-
‘Personals fo seer learners foreach personal and
collecthe goals TEnty947]
In this instance, the dested "personal and colectve
{Gedte" refers fo the closs subject content mato, which
‘wat the psychology of leaming. speciicaly the
‘pplication and consideration of psychological
Understanding through the use of instuctional
Technology, Mete-cogntve coaching therefor, means
‘coaching by the means of set-anakwis of everyday
‘occurences usng psychology tect orconcepis

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Some researcher citicke onlne education 10 be:
Impersonal. negigentof Yearning" ond over emphasized
(on the cispesion and acquston of ivormation (Bowers,
19; Noble, 1998; Woody, 1999}. Metal- HOG katforent,
(08 there Is no predetermined cunicuum. In foct its
“euocess" is decided and characterized by intense sociol
Interocton,

The contents of Metal-FOG revolved prrmaty oround
Issues of mete-cogniive coaching and learning,
personal vee of abo known as “intmnacy”(Wekdecket a
2001), coure-requrement related communication
which Included discussion, comments, ciatication,
Procedtutal enauilos, of well a probleme faced in he
‘couse of assignment completion and nol examinations.
Both eeponses at emotional (e.g. complains, ments,
Sign of gto, rusts, nfeosty and seeking ernotonal
suppor} ond cognitive levels (@.9. rational anal) wore
‘common and offen Inioweven In one eat. No
Ccotegotzation of FOG entes were rade based on
subject content matter dung anal, o§ one emai
‘often contained responses wit references fo multiple
subjecttopis.

2.4Advantogesof using FOG

Comenience

+ FOGsare tee open souce eowere, accessible wth
‘ony computer ond Infonet connection. Students ore
readty fomitarto is media, and needino traning or prot
nowedge of usage (Danian & Husin, 2006)

+ Thee crespecticinstuctonalteatires ombeddedin
the Yonoo FOG that promote productive interaction
between paricponts (Clot, 2007), Including usobiy
User Interface features, documentation, storage ond
shating of Intolectual work, focitated access 10
Infornaton (@.9. hypetns), and scipng fool (2.
smiley faces ond formating convenience).

+ FOGs allow synchronized leaming. time ond
locotion independence. Witten communication
fenabies ongoing fue sourcing of Information, tne to
fat, refnement and elabortion of wel-concetved
cents (Cla, 2007; Joiner & Jones 2003; Mextunen &
Lauren 2001; Scardamala & Beretter 1994; Schotone &

Voieke 2008; Veomon 2003, Waldeck et ai 2001,
Wesschouer 1997), FOG cornmunication olows “ime
‘ond space’ orleamer'teactons(Dohion& Huss, 2008),
+ The se of personal eal engage he leaner 24
hous a day ond 7 days a week, provcing access to
‘continuous cognitive and social support which motes
tuther participative-leaming. This tecture enables
“Osmossteaming’.nwhichleamersimmeneinacontest
‘saturated wih leaning inpuis absorb and equatze helt
level of lacking Inowedge fo that of higher Inowedge
(Huss, 2004),

+ Onine vicaous foaming by observer participant
‘tual parol participation in a: community of lacing
\wthout actual physical presance. In tis research, for
‘example, some participants were actively InaWved nthe
Metal-FOG, yet I snot officiay registered and paving
shudentsinthe couse,

+ Tahning in wing winout the intimidating foray of
‘on-poperwilo-ups Tiss especialy useful inAsion cute
‘where face-to-face insuction ie often Impeded by
‘ypicol Aslan behavior of bing shy andreserved Willams.
1970). FOG based coacring removes al such bare
(Hussn, 2006),

Reppert

+ Onine media promotes informally ond intimacy,
\wbloh Nelps to foster atlachment among the leaning
‘communty members Hedtick tl 2000),

+ FOG communication encourages voluntary
Paticioation, independent leoming ond sett otvated
learning, as opposed to the typical spoon feeding
learning cuture prevalent ornang Asians (Willams, 1970}.
+ Social leoming. whore students bench-mark ond
‘odeleach others srengihsiscommonin MetaL-FOG.

+The ormois earning requles attention os a whole
trom the instuctora wel os tom the FOG community A
OG enirygesthe attention of every HOG membensand
‘nelrsiuctorcongvectiantontoallothis/hersudents ot
the same tema, This i aso known as “many-to-many
‘communication Warschauer 1997)

+ Meta F10G nurtures peer suppor. Consistent wih the
‘Adon cuture of collective leaming Willams, 1970),

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students have boon cbsewvedo prove poor comments
onde eachothern thet osignment completion.
Matpcty

+ There I fey and fexolty In the Use of FOG
Incicating open and democratic cute. The dologue
‘rowsactons ore accommmedaing, ftom greetings. 10
Joking, fo official announcements, 10 acodemic
discussions, and even to standard procedural
Information.

*+ OG basedcoaching able tochange the ection
of Instucton from feacher-centered (one 10 many) 10
student-centered (many.omany). FOS mombors
Often foke up the foe of instuctor or leader by offedng
cosisiones to other OG members For example, Ht wos
‘observed in this research study that he instuctor hee
‘Was athe recelvng end of such benevotent “leaching”
[Enty 857), when a possive student aricipant explained
‘hat DOL (Orect Download Lint eferedtio on operating
system fecturoin Microsot Windows.

+ FOG teaming processes create contnuly ond
consolation of past leaning experiences by providing
‘automated documentation for fue leamert, nckudng
onvacekientaintrestedpatis.

+ nlenal ond extemal factors shape and reshape he
Couture ond dection of Metal 106. For exampie inthis
study, the participation of extemal members, who
Contioute ftom tel feng perspective, background
ond inowedge, wos observed fo have changed the
tectionotine FOG alscusion

3. Bockgroundot nereseorchers

‘he fist ouinor was a voluniay extemal observer /
Pptticloont who never offcloly attended any couse
Lnder me nructr He ao never met wih the othe FOG
Paricloons In potion. The second author was the
Insructor of the cours, an ongoing action-esearcher
ho studied her own insructional approaches and het
students’ leaning processes for continual instructional
Improvement, Ongoing nails of the insiuctors
Yeaching approaches (ether by the students oF the
‘oral participants) were continuouty posted on the
Class FOG pote as @ pat of Meta-FIOG leaning 10

‘iggerloomerreiectionfEg. Enties 416, 419.0nd 421),
‘A the end of the semester, ete were Increased
‘opportunist elect onthe students’ active Metal HOG
‘expationces. For example, one extemal participant had
put forward his ideas on the FOG poral, shonng his
learning expadence using FOG [Entios 947, 964)
Subsequent thsi pos tiggeredintonseondhected
‘scusson [Enos 967, 1000, 1008, 1004, 1006, 1010,
‘ond 1014

Both autnors ployed ctferent oles witin the MetaL- OS
‘communi In this study. The fst author maintained
“substantial observer distance, participated moderately
‘ono fo ensixe acces othe naturale socal contxt,
‘glean genuine insight, and produce comorehensive Ive
‘enaiys Absolute objactityand detachmentinthis caso
‘would not have been appropiate, os tt would have
Induced toully interpretation of observable dota,
‘According to Marohcin Yusot (20016) field data cannot
be foten-outot-content. oF many of the Impl and
_subtiesociol cues con onlybe understood n.she-rocess
by the Inder and oFe Invsbie 10 (gnored by} an
‘absoie exemalobsenvet

The 166 of second author Instuctor wat that of @
“nopelesy occulwated insider" who "accepts os natal
‘ond properthe very things An ethnographer from ourown
s2c%ot snot so totally fomifor wth and might want to
‘question Wc, 1987, p. 57F. Wolcott advocates that
‘he reveerchors must be wing fo be fuly Immersed in.
‘and be able fo totaly embrace her own reseatch 10 be
‘obletofulyunderstond he retearch et (Ri). hereto,
ttwas portent nt both he author ofthis paper won
fondem, The second author was the key acto
Participant. he fist author provided vaidtion tothe font
‘anaiysls of this research study, This synergetic
‘cooperation was vial in ensuring that nether author un
wig" endlesotouch ofealy,

4.Methodology

The e-mail ransactons used fortis study recorded the
span from Entry 891 (14 Juy 2007) to Entry 1108 (28
November 2007), which bangs toa total of 712 ermal
‘enties. Eater entles were from previous cohorts of

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Participant suc in his cose, but acknowledged
(08 prior cohorts in eater cycies of this overall action
research. The messages referenced in tis study were
encoded according fo the enty number at how they
"wore righlly documentedin the OG website for easy
referencing. te message numbering savicain the FOG.
enables automated documentation of e-mail
Tronsoctons, thus lminatng posible eros in the
Process of data colection, which ae chenwseinevtobie
Inintensew ondotner observational methods
The methodology used In this study wos @ quate
‘Founded theory approach. Recent increased interest in
online leaning research hos resulled in on increased
Interest ond use of quatotve methods fo obtain deeper
Lnderstancing ofthe subject, was especialy in he crea
Cf students porcoption of he experience (Bianco & Care
Chelan, 2002}, Specicaly, the ferns such of
‘Phenomenology, etinagraphy and content anaes ore
‘2pplcabieto hs study. Phonomenciogy (Creswol, 1998)
cencbiesroseatchersto gah deeper understanding asthe
Ppaicponts see ft. In this stuck, the importance of
doscttons by he partcipants aswell as hel reactions
Con the learning expesence, os eporedon the OG, wos
femphosized. As ethnography involves descipions of
human social phenomena, routines, Interaction ond
Ceuttues fom fteldwork (Spradiey, 1979}, the onine
Teaming envrenment n ths study, the FOS electronic
“fed i legiimized (Bono & Cor-Chelnan, 2002)
‘welch ates considerably tom conventional observation
flelse such asschocterworkplace
‘The authors examined the OG data with the Intent to
fon a thecrtical famework that woud explain the
Phenomenon of Metal-rOG using the grounded theory
‘opproach (Glaser 1992}. As advocated In grounded
ecry nays, he meoraticalconcepistoxmed tern the
studywere generatedtiom the dataset
Coservation of nine leaming Is essnitaly Hcly os
Blonco& Cor Chetman (2002)putt

“How I posse fo observe on onne clos? Do we

‘observe Indvivak ofthe machines in hel house

s9006?Do we observe the class otinferactsontne?

Is he electron space of the actual classroom 0
Wehua "fet? (p. 256)
Horo, con be argued that oni resoarch Is Indeed
Pattaty document anatis Hodde, 1994), not puely
‘observational. it can be futher implicated that toning
‘lscuston is highly formal and systematc, thee are no
{0401 cuesto be cnoivaed. The nfomalnature ot FOG in
this study enabled substan non-subject based
Information to be researched (ernations, relctionstps
‘endothe sociolcues
Alolalor712¢-mallenties were encodedusinga custom
{designed Transaction Transcript Documentation (TD). o
‘content anal ool This TD wos moded based on the
‘aiignal prototype derign by the second author in an
‘elt resoarch study on Short Messaging Service SMS)
based learning Huss, 2004). Preliminary onalyls
tesuted in the formation of global flomawork, the
Tarchic Perspective [HR], which conssts of tee
‘components: cognitive resouces, motivation and ro
fearing behavior. Then subsequently, the authors
realigned thet focus onto data eialed to oniy the tee
‘components of Ti and relegated other unrelated
Information 1o be kept cde for potenti future stutes,
lastly, as ocvocated by Sous & Corbin (1990), the
descriptive excorpis om the F10G wore presented nhs
Paper, monioustae the phenomena ond io vakiate
‘he relevance of the proposed framework fone than to
provertqbig,
‘he second level of analy folowed once the three
‘components of iF were identied. Each incliual erty
‘wos scrutinized denty he prosence othe three angles
‘ond coded with diferent colon: yelow for cognitive
f9soUrces, fed for motivation and bie for social leaming
bbehavor, he tw fed was separotedinte smaller chunks,
Isolaing phroses that contained matters for each
‘catego. n tne wih the recursve nate of quatiatve
research and grounded theory (Morahan Yosot, 20010),
‘he Ti? model wos rethedond modiied with each evelot
‘analysis according to the emerging themes.
‘Consequenty the eltlonsips between te three angles
‘were onalyzed by Induce and deductive reasoning
Figure 1 and 2 are sorne examples ofthe TD ubtis

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banca ty get

pu 1. Sample Tarascon Taner Deamon (TD)
"yp ue soc erg bear

ie 2. Sample Transaction Tans Documeniton (TT)
"ype elo copa escae

Gwen he comelenty, uncertainty ondaberacinest ofthe
ratte ond subject of study, holsic. ond exports
‘methodologies were employed fo answer brood ond
{Qoneralesoorch questions. he Mhalngs should pave he
foundational base for future researches that study and
lngor In answeing @ sgl, spectied ond definite
research question. But the posites of sucha research
Is In quocton as the subjects Involved ore recline:

_Audents sued in naturale context (Marohal Yur
2001b). The soclol context of ths research fis the
<descipion by Mariom, “hoi, mut-cimensional anc
feverchangng: iis not angle, fed objectve
Phenomenon wating 10 be discovered, observed or
‘measured (Mentor, 1988, p, 167) This grounded theory
‘2pproach research purposes o fern @ hypothess, thor
{han testing « hypothess (Mertom, 1988). In Grounded
Theory approach the performed hypotheses of forming
hypotheses n advance are proiited (Glaser & Sass
1967,

41 Bias Controls, reliably and vatcty and research
Iieiations

‘Analyse was dkectedto the enties o they were presented
‘onthe FOG, thus, outomaticalyexchucingfactorssuch os
personal preference, conficts of inert and bas based
‘onpiysical appearance. The ist authors non registration
intne couse minimized he kof ransterenceorryecting
past pesional experience Into the cohort of study
‘Addonal meosues inckuded memoor-checking within
‘he FOG where participants agreed to contr orcepute
‘he meaning ofthe enties os they were anotyzed and
publicly dsplayed asa subsequent ity on he FOG, fo
oop misnterpetation in check. Secondary relevant
{s0ur62¢ of nformation, such a he earring oun rom
students, wre alto analzed to provide tongulation to
‘ofnangs.

‘Thi teseorch wos caried out wihin a specticaly chosen
‘eslabistment, an Educational Psychology courte under
{he program of Maes of Instuctional Technology, ato
pubic tery sition. onthe piattom or poralot Yahoo
‘Groups. Generazation and degree of extemal vlty of
‘he fangs Into other subjects of stuces, teaching
‘approaches, nature ond level of rang Is poese but
not wihnout dacrest consideration. It i suggeeted thot
futher research could be caried out in aiferent
lerlablstments wih sinior envioaments by atten!
researchers wihteing backgrounds andtnowedge for
‘compatson purposes.

Intisic othe nature of quota research, the fhdngs
‘tom this study coud be vasty dtferent if the samme row

% Tranagers Jared or Easel PVC VEL 2 NF May ly 2008
RESEARCH PAPERS

ata be presented fo ofher researchers. Futhomare,
Iirited bythe inabty o prove causal retatonship os n
uattotve research the nang, oucing to couse and
fffect in felationship, were derved ftom Inductve
reasoning or findings of other experimental esearch. For
‘example, profeaning behavous wore assumed 10
Ccontbute fo the increased leaning engagement inthis
FrOGstuy.

6.Fncange

5.1 Theoverviewof MP

The andi of Melo OG folowed tis hread of foc:
\Wnycistudents engage actively inthe Meta FOG? Why
‘were some tudents not as motvoted of the othe?
Could they have perceived the inadequacy In
‘hemaoWes and balked at the idea of being rescued?
Even If the students possessed the Inowiedge and
‘naivica ils, cd they always contibute fo the Meta
FOG? How soctal or the FrOG members In tors of
scaffolsing each othersn thet looming?

The actual research onal Included the grouping ond
Independent inspection of he FOG enthes under he
{woe major components. as shown in gue 3. However
‘his paper onty presents the overall conceptul
frornework.

Based onthe sties of research questions, the emergent
Conswors that surfaced pointe the foc that these tree,
components did not just contribute to FOG:
lengagernent, but hey were inseparable ond formed he
sted learning outcomes themtalves. There were
‘2buncon! report rom students descrbing the changes.
In thee motvation, Instuctional growin, erotonal
‘ttachment, meto-cogniton and anaiica ss In the
OG data(Figue 4)

Most of the data that were anciyzed contained
observable behavior that could be categoted under
‘wo oF all three of the TIP cornponents. For exam,
Cents nat recorded helptuness of one student towards
‘nother could be cotegotzed as provising « cognitive
resource orttcould be amatvation,andhelptuness tet
Is defintely « proveaming behavior, For example, the
‘author decided to categorize generavty(helptuness

ZN

Figure 3. Bas Tarchy Perper Meet

are rac of Tri componads
towards a tower ronkng member) under intinstc
‘motivation but closey-nke to social ils,
‘5.212 component: Cognitive Resources
FFque 5 showsthe model of Cognitive resourcestox Mtl.
Frog

"Paychoiogy of Learing..Wery interesting subject. |

‘am appivingwhatihaveleamtinrmyjobrowlEity

ort)

“Every 070 oko (moving) so fost-cicht understand

\what hey were anatyzectng} ot “[Eniry976)
Engagement In dioiogic argumentation is @ power
pedagogy fo enhance understanding of challenging
‘concepts (Andosson, Saker & Suthors 2008; Chart, 2007;
Diver & Osbomne 2000; Hogan, Nast! & Pressey 2000;
\etd0 2000). nthe contest ofthis stucy, hisineuces buts
notiitedtto, mato-cogntve hirking and psychological
learning, os wellostaning students ncxgumentation ond
reasoning sll (Boker, 2008; Bel, 2004; Kuhn, Show &
Fotlon 1997; Toatey, 1997), MetoLFOG messaging,
‘according tothe instructor wos

"A cotoyst, 0 non-human “insructor, @ Rodicat

Construct hat created, but hat hos fogeaped fo

‘Tranagers ural on Faveciona yc Wl + Na t+ Mey 2008 a
RESEARCH PAPERS

Fe 5. Mode of Cope Ressrcos fr MeL F106

‘become satempowered.."it provides Ynructont
‘tout me" [Entry 1000)
For the category of *Cogntive Resources’, the
researchers soughttoanswerthefolowlng questions:
1) What wore the sources of knowledge and mata:
Ccogntve enolyss as reported by the paricpant?
2) What enhanced the sources of leaning 10
{encourage higher earning outcomes asreporied on the
Fos?
The student portc}pontsthisstudy possessed avaretyot
nowledge bases, ranging rom past wok emperience, to
Curent workexperience, to persona Ives to assignments
{ven under the coune oF other couBes oF workshops
Lnderthe program, thigh expectations ofthe course, to
sored experience among the FOG communty, 10
Ccontbuton by the extemal patcfponts 10 continous
coaching tom the insructr(Osrnoss Leaning), to poet
supported mat-cogntion, anda, othe onine seting
fof te discussion, According to Clot (2007), tis lost
fact, he onne context, resus in greater accesso the
Unlimited World Wide Web. Colectvely, hese factors
bases of student cognate resources. gear the students
‘owardshigherlevelsofcogntveleaming.
"Thus ee fo check my ema foc (bus wh schoo
trolning[Erity 1078),
‘The opposte of cognitive resources Ik pre-occupation
\Wnon students pre-occupied and engaged wih other

non-academic rected exparionces, avoidance and
\wthcrowal behaviors right happen. Job demands and
Persona! schedules make adutsleamers cic to have
‘on-campus classes according to Brey (1988) & Porter
(0997}!nHuang 2002)
languoge bares were abvious, 0s sudents reported
‘hel inadequacy in Englsh. One student admitted
‘equent checting ofa dlctonary in order fo understand
‘he Metal FOG enties Many entios saw mood
languages (Malay, the local language and English
languages) In one emall, showing the Intent to
Pattcioale and overcome ther language (cultize)
‘ferences and lack of conndence sigmatized rom tho
Inodequacy. Whe some shuggled hard to ossimiteinto
‘he majonty cute, some opted out trom the game.
Folowing san enty dectedto thelnstucto:
“Throw u don! accept excuses. Ne redto overcome
some of the ‘excuses. Hopetuy can (be) actively
Involved inthe discussion hough my comment coutd
over sutace’“[Erity 466)
“Prospecive teaches often want the visual reassurance
‘nat foceroace communication con provide (Cit,
2001)" wating and posting pesonal leaning ond
reflection, os well os organizing e-mails are new
paradigms of leaming for many. As Mann (2008) noted
‘new medium of communication entails new
‘communication conventions, wich may be unequally
known... potenialy cartes a greater potentict for
‘correunication breaown (p47. The communication
‘ond cultucl borers clso sited cogntve resources, os
mony members reported licomfort with oniine
‘communication, prefering the conventional faceo-
facomode. Asa post-moftem anaiysis ofthe courte, one
membersuggested more:
“Yoceo-foce closs | mentorng to suvve the
‘rotion ofthe fearing graph, faking note that for
‘most of usour leaning cuvolsnot stoop Entry 1067]
‘5.312 component: Matton
‘According to Huang (2002}, acts nave high leaning
‘motivation when they ean gai new knowledge, 0 help
‘nemtatves to sole Important problems in thelr te. What

= Tranagers Jared or Easel PVC VEL 2 NF May ly 2008
RESEARCH PAPERS

clive students to contbute and leam from Meta. Fr0G?
‘The dosted onswer sof couse the inns need tom the
{OG communtiy o patcipate andiean. infact, Metot-
FOG Meet wot on embodiment of the teaching
[Philosophy of Osmosis Leaming, which according fo the,
Insructr. wos, “ecing trough Involuntary absorption
ftom one's envionment (Husin, 2004) This detntion
shows that the Osmosis Theory of Learring i based on
Intiste motivation, “he maorty of such Innovations fll
because he teachers, even after consderoble perod ot
"ne and change, simply bandon he new behavox nd
retun o comfortable odoutines” (von Eeksien Verunt
ԤBosrutzon 2006)

‘Much of the insructor cherished hopes tha the FrOG.
‘would be set-motating and “an end to se", the fact
thatine FOG cescusion came to. stand ate the fl
semester grades wore pubkihed rfuies the unrealtic
‘nought. However, the pause onthe FOG discussion doos
ot necessary discredit Is ole In being © catahat fo
‘motvattona growin among the students nthe long un
'As everyone has a fe 10 adapt fo and is constanity
so0kdng new earring experiences at ctferent stages of
le, the cogntive changes Inctied by the FOG
experience may very wel be permanent win the
students

For the category of Motivation’, the reseorchers raised
thefolowng questions:

1) What mottated parttpants to engage on the FOS
cussion asteportediontne FOG?

2) Could these motivations be calegoized by the
dogree of rengt? in his cos, inti motivations wore
‘ossumedto bernor val ond provide ostongerctvetor
partctpaton.

‘The categatzaton of motvatlonaevels wasto provde.a
framework for understanding hierachica! stages. The
Cesied outcome was tomove upwards foward a higher
level of leaning of the students engage in the FOG:
<scussion. The categotaation was not excise of each
‘other, os people often change het inlent and mattvation
Ct atterent tres. Futhermore, vary often, the quonturn
‘nd ontet of motvation could not be gauged from the

OG entios, oF asmchronized onthe dscustion was
ound to ental @ corsiderable amount of deliberation
‘ond pretense, he categotes of motvatonal levels anc
leamer types observed in this study are presented Inthe
following subsection.
Infestation
‘There were three charactosics observed under the
‘category. Students wore cven by indect gas such os
self actuoization, generatvily and tree wil, This
‘motivation, self inicted by proactive leaner, was least
intuencedtbydlectrewardsanc punishments
Selr-Actualzation meant sol fuliment and the
‘motivation fo recize ail one's potenti (Maslow, 1970),
The leaner gas se satsfacton fiom hisorherown ote
{oe creative, unique and in pursut of future growin. For
‘example, he folowing entries wore considerecconstont
‘wih se octuatzation motivation
“My long me am soe awel-énown resecycner hn
‘education fled... examining elaionsip between
‘human cognition and muttimecta teaming.”
(ennyao7}
“infect all ofushave to explore more andunderstand
psychology of leaning so that we can be come on
‘effec fearneEriry 450]
‘Generatty 16 @ concept Inspted by the Stages of
Peychosocial Develooment Ihecry by Esk rkson (En,
1982}, According to Ertson, dung middle aduthood,
People go through a dovelopmental stage caled
"Gonerativty versus Stagnation’, Generativiy is o
prefered conation where someone takes charge of ang
‘contioutes to other societal members. Ths fmm of
“shating’ was @ notable cute inthis FOG shud, which
Probaby could be Inked to “colectism” In Easton
‘cules. This was observed when member ofthe clas
HOG volunteered nel;personalhelp or tescurcesto other
memes, for example: the use of persona! computes,
‘offers to steep overfor group dscustions, peer comments
‘ond kind reminders of broken hyperinks In assignments,
‘ond sistance In technical glches for the sowor
member. The patictpation of extemal members who
hhad no dict connection 10 the registered class ciso

‘Tranagers ural on Faveciona yc Wl + Na t+ Mey 2008 a