The informed use of pre-work activities in collaborative asynchronous online discussions: The exploration of idea exchange, content focus, and deep learning

Asynchronous online discussions (AODs) can fail to benefit student learning in online classes if they are not designed to promote higher-order thinking. AODs can be designed as collaborative learning events that prompt students to go beyond the reproduction of basic content. The purpose of this study was to describe student participation, interaction, and levels of learning in AODs following pre-work activities. The pre-work in this study was conceptualized as socio-cognitive scaffolding. It engaged students in common activities where everyone experienced the same content preparation prior to the AOD. During the AOD students were prompted to share, discuss, and validate their understanding of the content. The study was conducted with 49 students in a graduate-level project management course. Results revealed that students were engaged in discussions of content-related material and showed evidence of deep learning during the AODs. Specifically, students analyzed, evaluated, and synthesized information during the collaboration. Results suggested that pre-work activities can be a promising strategy in the design of AODs.