Ayesha Sadaf

University of North Carolina at Charlotte | UNC Charlotte · Department of Educational Leadership

This study investigated the dynamics of complex interactions within inquiry-based discussions by visualizing patterns using social network analysis. Researchers explored network measures when learners participated in inquiry-based discussions with Practical Inquiry Model (PIM) questions and non-PIM questions while playing the weekly moderator’s rol...

The last two decades of online learning research vastly flourished by examining discussion board text data through content analysis based on constructs like cognitive presence (CP) with the Practical Inquiry Model (PIM). The PIM sets a footprint for how cognitive development unfolds in collaborative inquiry in online learning experiences. Ironicall...

Online learners are increasingly diverse (NCES, 2022), which underlines the need for instructors to be inclusive and equitable in online teaching. Inclusion refers to providing opportunities for all learners in the online course, so they can actively participate and feel welcomed and belong in the course, and equity ensures that all learners have f...

This study explored students’ perceived metacognition (self-regulation and co-regulation) in relation to the online presence within the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework in an online case-based instruction (CBI) course. Forty-seven online graduate students enrolled in an instructional design course participated in the study. Data were collected...

With increased interest in collaborative learning on asynchronous online courses,

Online teaching and learning are rapidly increasing across all the educational segments and, specifically, in higher education. Doo et al. (2020) noted that higher education is experiencing three interconnected trends according to Brown et al. (2020) including: (a) increased student diversity, (b) alternative pathways to education, and (c) the sust...

This systematic review synthesizes research on strategies used to promote cognitive presence in online courses to identify trends from two decades (2000 to 2020) of scholarship. From initial search of 181 studies, a total of 14 articles published in peer-reviewed journals were reviewed. Results show that all of the studies were carried out in highe...

This systematic review synthesized research on cognitive presence– the process of collaborative knowledge construction–in online learning to identify trends from two decades (2000 to 2019) of scholarship. A total of 30 articles on cognitive presence were analyzed to gain deeper understanding of the current state of research and identify the gaps in...

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into how employing Case-based (CB) and Non-case-based (NCB) discussions facilitate high-level learning, and whether or not there is a relationship between students’ learning outcomes. Findings revealed that students’ perceived cognitive presence, learning and satisfaction were significantly higher in CB...

While research has established the importance of questions as a key strategy used to facilitate student interaction in online discussions, there is a need to explore how the structure of questions influence students’ interactions. Using learning analytics, we explored the relationship between student-student interaction and the structure of initial...

Online course facilitation is critical to the success of online courses. Instructors use various facilitation strategies in online courses to engage students. One hundred instructors were surveyed on their perception of helpfulness of twelve different facilitation strategies used in online courses to enhance instructor presence, instructor connecti...

This study explored factors that influence teachers’ intentions to integrate digital literacy into their classrooms based on the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior (DTPB). Path analysis was used to analyze quantitative data collected through an online survey (n = 144) and constant comparison approach was used to analyze open-ended survey respons...

Quality Matters (QM) is one of the most widely adopted sets of standards for best practices in online courses to promote student learning. In this study, we examined student perceptions of the impact of QM-certified courses on students' learning and engagement. Fifty graduate students enrolled in online courses completed a survey developed based on...

The purpose of the exploratory study was to investigate teacher value beliefs of integrating digital literacy into their classrooms. Participants were forty-six teachers enrolled in an educational technology course. Data was collected from online survey and asynchronous online discussions. Findings suggest that teachers' value beliefs for integrati...

In this critical autoethnography, we come together as female instructional design (ID) faculty and graduate students. We use self-reflection to explore, through our writing, the experiences of our lives as female scholars. This includes gender-related challenges, concerns, and experiences that shape our lives as researchers, instructors, and practi...

This study explored teachers' behavioral, normative, and control beliefs related to digital literacy integration into their classrooms. Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as a theoretical framework to collect and analyze data. Findings revealed that teachers' integration of digital literacy were related to their behavioral beliefs (a...

The researchers in this study examined the influence of questions designed with the Practical Inquiry Model (PIM), compared with the regular (playground) questions, on students' levels of cognitive presence in online discussions. Students' discussion postings were collected and categorized according to the four levels of cognitive presence: trigger...

The purpose of the study was to investigate factors that predict preservice teachers’ intentions and actual uses of Web 2.0 tools in their classrooms. A two-phase, mixed method, sequential explanatory design was used. The first phase explored factors, based on the decomposed theory of planned behavior, that predict preservice teachers’ intentions t...

Accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in tissues and serum play important roles in diabetes-associated complications. Therefore, the identification of anti-glycating compounds is attracting considerable interest. In this study, the structural changes associated with the glycation of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and its protection by...

This study investigated factors that predict preservice teachers’ intentions to use Web 2.0 technologies in their future classrooms. The researchers used a mixed-methods research design and collected qualitative interview data (n = 7) to triangulate quantitative survey data (n = 286). Results indicate that positive attitudes and perceptions of perc...

This chapter addresses the relationship between types of initial question prompts and the levels of critical thinking demonstrated by students' responses in online discussions. The chapter is framed around a research study involving discussion prompts that were coded and classified using Andrews' typology (1980). Students' responses (n=1132), taken...

This study examined the relationships among question types and levels and students’ subsequent responses/interactions in online discussion forums. Question prompts were classified both by type, as outlined by Andrews (POD Q J Prof Organ Dev Net Higher Eduction 2(34):129–163, 1980), and by levels of critical thinking, as outlined by Bloom (Taxonomy...

This study examined the relationships between the level and structure of question prompts and the levels of critical thinking demonstrated by students' responses in 19 online discussions. Discussion question types were classified using Andrews' typology (1980) and question and response levels were classified using Bloom's taxonomy (1956). Ninety-tw...

The development of critical thinking is crucial in professional edu- cation to augment the capabilities of pre-professional students. One method for enhancing critical thinking is participation in role-playing simulation-based sce- narios where students work together to resolve a potentially real situation. In this study, undergraduate nursing stud...

This study examined students' perceptions of peer feedback and learning in a large, undergraduate course that incorporated supplementary online discussions. Peer feedback (PF) was facilitated via an automated rating system, within Blackboard discussion forums, for half of the students enrolled in the course. Following the peer feedback process, stu...

Asynchronous online discussions are common in online and blended courses. This study examined the impact of online discussions in blended undergraduate courses in three disciplines: educational technology, engineering, and English education. Results showed that students from all courses were comfortable using online discussions and saw them as a wa...