المستخلص: |
Due to an increasing trend in the Egyptian higher education toward incorporating online discussion forums into various educational programs, this study explored the cognitive and social processes EFL students engage in while participating in the online environment. The study was conducted on 40 EFL college seniors (11 males and 29 females) who participated in six online discussions which addressed relevant authentic problems. Two instruments were used to identify students' cognitive and social processes; the Community of Inquiry Framework (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer, 2000) and the Cognitive and Social Processes Survey (developed by this investigator). Quantitative and qualitative analyses of online transcripts revealed that students engaged in various cognitive processes, though in different proportions. Whereas the low order cognitive categories had frequent occurrences, the high order processes were rarely present. This was mainly ascribed to the prevalent educational paradigm which is not conducive to promoting high order thinking processes. Besides, task-design, assessment requirements, and the educational setting had contributed to the low occurrence of high order processes. Study findings indicated also that the cognitive processes outweighed the social activities in students' productions. This was attributed to students' beliefs and time and task exigencies which contributed to the limited presence of social processes. Other possible interpretations were discussed. Also, study limitations and implications were explained.
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