ENGAGING GRADUATE STUDENTS IN RICH ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE DISCUSSIONS

Given the importance of online instructional procedure(s) that engage students in rich online discussions and enhances the quantity and the quality of the discussions, the purpose of this study was to investigate how a particular online instructor engaged graduate students in asynchronous online discussions, what roles the instructor played to engage graduate students in asynchronous online discussions, and how the instructional procedures used in this course were effective. Qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were applied when analyzing the data. Triangulation of sources and review by inquiry participants were conducted to increase the credibility of the research results. Multiple data were collected from the professor, three teaching assistants, and six graduate students. All participants were interviewed about their online course experience. The findings reveal a five-step instructional procedure the instructor applied to engage the students in rich asynchronous online discussions. The results pointed out that the use of e-mails and the presence of the instructor via online discussions had a huge impact on the students' engagement in rich online discussions. In addition, interaction among instructors and students through e-mails positively affected the student-student and student-content interaction. The students' engagement in the discussions was enhanced from receiving consistent academic feedback from the instructor. The findings particularly underlined the use of teaching assistants in helping with the numerous online discussions required in an online course.