Analysis of Social Network and Knowledge Construction Levels in Online Discussion

With the development of online learning, online discussion has become a major instructional strategy. Currently, related studies on online learning mainly focus on studying the process of the online discussion and examining the behaviors. However, only researching on the types, characteristics and quantity of online discussion is limited. This study aims to expand the current understandings on the behavioral patterns of learners' discussion within the Online Learning Space (OLS) at the Central China Normal University. This study also compares the differences in behavioral patterns between core participants and marginal participants. This study employed Social Network Analysis (SNA), Quantitative Content Analysis (QCA) and Sequential Analysis over a 44-days period of teaching activities joined by 40 college students as participants The results shows that the online discussion activity formed a relatively dense network of interaction, but the knowledge construction level contributed is relatively low, mostly at a low level stage of KC1, KC2, etc. Based on the findings, this study further implicates on teaching practices and future researches.