Teaching Critical thinking through Online Instructor Scaffolding: A Conceptual Framework☆

Abstract This study extends the socio-cultural Vygotskian theory of scaffolding with the application of knowledge conversion processes based on Socialization, Externalization, Combination and Internalization (SECI) model to the Asynchronous Online Discussion Forum (AODF) environment in order to explore the potential impact of instructor scaffolding types on students’ critical thinking engagement, cognitive performance and general critical thinking skills. The proposed framework will be helpful for instructors to structure and scaffold students’ critical thinking in the AODF environment effectively.