Online learning has become increasingly important in education, especially during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. A key activity in online learning is asynchronous online discussion (for instance discussion boards in learning management systems). It has been found to foster student engagement (Parks-Stamm et al., 2017) and support student active learning (Baker et al., 2005), critical and higher-order thinking (Kwon et al., 2019), and reflection (Hara et al., 2000). However, simply incorporating asynchronous online discussions into online learning does not guarantee these effects because there are many influencing factors. Instructor participation is one of them.
Some studies have, for example, indicated that instructor participation supported students’ deep understanding and critical thinking on a particular subject (Garrison & Cleveland-Innes, 2005). However, other studies showed that instructor participation had little, or in some cases, negative influences on student participation (Mazzolini & Madison, 2003). These mixed results make it difficult for instructors to learn and apply appropriate strategies to participate in asynchronous online discussions.
A systematic literature review by Xie and Correia (2023) analysed 25 studies on the effect of instructor participation in asynchronous online discussions on student performance, providing valuable suggestions for instructors. We classified the research into three categories: the presence of instructor participation; the frequency of instructor participation; and the type of instructor participation. We found that compared to the quantity of instructor participation, the quality of instructor participation – especially the comments and teaching strategies used by instructors – had a greater impact on student performance.
Positive, neutral and adverse effects of instructor participation in asynchronous online discussions on student performance were identified in five manners: the quantity of student participation; the quality of student participation; student achievements (such as grades, professional abilities); student emotions (such as emotional engagement, satisfaction with the discussion/instructor/course); and student learning time. The positive effect of instructor participation was greater regarding the quality of student participation, student achievements and student emotions. Whether instructor participation in asynchronous online discussions can bring positive effects was influenced not only by instructors’ teaching experience but also by other factors such as course content, learning objectives, class sizes and learner characteristics.
