A Study of the Effects of Teacher Intervention on Learners'Cognitive Processing in Online Collaborative Conversations
Online collaborative conversation is a collaborative learning activity widely used in online and blended learning.Teacher intervention,on the other hand,is considered to be one of the most important means to enhance the effectiveness of online collaborative conversations.However,it is not clear exactly how teacher intervention affects learners'cognitive processing.The article explores the effects of teacher interventions on learners'cognitive processing in online collaborative conversations through a quasi-experimental study with 31 students majoring in educational technology at X university.It is revealed that teacher intervention has no significant effect on learners'behavioral engagement;it has an inhibitory effect on the cognitive complexity of learners'viewpoints and a facilitating effect on the cognitive scientificity of their viewpoints;furthermore,teacher intervention is able to induce learners to have richer cognitive schemas,moving their viewpoints from the"pre-scientific"to the"concrete facts and explanations"more often.Based on the above conclusions,the article further proposes the following suggestions:teachers in online collaborative conversations can promote learners'behavioral participation by setting minimum participation standards;learners can benefit from teacher interventions in online collaborative conversations to enhance their cognitive processing;and teacher interventions should pay more attention to the guidance of learners'cognitive complexity in their viewpoints.