Student Participation and Interaction in Online Case-Based Discussions: Comparing Expert and Novice Facilitation

Discussion is an essential component in case-based learning (CBL), as it offers students the opportunity to consider diverse perspectives, clarify confusion, and construct understanding. As a facilitator bears most of responsibility for overall success CBL, understanding how facilitation strategies influence interactions during discussions worthwhile. However, previous CBL research has primarily considered student perspectives case discussions, without examining relationships between experience interaction participation. This study combined social network analysis content compare structure expert novice instructors’ discussion posts their relationship participation online discussions. Results showed that both instructors used involving congruence, cognitive expertise frequently discussions; however, when they combination these was noticeably different. These differences influenced interaction. More specifically, tended interact with others more actively densely result questions initiated by facilitator. Suggestions are provided facilitators.