Monthly Archives: September 2018

Online discussion is a common technique used in face-to-face and distance teaching and learning. However, as students become isolated from peers in online interactions, group learning practices may become less effective than in face-to-face interactions. This paper describes evidence supporting the effectiveness of role-playing discussion for science communication in online education and offers strategies for its implementation. The effectiveness of role-playing discussions was assessed through three measures: 1) student perceptions of the activity, 2) student interaction using the Interaction Analysis Model, and 3) level of cognition using the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. The results demonstrated that students were highly engaged in this activity, with limited presence of off topic threads. In addition, students adjusted the cognitive level of their participation as they embodied different roles and performed at high levels of cognition. Role-playing enables rich and adaptable online discussions, facilitating peer learning in distant settings.