Investigating students' level of critical thinking across instructional strategies in online discussions

Online discussion questions, which reflect differing instructional strategies, can take many forms and it is important for designers and instructors to understand how the various strategies can impact students' critical thinking levels. For the purpose of the study three instructional strategies used in the development and implementation of online discussion questions were examined: a case-based discussion, a debate, and an open-ended (or topical) discussion. Using a mixed method approach, the study focused on critical thinking levels as described in the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework and operationalized in the Practical Inquiry Model (PIM). The study investigated (1) participants' preferred instructional strategy and rationales for the selection, (2) the contribution of student background and demographic criteria to students' preferred instructional strategy, (3) the contribution of students' strategy preferences in predicting level of critical thinking, based on the Practical Inquiry Model's (PIM) indicators, and (4) comparisons of participants' critical thinking levels across instructional strategies. Implications for the design of online discussions that foster critical thinking are discussed.