Personalizing and Extending Deliberation in the Online Classroom: Future Horizons
Research indicates that when instructors interact with students online their academic engagement increases, yet there is little research on student peer interactions and its effectiveness in terms of academic engagement. This study evaluates peer deliberations on a collaborative website for students enrolled in an American politics course at two institutions. Significant evidence reveals that student peer interactions produce academically reflective engagement, and their interactions personalize these online spaces and extend peer deliberations over every question asked of them during the semester. This article expands research on peer interactions online by utilizing an online collaborative site as an innovative means to engage students in academic deliberation.
