Transformative learning process in online discussion forums: Engaging in Meaning Making and Generation of Knowledge within the Online Discussion Environments

Best practice in use of these online discussion environments requires students to engage each other at higher levels of thinking and not restrict themselves to recalling or reporting facts. This study investigated learners’ perception of the quality of their contribution to their class online discussions. The author used transformative learning theory as the framework to facilitate the investigation and description of the quality of the learners’ contribution in their online discussion forum. The significant of transformative learning is that it mainly draws focus on learning as a process in generation of knowledge. Inconsistent with previous studies proposing a four-dimensional construct, the finding of this study was that participants of online discussion forum perceive transformative learning as a two-dimensional construct. The study indicated that online learners’ engagement in higher level learning is not a function of gender or year in college class-level. In view of learners’ gender it seems that gender related pattern of conversations in online discussions do not necessarily affect learners’ capacity to engage in high-level. The main factors supporting meaning making and