The relationships between social participatory roles and cognitive engagement levels in online discussions

Abstract Understanding the relationship between social interaction patterns and cognitive engagement levels has critical implications on collaborative learning theory, pedagogy, and technology. This study used a multi‐method approach to examine the relationship between students' social participatory roles and cognitive engagement levels within asynchronous online discussions. Results showed that students' social participatory role was a critical indicator of cognitive engagement level. Socially active students made more cognitive contributions to knowledge inquiry and knowledge construction. But there were exceptions: after taking leadership roles (i.e., discussion designers and facilitators), some students moved from peripheral participation to active participation. Second, there was a progressive development process: individual students' deep‐level knowledge inquiry could trigger peer interaction, which could further advance group knowledge construction. Third, students had a tendency to keeping social‐cognitive engagement patterns throughout discussions. Based on the result, this study proposed implications for collaborative learning theory, pedagogy support, and tool development.