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students engaged in (in order of effectiveness) debate, deliberative inquiry, nominal
group technique, and invited expert. Table 20.1 in combination with the deindivid-
uation theory and the Foucauldian metaphor of the panopticon may help to provide
explanations for these results.
The theory of deindividuation asserts that being in a group provides a degree
of anonymity that, depending on the size, allows one to avoid responsibility for
actions (Zimbardo, 1969). The Foucauldian metaphor of the panopticon asserts that
the mere knowledge of surveillance is enough to induce conformity without impos-
ing force or physical confrontation (Foucault, 1977). Building on these theories,
a similar line of argument has been put forward to analyze the effects of deindi-
vidualization and panopticon with online group communication. It can, and has,
been argued that the absence of social and paralinguistic cues through the use
of Internet communication tools, coupled with isolation at one's computer termi-
nal and the ability of learning management systems to track student participation,
results in a greater degree of deindividuation and panopticon (Spears & Lea, 1994).
Hence, it is possible that anonymity and group conformity are actually being rein-
forced within online fora; this, in turn, could be a reason for why it is difficult
for students to achieve high levels of learning using Internet-based communication
tools. Specifically, the effects of anonymity and group conformity pressures may be
inhibiting critical aspects to achieving higher levels of learning such as challenging,
arguing, debating, and discussing of conceptual conflicts. It may be that certain ped-
agogical interventions, such as the WebQuest and debate, not only permit—indeed,
require—students to actively challenge, argue, debate, and discuss the conceptual
conflicts presented. As Table 20.1 illustrates—as well as the research this study
builds on (Kanuka et al., 2007; Kanuka, 2005)—both the WebQuest and debate
require students to confront conceptual conflicts and dilemmas, defend positions,
make judgments, and question or rethink current assumptions of their own as well
as their peers. In contrast, the invited expert, deliberative inquiry, and the nomi-
nal group technique are pedagogical interventions that are less confrontational in
terms of argument formation and argument advancement, as compared to the debate
and the WebQuest. The invited expert, deliberative inquiry, and the nominal group
technique also do not require students to aggressively defend, challenge, rethink, or
question positions.
These results are both insightful and useful in terms of contributions to iden-
tifying what activities are effective at facilitating online learning when the aim is
to achieve high levels of cognitive presence. In particular, these results reveal that
highly structured, planned, confrontational, and demanding activities that include
directed roles and responsibilities for the students' contributions in the online
classroom is a key element to moving students to higher levels of learning and
meaningful thinking. Prior research has also found similar findings. Pawan, Paulus,
Yalcin, and Chang (2003; see also Aviv, Erlich, Ravid, & Aviv, 2003), for example,
found that “without instructors' explicit guidance and “teaching presence,” [sic] stu-
dents were found to engage primarily in “serial monologues” [sic]” (Abstract, ¶ 1).
Further research investigating structure, student and teacher roles, and the use of
argument from conflicting perspectives are promising directions for future research.
