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The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand students’ perceptions of using asynchronous on line discussion as a learning tool. Six pre-service teachers who took a course in educational technology applications for secondary grades at a Rocky Mountain region mid-sized university were selected to be interviewed. Phenomenological data analysis was used to analyze the interview data. The interviewees’ perceptions of the asynchronous on line discussions centered around purposes, group size, tools for learning, advantages/disadvantages, and the instructor’s role. The findings of this study provide instructors with helpful information on how students perceive asynchronous online discussion and also provide instructors with possible interventions to enhance students’ motivations for participating in asynchronous online discussion.
Yeh et al. (Thu,) studied this question.