Synchronous online discussions produce higher behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement than asynchronous online discussions in online math courses¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q2 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i2 Students in synchronous online discussion conditions showed significantly higher behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement than students in asynchronous online discussion conditions. → Yorganci 2025

Evidence¶

Yorganci 2025¶

Yorganci, S. (2025). The impact of synchronous online discussions and online flipped learning on student engagement and self-regulation among preliminary undergraduates in a basic math course. Education Tech Research Dev. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-025-10459-0

q2 · i2 · causal · r2

MANCOVA on post-test engagement scores (pretest as covariate) among 121 undergraduates found a significant multivariate main effect of discussion type, Wilks' Λ = .889, p < .01, "η 2 = .111". Univariate effects on behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement were each significant at p < .025 (Bonferroni).

"The results also revealed that the significant main effect of online discussion, Wilks’ /u1D706 = .889, F (3, 114) = 4.74, p < .01, η 2 = .111. The effect of online discussions was significant for behavioral engagement (F (1, 116) = 8.725, p < .25, η 2 = .070), for emotional engagement (F (1, 116) = 7.584, p < .25, η 2 = .061), and for cognitive engagement (F (1, 116) = 6.461, p < .25, η2 = .053)"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Online flipped learning improves self-regulation more than online learning in a basic math course — related
• Asynchronous lessons were rated higher than synchronous lessons on the POET-O — reports the opposite
• Synchronous online discussions improve self-regulation more than asynchronous online discussions — related
• Combining synchronous online discussion with online flipped learning yields an interaction effect on behavioral and cognitive engagement — related
• No significant main effect of learning approach on behavioral, emotional, or cognitive engagement — related
• Students communicate more frequently but with lower-quality content in the synchronous chat room than in the asynchronous discussion forum — related
• No significant interaction effect of learning approach and discussion type on self-regulation — related