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Incorporation of Collaborative Problem Solving and Cognitive Tools to Improve Higher Cognitive Processing in Online Discussion Environments

During collaborative learning in online learning communities, teachers usually guide their students through the learning process by means of discussion-based didactics. According to relevant research, an uncontrolled, nonintrusive discussion environment is usually insufficient for promoting higher cognitive processing (HCP). To address this insufficiency, we adopted a collaborative problem solving approach as a teaching strategy to tutor students in online discussion activities using concept maps as a cognitive tool and using Facebook for communication within the learning community. We examined the system using quantitative content analysis and lag sequential analysis to verify the feasibility of the system for improving HCP. The results of this study indicate that the system is capable of guiding cognition and improving HCP. However, the results with respect to improvement must be evaluated after taking into account the appropriateness and difficulty of the questions that were posed to the learners. Moreover, by incorporating a scaffolding function as a teaching strategy and through the application of cognitive tools, learners were better able to concentrate on the learning activities.