INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF ASYNCHRONOUS DISCUSSIONS ON STUDENTS‘ LEARNING AND UNDERSTANDING OF MATHEMATICS SUBJECTS

Recently, learning activities have gone beyond conventional environments and started
to be performed via computer supported instruments. One of these instruments is
asynchronous discussion forums (ADFs) used as computer-supported collaborative
learning means. Learners practice various learning activities in ADFs and produce
knowledge construction. In the present study, document analysis was employed and all
Turkish originated ADFs relating mathematics teaching were scanned and put subjected
to content analysis. Besides, a survey was implemented on 86 high school and
undergraduate students. Both qualitative and quantitative data were obtained through
this survey. These data were put subjected to qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
Attitudes of students towards computer-supported collaborative learning and
asynchronous discussion forums as mathematics learning instrument were tried to be
revealed via this study. Also, behaviors of the learners and their views relating the
learning activities in these environments were evaluated by means of this study.
Results of the study demonstrated that asynchronous discussion forums are widely and
efficiently used as computer-supported collaborative learning instrument in terms of
mathematics learning.