An asynchronous online discussion forum has been a prevalent means of collaborative online learning. Yet, it remains challenging for instructors to identify who and how students emerge as learning leaders. To overcome this challenge, this study aims to: (a) conceptualizing learning leadership in the context of online asynchronous discussions, (b) proposing a Leader Identification Method (LIM), and (c) testing the proposed method by using empirical data on how learning leaders behave differently from their peers in terms of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement. Assuming that learning leaders emerge from social interactions in online discussions and drawing on the literature on leadership and social network analysis, we conceptualized three types of learning leadership roles: full facilitator, transactional facilitator, and attractive facilitator. These leadership roles are assumed to be associated with learners' levels of engagement in behavior, cognition, and emotions. To that end, we developed the LIM that factors in learners' behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement. Using a case study method to test the LIM, we collected two cohorts' online interaction data, as well as the data on the cohorts' behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement. The results established the reliability and validity of the LIM. Specifically, compared to non-leaders, the learning leaders exerted more transformational leadership, higher cognitive engagement, and more frequent emotional expression. The LIM pave the foundation for identifying learning leadership and providing pedagogical support to foster learning leadership development in online collaboration.
