A Discourse Analysis of the Online Mathematics Classroom

Thirteen online mathematics classes were analyzed using a discourse coding system created by Bellack et al. (1966). Findings suggest that the ratio of teacher-to-student discourse is far lower in online than in face-to-face classes and varies widely from instructor to instructor. A strong positive correlation was shown between instructor posts and posts per student. Results point to the value of a particular kind of instructor presence in an online class and refute the idea that more collaboration occurs in the absence of an instructor. Instructor posts that were evaluative (by rating, clarifying, and expanding what was said) had a positive correlation with posts per student, and when the instructor's evaluations contained more mathematics, so did the student's. Direct answers from the instructor, on the other hand, correlated negatively with posts per student. The ideal style to encourage student posts, collaboration, and engagement with the material seems to be a gentle Socratic questioning.