ABSTRACT
The present paper describes the impact of learning in asynchronous discussion groups on students' levels of knowledge construction. Multilevel analyses were applied to uncover the influence of student, group, and task variables and the specific impact of the assignment of roles. Results indicate that students' attitude towards the learning environment and their engagement in the discussion group are significant predictors. No significant overall differences in students' mean levels of knowledge construction between the role and no role condition were observed. However, additional analyses revealed (1) that students in the role condition more often reached the highest level; and (2) that assigning students the role of summarizer resulted in significantly higher levels of knowledge construction.
