| Summary: | This paper compares the effectiveness of online forum discussion between quantitative
and qualitative subjects offered to learners of Open University Malaysia (OUM). OUM
adopted by OUM for its open and distance learning (ODL) comprises three components;
self-managed learning, face-to-face interactions and online learning through myLMS to
facilitate teaching and learning process. The nature of online learning requires high
commitment from the learners, especially self-managed learning and collaborative online
learning. Learning quantitative subjects such as mathematics or finance in a
conventional environment is very demanding and it is difficult to grasp by a majority of
learners compared to learning qualitative subjects such as management or marketing.
The same problem existed in learning these subjects through e-learning. Therefore,
interactions between the academic staff or tutors with the learners and also amongst
learners are important. Thus, it is critical that quality and effective teaching and learning
progression take place in online forum discussion. Community of Inquiry (CoI) is the
most accepted model for online learning. The model as suggested by Garrison, Anderson
and Archer (2000) stated that online learning occurs through the interaction of three
domains: teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence. Research findings
indicate that there the mean score for all the three domains of CoI are relatively the same
for both quantitative and qualitative subjects. Social Presence was the highest (mean
score of 3.55 and 3.60 for BBPP 1103 and BBMP 1103, respectively) indicating learners
are comfortable interacting with their peers via online forums. (Authors' abstract)
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