Investigating the relationships among peer moderation, cognitive engagement, and learning achievement in online discussion forums

Online discussion forums are an important component of communication and interactions between teachers and students. The success of online discussion forums depends largely on the e-moderating behavior of the students who are assigned the role of peer moderators. Their ability to facilitate meaningful discussions, encourage diverse perspectives, and keep the conversation on track is paramount to achieving group cognitive engagement and superior performance. This study analyzed the discourse generated by learners in online discussion forums, with a particular focus on the still under-explored effort of peer moderation on groups' cognitive engagement and learning achievement in online discussion forums. The result of multiple regression analyzes demonstrates how certain levels of cognitive engagement and peer moderation relate to learning achievement. Furthermore, this study examined the moderating role of peer moderation in the association between high-order cognitive engagement and learning achievement. The findings indicate that while peer moderation can have a positive moderating effect, this effect is weaker for a higher number of Development moderations, suggesting that excessive Development may lead to endless arguments and decrease discussion efficiency.