Intergroup and interpersonal forum positioning in shared-thread and post-reply networks

Network analysis has become a major approach for analysing social learning, used to capture learner positioning in online forum networks. LA research investigated the association between positioning in forum networks with academic performance and discourse quality, the latter two serving as proxies for learning. However, the research findings have been inconsistent, in part due to the discrepancies in the adopted approaches to network construction. Yet, it is still unclear how online forum networks should be modelled to assure that the learners' network positioning is properly captured. To address this gap, the current study explored if some existing approaches to network construction may complement each other and thus offer richer insights. In particular, we hypothesised that the post-reply learner network could represent interpersonal positioning, whereas the network based on co-participation in discussion threads could encapsulate intergroup positioning. The study used learner social interaction data from a large edX MOOC forum to examine the relationship between these two kinds of network positioning. The results suggest that intergroup and interpersonal positioning may capture different aspects of social learning, potentially related to different learning outcomes. We find that although interpersonal and intergroup positioning indicators covary, these measures are not congruent for some 37% of forum posters. Network coevolution analysis also reveals an interdependent relationship between the intergroup and interpersonal centrality in a forum network. Co-occurrence of learners in a discussion thread prior to direct exchanges is predictive of a direct post-reply interaction at a later stage of the course, and vice-versa, suggesting that intergroup positioning is a precursor of direct communication. The study contributes to the discussion around the definition of learner forum positioning in learning analytics, and validated approaches towards measuring it.