This document summarizes an analysis of critical thinking in online learning. It includes inclusion and exclusion criteria for relevant studies focusing on concepts related to critical thinking in online discussions, asynchronous discussions, and distance education. It then summarizes the methods, participants, contexts, data collection, and data analysis of 15 different studies on critical thinking in online learning from countries such as Fiji Islands, Canada, United States, Singapore, and Taiwan.

1. An analysis of critical thinking in online learning Joe Sullivan

2. Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria Inclusion criteria: Words and concepts could include critical thinking, critical discourse, online discussion, asynchronous discussion, higher learning, distance education and computer conferencing. These concepts could be present in either the title, abstract or key words of the paper. Exclusion criteria Studies could not include face to face critical thinking, not argumentation, not high-level thinking.

3. Methods synthesis of studies Study Country Participants Context Data collection Data analysis Prasad (2009) Fiji Islands Thirty undergraduate law students Post-secondary Student surveys on discussion postings Pre-test and Post test tasks graded Perkins & Murphy (2006) Canada Eight Graduate Education students Post-secondary Study of online course postings Individual profiles studied Walker (2005) United States Students from various universities Post-secondary Writing activities and mock interviews Socratic, divergent, convergent and evaluative

4. Methods synthesis of studies Bullen (1998) Canada Thirteen students and course instructor Post-Secondary Online discussion, student instructor interviews Quantitative and Qualitative MacKnight (2000) United States University students Post-Secondary Group discussions Socratic questioning Murphy (2004) Canada Eight pre-service FSL teachers Post-Secondary Synthesis of critical thinking models Coding Cheong & Cheung (2008) Singapore Thirty-five secondary students Secondary Online discussion threads Case problems

5. Methods synthesis of studies Bruning (2005) United States Sixteen College Business students Post-secondary Discussion and observation of exercise Course evaluations and rubric for scoring Jeong (2003) United States Thirty-four MBA students Post-secondary Observation of online discussions Discussion Analysis Tool Yang, Newby & Bill (2005) United States Sixteen veterinary distance learners Post-secondary Debates and case studies in online discussion Socratic questioning Alexander, Commander, Greenberg & Ward (2010) United States Sixteen veterinary distance learners Post-secondary Three case studies Four questions technique

6. Methods synthesis of studies Mandernach, Forrest, Babutzke & Manker, (2009) United States Thirty-six introductory Psychology students Post-secondary Thinking scale and rubric for grading of analysis Qualitative and Quantitative Yang (2008) Taiwan 278 undergrad students Post-secondary Data from online discussion Comparison and experimental groups Chiu (2009) Taiwan 43 third year university students Post-secondary Teacher interviews and student focus groups Qualitative Garrison, Anderson & Archer (2001) United States 21 students and three instructors Post-secondary Content analysis of course transcripts Quantitative coding of transcript discussions

7. Findings A

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21. Discussion of Findings

22. Conclusion

23. Implications

24. Limitations