The impact of task type on learners' argumentation, participation and collaboration in online discussions.

Task type is a fundamental element that directs learners’ interactions in collaboration. The study grounds its design in McGrath’s (1984) Group Task Circumplex and examines students’ online behaviors, processes of argumentation, and collaboration. Students were asked to solve an authentic organizational challenge in a five-day online discussion in a blended (face-to-face and online) undergraduate business course. Two kinds of tasks were given: a task with an open-ended question, and a task with two contrasting alternatives. Twenty-three groups (107 students) agreed to participate; the content of their posts and participation (click-stream) data were collected. The results show that the groups given an open-ended question participated more actively in reviewing and reading activities; they also challenged others more often and provided more supporting reasons and evidence, but there seemed to be an unequal distribution of efforts among group members in the time they spent reviewing and the length of posts they made.