Learner autonomy is recognised as being associated with effective and successful learning. Whilst significant scholarship has focused on individual learner autonomy, a review of the literature indicates that the interdependence and social dimension of learner autonomy are largely under-researched. The primary objective of this study is to examine how learners engaged in a collaborative inquiry outside the classroom utilising an asynchronous online discussion forum and to what extent the collaborative task fostered group autonomy. Employing thematic analysis, postings of 20 students in a peer-moderated online discussion forum were analysed. The results revealed that the process of knowledge co-construction advanced and deepened the learners’ understanding of the subject matter. Furthermore, the collaborative inquiry helped establish a community of learning whereby students supported each other emotionally and cognitively, and they wanted to achieve well collectively. The study concluded that a well-designed collaborative task is key to fostering the social and interdependent dimension of learner autonomy.

中文翻译：

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通过在线环境中的协作学习促进群体自治

学习者自主性被认为与有效和成功的学习有关。虽然重要的学术研究都集中在个体学习者自主性上，但对文献的回顾表明，学习者自主性的相互依赖和社会维度在很大程度上研究不足。本研究的主要目的是检查学习者如何利用异步在线讨论论坛在课堂外进行协作探究，以及协作任务在多大程度上促进了小组自治。采用主题分析，分析了 20 名学生在同行主持的在线讨论论坛上的帖子。结果表明，知识共建过程促进和加深了学习者对主题的理解。此外，协作探究帮助建立了一个学习社区，学生在情感和认知上相互支持，他们希望集体取得好成绩。该研究得出的结论是，精心设计的协作任务是培养学习者自主性的社会和相互依存维度的关键。