Previous research studies on factors influencing student higher-level knowledge
construction in asynchronous online discussions have largely focused on the
instructors’ role, student learning style, and the complexity of the discussion
task. This study explores the issue from a different angle – that of student facilitators’ habits of mind. Participants of the study were education major students
at an Asia-Pacific university. Results suggested significant differences in the frequency of four habits of mind displayed by student facilitators between the
group that had the most number of phase II–V occurrences and the group that
had fewer numbers of such occurrences. This implies that student facilitators
who display these habits more frequently may promote knowledge construction
in online discussions.