Transforming Critical Conversations

Research finds that engaging students in online deliberations requires three components: (1) designing a space specifically for deliberations, (2) a structured pattern that requires consistent interactions, and (3) a process guided by academically guided outcomes.Using these three components, deliberations become a routine where students share perspectives, listen, and provide feedback as they reflect and engage with peers.To assess deliberations, data was collected from an online collaboration across two geographically located universities.Significant evidence revealed that students deliberated with academic reflectivity, identifying, and challenging each other across the universities.And despite Covid-19, their online interactions were an invaluable method engaging them in academic inquiry-based deliberation.This study concludes that online peer interaction sustains and promotes critical thinking.