Exploring Constructive Learning Activity in Online Programming Discussion Forums

In this paper, we investigated constructive engagement activities in an online programming discussion forum. We engineered features according to the forum content and built a logistic regression model based on the underlined cognitive processes in constructive learning activities. We hypothesized that performing any engaging activities after reading constructive content contributes to learning. This work aimed to discover such behavior in a free-formed online discussion setting and assess the impacts. Evaluation results revealed and reconfirmed the value of content constructiveness in the discussion forum. Our findings also suggested that detecting constructive content could be a helpful classifier in discerning relevant information to the users and in turn creating opportunities to optimize learning.