Exploratory study of an AI-supported discussion representational tool for online collaborative learning in a Chinese university

With the aid of artificial intelligence (AI), it is more feasible to leverage discussion data to understand the online collaborative learning process. This paper presented an AI-supported discussion representational tool (integrating behavioral and cognitive representations) aimed at enhancing online collaborative learning from three aspects: motivation, cognitive presence, and learning performance. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted to examine the tool's effectiveness with 122 students in four groups: (1) behavioral representation (n = 31), (2) cognitive representation (n = 31), (3) mixed mode (combining behavioral and cognitive representations, n = 30), and (4) a control group (n = 30). Results indicated that: (1) the discussion representational tool did not significantly enhance students' motivation but led to significant gains in their learning performance compared to the control group; (2) students who learned with the discussion representational tool showed significant improvements in higher-order cognitive presence, ordered network analysis revealed that they generated more higher-level cognitive connections; (3) the motivation is an effective predictor of cognitive presence and learning performance, and discussion representational tool positively moderated the relationship between motivation, cognitive presence, and learning performance. These findings represent a new contribution of the AI-supported discussion representational tool to facilitate online collaborative learning. •AI-supported discussion representational tool was introduced to enhance online collaborative learning.•Effects of different discussion representations on motivation, cognitive presence, and learning performance were compared.•Ordered Network Analysis (ONA) examined connections and directions between different cognitive presence nodes.•The tool significantly enhanced higher-level cognitive presence and learning performance.•The tool positively moderated the relationship between motivation, cognitive presence, and learning performance.