This study compared the effects of system-initiated (low-level) facilitation with that of facilitator-initiated plus system-initiated (high-level) facilitation on cognitive restructuring and learning achievement. Graduate students participated in facilitated online discussion within a web course for one semester. This study found no significant effects by employing an online facilitator to provide extra facilitation in addition to the system-initiated facilitation. This finding suggests that well-designed system-initiated facilitation in cognitive restructuring may be sufficient for effective online learning. This study also found a significant correlation between cognitive restructuring and learning achievement, which confirms the importance of facilitating cognitive restructuring for effective online learning (Ausubel, 1963a, 1963b; Piaget, 1980; Vygotsky, 1978). This finding suggests that creating online interaction for facilitating cognitive restructuring should be incorporated into online pedagogy for optimizing online learning effectiveness.
