The effects of role scripting strategies on students’ critical thinking development in online discussions

Online discussions provide a vital platform for fostering critical thinking, with role-script design serving as a key instructional strategy. However, empirical evidence on how different role scripts influence its development remains limited. This study employed a mixed-methods approach, integrating measurement techniques, content analysis, and lag sequential analysis, to examine the effects of three experimental conditions (no-role, fixed-role, and role-rotation) across four rounds of online discussions involving 63 elementary education majors. The findings indicate that: (1) regarding critical thinking dispositions, the role-rotation condition produced the most substantial improvement; the fixed-roles condition led to marginal gains in self-confidence; and the no-role condition showed no significant effect. (2) in terms of behavioral distribution, the role-rotation condition produced the most balanced profile at the group level; the fixed-role condition exhibited a structural imbalance, showing strength in comprehension and analysis but weakness in evaluation; and the no-role condition displayed a profile dominated by evaluation and creation but lacking a solid analytical foundation. (3) concerning interaction patterns, the three conditions respectively formed distinct models characterized as collaborative construction, task division, and loose expression. These findings provide theoretical and practical insights for optimizing role-based scripts in online collaborative learning.