| Sumario: | Background: Asynchronous Online Discussion (AOD) has been frequently employed in higher education as a vital component of online learning activities. However, previous research has highlighted that students in AODs often exhibit a lack of frequent interaction and high‐quality dialogues. Objectives: This research seeks to address the aforementioned shortcomings by introducing the think‐pair‐share (TPS) cooperative learning structure as a potential instructional solution. The objectives of the study are twofold: firstly, to ascertain whether a cohort engaging in TPS AODs performs better than one participating in traditional AODs; and secondly, to glean insights into students' perspectives on the newly implemented TPS AOD design, thereby facilitating its further refinement. Methods: Through integrating a TPS structure into a set of AODs, the research team used an explanatory sequential design comprising both a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative content analysis. Quantitatively, 3520 postings created by two student cohorts (21 students for each cohort) were analysed to explore the students' AOD performance differences. Qualitatively, the research team interviewed eight students from the TPS cohort to understand their perspectives on the TPS AOD design. Results and Conclusions: The TPS AOD cohort significantly outperformed the non‐TPS AOD cohort regarding their cognitive engagement and knowledge construction. However, there were no significant differences detected between the two groups on their interaction frequency, informational length, and social presence. The interviewed students' perspectives demonstrated the successes and weaknesses of this instructional solution, which could enlighten researchers to ameliorate the TPS AODs in the future. Lay Description: What is currently known about this topic? ○Asynchronous online discussion (AOD) serves as a prevalent online learning activity within higher education courses for fostering students' learning.○Despite its potential, it is common to find students withholding substantial information in AODs, resisting social engagement, demonstrating lower levels of reflection, and failing to build a diverse knowledge base.○While previous studies have ventured into devising instructional solutions to improve students' performances, the findings have been inconsistent. This highlights a pressing need for the development of more innovative instructional design solutions.What does this paper add? ○This paper proposed the think‐pair‐share (TPS) structure of cooperative learning as an instructional solution to design AODs.○The paper contributed a fresh design case, illustrating both the advantages and disadvantages of TPS AOD in terms of its effects on students' learning.○To further comprehend and refine the TPS AOD approach, we have gathered insights directly from the students' perspectives.Implications for Practice or Policy? ○TPS AODs can promote the quality of students' communication in the online discussion forum of higher education.○To increase students' interactions within the discussion forum, the incorporation of additional instructional solutions or design features is necessary.○The TPS AOD design case supports the development of cooperative learning in online learning environments.
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