Collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing among TEFL students: the mediating role of online knowledge sharing

Previous studies indicate that metacognitive knowledge has a key role in learning and that collaborative learning and knowledge sharing may affect learners’ metacognition. As such, the present study set out to test a structural model of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) students’ collaborative digital writing, online knowledge sharing, and metacognitive knowledge in writing, and specifically to examine the hypothesis that online knowledge sharing mediates the effect of collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing. With the participants of 102 Iranian TEFL undergraduate students, a structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to establish the structural model. The findings revealed the fitness of the structural model of relationships among the study variables. The results also confirmed the mediator role of knowledge sharing. The implications of the findings about knowledge sharing


Introduction
Collaborative learning has long been regarded as an efficient strategy for learning.It involves "a community of learners and teachers, where members acquire and share an experience or knowledge" (Zhu, 2012, p. 128).Over the last decade, a large array of studies has been published on the use of collaborative learning in educational settings and foreign language (FL) education (see Oxford, 1997).Meanwhile, recent studies have shown that technologies such as Web 2.0 may provide an effective collaborative learning community (Ali et al., 2018;Ghazal et al., 2018).These technologies can also provide interaction (2023) 18:5 among learners and consequently result in students' reflectivity and knowledge sharing (Aldoayan et al., 2019;Plisorn & Piriyasurawong, 2019).This, by itself, may contribute to all language skills, especially FL writing that an (English as a foreign language) EFL learner is going to acquire.
The concept of collaborative learning is some way affiliated with Vygotsky's notion of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), which refers to "the distance between the actual developmental level … and the level of potential development … under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86).FL writing research has provided significant insight into the usefulness of interaction and knowledge construction (Mirzaei & Eslami, 2013;Storch & Wigglesworth, 2007;Wigglesworth & Storch, 2009).
Research has pointed out that peer reviews in FL writing have some benefits such as promoting fluency, drawing attention to form, eliminating psychological barriers and developing analytical or critical skills (Kuiken & Vedder, 2002;Leki, 1993;Nixon & Topping, 2001).Based on the theoretical framework of sociocultural theory (SCT), we can assume that learners' participation in FL writing may help them improve their ZPD and, as a result, grow their metacognitive knowledge in writing that orchestrates their cognitive functioning.Additionally, it seems that the mediating role of the knowledge sharing in the relationship between collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing has not been well-addressed in education in general and in TEFL educational system in particular.To partially address these gaps, the current research was set to explore the relationship between attitude to collaborative digital writing and online knowledge sharing; the relationship between online knowledge sharing and metacognition in writing; and the mediating role of the students' online knowledge sharing in the relationship between attitude to collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing.

Purpose of the study
Collaborative learning in general and collaborative writing, in particular, are highly significant issues in education.Collaborative writing is one example of sharing knowledge where students share and construct knowledge as they develop content (Dubé et al., 2006;Parker & Chao, 2007).Reflection, knowledge sharing and critical thinking develop in such collaboration (Sukirman, 2016).What is more fascinating in this regard is the rapid growth of online technologies such as Web 2.0 that have generated new possibilities to coconstruct knowledge through interaction during the process of writing.Web 2.0 technologies can transform and support learning (Ebadi & Rahimi, 2018).They provide collaborative editing tools for writers and facilitate new forms of interaction between them (Ebadi & Rahimi, 2017).Since they support the processes and contexts of learning, they provide opportunities for collaboration, participation and practice, and knowledge (2023) 18:5 construction (Burden, 2012).This is aligned with the view that communication tools can affect knowledge construction and sharing (Veerman & Veldhuis-Diermanse, 2001).
As to the possible impact of knowledge sharing on metacognition, it has been argued that knowledge sharing may impact students' higher-order thinking (Alblehai & Umar, 2016;Ricci, 2009).Such a speculation gains support from the literature (Lipman, 1991), which proposes that social interaction and scaffolding affect learners' mental development and higher-order thinking (Vygotsky, 1978).This comes as no surprise since scaffolding as guided support provided to the novice learner facilitates second language learning and takes place within the learner's ZPD that is "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance" (Vygotsky, 1978, p.86).As the consequence of such an aid to the learner, cognitive development occurs.
Although there have been speculations about the impact of collaborative learning on knowledge construction (e.g., Dubé et al., 2006) and the impact of knowledge sharing on learners' higher-order thinking (e.g., Ricci, 2009), to the researchers' knowledge, no study has investigated the possible relationship between the three variables, namely, attitude to collaborative digital writing.Additionally, it seems that the construct of collaborative digital writing has not been well-addressed in TEFL educational system in particular.
Collaborative digital writing by using different features of Google Docs such as highlighting and editing and at the same time receiving help from peers is rooted in social constructivism which is in turn in harmony with Vygotsky's SCT (Fosnot & Perry, 2005).
To address this research lacuna, the following hypotheses were proposed: H1.There is a significant relationship between attitude to collaborative digital writing and online knowledge sharing.

H2.
There is a significant relationship between online knowledge sharing and metacognition in writing.
H3. TEFL students' online knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between attitude to collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing.

Online knowledge sharing
Knowledge management is defined as "the process of collecting, managing and sharing ... knowledge in an organization" (Bojarajo, 2005, p. 37).Individuals use knowledge management to "create, share, and apply knowledge to achieve their strategic and operational goals" (North & Babakhanlu, 2016, p. 211).As an important subset of knowledge management, knowledge sharing "is the acquisition, organization, reuse and transfer of experience-based knowledge and making that knowledge available to others" (2023) 18:5 (Lin, 2007, p. 27).Knowledge sharing makes the experience-based knowledge available and transmits it to other members.Hence, as Khalil (2012, p.44) puts it, "knowledge sharing is about connection not collection".Such a view draws on the social aspect of knowledge sharing.An organization's chances of survival are enhanced through efficient knowledge sharing (Argote et al., 2003).In educational settings, the effectiveness and ultimate success and collaborative learning approach to a great extent are contingent upon students' cognition of knowledge sharing with their peers.Some examples of collaborative learning activities which require active knowledge sharing are pair and group problem solving, team projects, face-to-face and online discussions.If these activities are properly integrated into instructional design, they could result in more interesting, interactive and engaging learning (Majid & Wey, 2009).Various studies have evidenced that interactive engagements promote students' learning outcomes (Baleni, 2011;Fredlund et al., 2012).
On the other hand, ever-growing online networks may facilitate such a purpose since nowadays, various technologies have been employed to support creating, organizing access and using intellectual assets (Nassuora, 2011).The utilization of information technology has a fundamental role in knowledge sharing (Davenport & Prusak, 2000) and the growth of knowledge management has been closely linked to information technology (Chumer et al., 2000).Besides, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has hastened the prevalence of virtual education throughout the world.In Iran, the government has implemented the closure of all schools, colleges, and universities to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19.Hence, the ministry of education has run online classes and face-to-face classes were replaced by online courses.Teachers and students have been encouraged to take part in these courses.
Although social media has been widely used in the country and the new technologies have been integrated into education for years, the situation, as Murphy (2020) called it, turned to be 'emergency e-learning.' Hodges et al. (2020) defined emergency e-learning as "the temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate delivery mode due to crisis circumstances" (p. 6).Consequently, many Iranian teachers and students who were accustomed to face-to-face classes have to rely on online courses as their only choice to teach and learn, so they have difficult days in their careers (Badrkhani, 2021).It seems that it is likely to predict the exact time of the pandemic (Ebadi et al., 2020); nevertheless, such an opportunity, if properly utilized, can turn into valuable assets to the educational systems and for students to get involved in collaborative learning ad knowledge sharing if genuine and timely decisions are made.

Collaborative digital writing
Collaboration has always been regarded as an important strategy in learning (Bruffee, 1987).Collaborative learning is attributed to "tasks that require joint intellectual efforts (2023) 18:5 among students or between students and teachers" (Chu & Kennedy, 2011, p.2).This means that students work in groups to co-construct a task (Smith & MacGregor, 1992).
This involves social and intellectual interaction in the learning process so that learners' differences in knowledge, skills, and attitudes turn to be their strengths rather than weaknesses (Chu & Kennedy, 2011).
The emergence of Web 2.0 technologies has shown promise in facilitating collaboration.
They have heralded improvement in communication, collaboration, and information sharing (Chu & Kennedy, 2011).Web 2.0 technologies have gained increasing popularity in educational environments.Among the technologies, some online collaborative writing tools, like Google Docs, have been integrated into teaching and learning settings.Among other benefits, accessibility, ubiquity, low cost, and ease of use have made Web 2.0 technologies more popular than traditional software (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008).The use of several online collaborative writing tools has been integrated into educational environments.Google Docs is a tool developed by software designers to be used by anyone who can work with a word processor like Microsoft Word.Even some Web 2.0 technologies can come to the aid of less proficient learners who wish to get help from more proficient ones.Google Docs encourages online collaboration by providing learners with single-user space.One who works with this online tool can either synchronously or asynchronously edit a single document (when the document is shared with him/her).This can take place on different smartphones and/or computers.The distinguishing feature of Google Docs is its collaborative editing feature that makes it an efficient program to develop and facilitate collaborative writing among the students and/or between the teacher and students (Sharp, 2009).If the teacher and students are online, they can simultaneously view and edit the writing in the document, and if they are offline, they can store their writing and edit and revise it later (Yang, 2010).This is where the notion of scaffolding deeply rooted in SCT of Vygotsky (1978) comes into play.
SCT is viewed as an approach that has had great effect on the field of education.In SCT, learning is considered a social event that occurs in an interaction between the learner and his/her environment.The theory is originated in the work of psychologist L.S. Vygotsky (1978Vygotsky ( , 1986)).Vygotsky underlined the link between the individual's psychological development and the social contexts (Alharbi, 2019).Vygotsky believed that the process of developing learning is dependent on social interaction and that social learning actually leads to cognitive development.This theory lends support to the establishment of providing opportunities for students to collaborate with their peers and teachers and by doing so, construct knowledge.As he argues, the development of human cognitive ability moves from the inter-psychological plane to the intra-psychological plane with language's help.
Based on Lantolf and Thorne (2007), Vygotsky mainly highlights the importance of (2023) 18:5 interactions within the social context in cultivating human cognition.For him, learning happens through interaction and subsequent negotiations of meaning among individuals.
Although studies on scaffolding have largely attributed much of its success to the (more) capable human partner(s), scaffolded instruction through technological facilities is relatively new.As Goda et al. (2013) note, "Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) help the individual acquire higher-level cognitive thinking skills and adopt the constructivism, socio-cognitive, and situated-leaning theories" (p. 1).Accordingly, teachers use collaborative language learning activities employing computer-mediated communication (CMC).CMC can have two modes, namely synchronous versus asynchronous.While in asynchronous computer-assisted language learning (CALL) programs, people communicate in a delayed fashion via computer via offline modes, such as email; in a synchronous CALL environment, learners can contact in real via chat or chat discussion software, with all participants at the same time.Both of the modes of CMC can be adopted to help EFL students promote their language learning abilities.

Metacognitive knowledge in writing
During the past forty years, various attempts have been made to develop the theory of metacognition.Flavell (1979) was among the first scholars who proposed a definition for the concept of metacognition.As Flavell (1987) suggested, metacognitive knowledge is "the part of one's acquired word knowledge that has to do with cognitive (or perhaps better, psychological) matters" (p.21).He postulated that metacognition has four subscales, including metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive experience, goals and strategies.In the same line, Paul (1993) defined metacognition as "thinking about your thinking while you are thinking to make your thinking better" (p.91).Later on, researchers (Brown et al., 1983;Schraw & Dennison, 1994;Schraw & Moshman, 1995) hypothesized two dimensions for the concept of metacognition, namely knowledge of cognition (i.e., what one knows about cognition) and regulation of cognition (i.e., how one uses that knowledge to regulate cognition).It has been suggested that metacognition has a key role in learning a second language (Flavell, 1979) and that successful second language learners effectively use knowledge (Wenden, 1998).As for writing skills, it has been found that successful writers make effective use of metacognitive strategies (Farahian & Avarzamani, 2018;Flavell, 1979;O'Malley & Chamot, 1990;Wenden, 1998).In this regard, Kasper (1997) found that second language writing achievement positively correlates with three metacognitive variables: person knowledge, task knowledge, and strategy knowledge.Victori (1999) reported that among the strategies used by effective language writers are metacognitive knowledge and that these "informed decisions guide the choice of those strategies that best suit the demands, purposes, and constraints of the task" (p.538).In the same vein, Devine (1993) argued that metacognition is more crucial than linguistic competence.(2023) 18:5

Collaborative digital writing, online knowledge sharing and metacognitive knowledge in writing
As Confucius stated in 450 BCE (Larkley & Maynhard, 2008, p. 86) 'Tell me and I will forget.Show me, and I may remember.Involve me, and I will understand'.This highlights the social constructivist theory that considers learning to be a social activity (Vygotsky, 1978).Meanwhile according to constructivism 'knowledge is individually constructed and socially co-constructed by learners based on their interpretations of experiences in the world' (Jonassen, 1999, p. 217).This means that cooperative and collaborative learning has a decisive role in learning.
Collaborative writing has been considered as collaborators producing a shared document by engaging in interaction and sharing knowledge for it.This has been facilitated by the development of technology that enables collaborative writing to take place in digital format, collaboratively, even concurrently.
In such a collaborationwhich may have one of different types of writing processes such as co-authoring, peer editing, joint editing and revision or collaborative document planning (Suominen & Jussila, 2018), knowledge sharing and higher-order thinking develop (Sukirman, 2016).The use of online technologies may facilitate co-construction of knowledge.Web 2.0 technologies can transform and support learning (Ebadi & Rahimi, 2018) since they provide individuals with collaborative editing tools and facilitate new forms of interaction (Ebadi & Rahimi, 2017).It is expected that with the help provided to support the processes and contexts of learning, online technologies promote and improve collaboration, participation, and knowledge construction (Burden, 2012).Accordingly, communication tools can facilitate knowledge construction and sharing (Veerman & Veldhuis-Diermanse, 2001).
No study has investigated the possible relationship between knowledge sharing and metacognition; however, to the researchers' knowledge, only Cavic et al. (2019) explored the relationship between cooperative learning and metacognition.They reported that based on the findings there was a statistically significant correlation between the use of cooperative methods and metacognition.Despite the scarcity of research in this area it has been postulated that knowledge sharing may have effect on individuals' higher-order thinking (Alblehai & Umar, 2016;Ricci, 2009).This is in line with the social constructivism which states that social interaction impacts learners' mental development (Vygotsky, 1978).(2023) 18:5

Methodology Design
The present study employed a quantitative and correlational design to address the research hypothesis.Quantitative data were collected through three questionnaires and then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Participants and setting
The participants were 102 undergraduate TEFL students who had enrolled in a two-credit writing course at three private universities in the west of Iran.In general terms, the course aimed to develop students' ability to write paragraphs.These universities were chosen because in the wake of COVID 19 all courses were online.Three teachers as the instructors, were given detailed training on how to conduct the courses.Meanwhile, all students were ascertained that their data would be confidential.Informed consent was obtained from the participants and they were assured that their personal information would remain confidential.

Instruments
The instruments used in the study were as follows:

The DIALANG test
The DIALANG test as an online Web-based assessment tool was used to assess the proficiency level of the participants.The test assesses all language skills and reports the results in levels from A1 to C2.The results of the test for the participants of the present study indicated that they were either at B1 or B2 level.

TEFL students' attitudes towards collaborative digital writing
Following Wang (2014), we designed a survey which was based on a 5-point Likert scale to probe the TEFL students' attitudes and experiences towards collaborative digital writing.
There were 15 items with four subscales, namely, instructional, interactional, reflective, and affective in the scale.The items were developed based on the related literature (Al-Chibani, 2016;Fathi et al., 2021;Gillow-Wiles & Niess, 2015;Ishtaiwa & Aburezeq, 2015;Rabu & Badlishah, 2020;Zhou et al., 2012).A 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree used in the questionnaire.After the first draft of the scale with 20 items was developed, four experts were asked to review the items.After that, necessary revisions were made on the scale and two items were removed.Then, exploratory factor analysis was run.Since the results of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) 0.62 was not satisfactory, (2023) 18:5 we removed three items that suffered low levels of factor loading (below 0.50) and reran factor analysis.This time the KMO increased to 0.79, above the recommended value of 0.60.A significant result for Bartlett's Test of Sphericity (χ 2 (665) = 2568.27,p = 0.000 < 0.05) was also obtained.A principal component factor analysis with Varimax rotation was run whose results revealed that all items had acceptable loadings.There remained 15 ones which created the final draft of the scale.As the final step, the reliability was estimated in order to make sure whether the items elicited consistent responses.Based on Cronbach α and finally found to be adequate (.82).

Metacognitive writing questionnaire (MWQ)
The instrument was developed by Farahian and Avarzamani (2018).As the authors reported, the theoretical framework for developing the scale was Flavell's (1987) and Wenden's (1998).The questionnaire includes 34 items on a 4-point Likert scale (ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree) with three subscales: person, task, and strategic knowledge.

Students' online knowledge sharing behavior
To explore TEFL students' online knowledge sharing behavior, we employed the scale developed by Farahian et al. (2022).The scale is originally developed by Wangpipatwong (2009) and is based on the related literature (Andersson, 2000;Awad & Ghaziri, 2004;Lin, 2007;Van den Brink, 2003).Since the original questionnaire was for face-to-face courses some modifications were made in the scale; and items 13, 14, 17, and 18 were also replaced to suit online courses.There are 21 items in the scale using a 5-point Likert ranging from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree".The subscales include willingness to share, ability to share, instructor support, degree of competition, technology availability, technology support, and knowledge sharing.
To ensure the appropriateness of the questionnaires, a pilot study was conducted with some students.After the pilot study necessary revisions were made.

Data collection and data analysis procedure
We conducted the study in Iran during the first term of the 2020-2021 academic year.The population included 120 undergraduate TEFL students from three private universities.To determine the proficiency level of the participants the DIALANG test was employed.Of 120 TEFL students, 18 were excluded from the study since their proficiency levels were lower or higher than the other participants.
As already explained, the teachers practiced collaborative writing using Google Docs in the three classes.To do so, the students were put into pairs and all students were required to hand in a draft.A week time was given to them to complete and turn in the assignments.
To be more specific, they were required to submit the drafts online, sending the assignment from Google Docs to the teachers' email.The suggested activities can be found in Table 2.
It is noteworthy that if the first drafts prepared by the students were carelessly prepared, or severe grammatical mistakes were found, the student was asked to do necessary revisions.As Table 2 illustrates, each participant was asked to write a paragraph on a prespecified topic suggested by the teacher.
The data for the study was collected through three questionnaires.Because of the COVID-19 lockdown, we did not have direct access to participants as such questionnaires were distributed via Google Forms.Then, the data derived from Google Forms were uploaded to SPSS 23 for analysis.The students were required to immediately upload the paragraphs on Google Docs. 3 In two days' time, students received general feedback from the teacher to make sure if they were on the right track.a.If found satisfactory, they proceeded to the next stage.b.If not satisfactory, they were asked to redo the process based on the general comments.4 a.Following the previous stage, the pairs were asked to reflect upon the text written by the groupmates and do necessary revisions.b.Since Google Docs allows students to communicate on the same page, each student was required to write some suggestions on the draft prepared by the groupmate.All comments and revisions were in a different font color.c.After the suggestions and comments, the students were asked to immediately chat on the page in case of any disagreement or ambiguity.5 The teacher monitored activities on Google Docs.6 At the end of the week, the students emailed the texts to the teacher.

Results
The demographic characteristics of respondents showed that the participants included 84 (82.35%) males and 18 (17.65%)females.

H1.
There is a significant relationship between attitude to collaborative digital writing and online knowledge sharing.
As shown in Table 3, we found that all the instructional, interactional, reflective, and affective variables were statistically significant to 0.01 level and had a positive linear relationship with each other.

H2.
There is a significant relationship between online knowledge sharing and metacognition in writing As illustrated in Table 4, it was found that knowledge sharing and metacognitive writing were statistically significant to 0.01 level and had a positive linear relationship with each other.
H3. TEFL students' online knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between attitude to collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing.
A structural model was used to answer the third question.The results of this test are shown in Figure 1.Also, Table 4 presents the summarized result of fit indices.
According to Table 5, the results show except for the index RMSEA = .054,all model indices fit well.The researchers decided to employ the bootstrapping method to test the direct effects of each factor on the knowledge-sharing variable.Table 6 shows the results.
Bootstrapping is further utilized to confirm the result of the path analysis, which indicates that knowledge sharing has a mediating effect on metacognitive writing.Table 7 reveals the bootstrapping results.Based on Table 7, the total effect of each variable on knowledge sharing is gained by adding indirect and direct effects.In this research, the total effect of instructional on knowledge sharing (.250) is calculated as follows: direct effect + indirect effect (.250+.000=.250).In terms of the total effect, perceived level of instructional was identified as the most influential variable on knowledge sharing.Other cases were calculated in the same way.Thus, results showed knowledge sharing had a mediating effect in the relationship of collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing.

Discussion and conclusion
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the intervening effect of attitude to online knowledge sharing on the relationship between EFL learners' attitude to collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing.Accordingly, three research hypotheses were proposed.The first hypothesis proposed that there is a significant relationship between attitude to collaborative digital writing and online knowledge sharing.
The findings supported the hypothesis.
The idea of technology-supported knowledge distribution is a controversial issue (McDermott, 1999).On the one hand, some researchers argue that we cannot rely on technology to share and distribute knowledge (e.g., Malhotra, 2000) since technology by itself "does not turn a knowledge hoarding organization into a knowledge sharing one" (Mohamed et al., 2006, p.107) and should only be regarded as an opportunity to change individuals' behavior.On the other hand, the opposite view suggests that knowledge management systems are essential for the knowledge management process (Alavi & Leidner, 2001).In the same line, it has been argued that collaborative learning results in (2023) 18:5 co-construction of knowledge (Jeong & Chi, 1997).The findings are in line with Sukirman (2016) who notes that collaboration in writing may promote knowledge sharing.The finding also corroborates with Krumova and Milanezi (2014) since, as they suggest, the process of knowledge sharing can be improved by collaboration technologies such as Web 2.0.Similarly, Ansari and Khan (2020) who examined the usefulness and application of social media in transferring the resources and interaction among students, reported that online social media significantly impacted students' interactivity with teachers, peers, and online sharing of knowledge.In the same line, DeWitt et al. (2014) found that students get involved in knowledge sharing during the collaborative writing process.Cain (2008) also argues that Web 2.0 technology prepares the condition for students to interact with peers, share the contents, and helps with building connections.This cast light on the importance of technology as one of the most effective assets in cultivating a knowledge-sharing culture among students.Perhaps, technology helps remove communication barriers and improves the ease and efficiency of knowledge transfer.
Based on the results, it was also found that there is a significant relationship between attitude to online knowledge sharing and metacognition in writing.
The finding partially supports Farahian and Parhamnia (2022) who reported that knowledge sharing through social media promoted EFL teachers' reflectivity.In the same vein, the finding is in tandem with Indrašienė et al. (2021) who studied the relationship between critical thinking and knowledge management and found a positive relationship between the two constructs.The study's findings can also be explained in the light of Vygotsky's (1978)  were employed to improve higher-order thinking skills among university students.Based on the results, ICT helped the students understand the concept better and assisted them in communicating and collaborating effectively with other students.Above that, the students' higher-order thinking was promoted.The result is also compatible with the findings of Lee and Lai (2017) who explored whether flipped classrooms can help promote higher-order thinking.The findings revealed that the students accepted the new teaching model and that the flipped classrooms promoted students' higher-order thinking.Nevertheless, these (2023) 18:5 findings contradict those of Ho and Lam (2016) cited in Lee and Lai (2017) who found that e-learning practices do not improve higher-order thinking.
Regarding the mediating role of online knowledge sharing, the results indicated that the relationship between EFL learners' attitude to collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing was positively significant.In other words, online knowledge sharing has a mediating effect in the relationship between attitude to collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing.This means that students who get involved in collaborative digital writing tend to engage in knowledge sharing, and by doing so, their level of metacognition in writing promotes.Although a few studies have shown the relationship between collaboration and knowledge sharing (e.g., Sukirman, 2016) and knowledge sharing and higher-order thinking (e.g., Sukirman, 2016), no studies have directly examined the relationship between attitude to collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing through online knowledge sharing.The finding comes as no surprise since it can be surmised that students' collaboration to write a text results in their sending and receiving feedback and, as a result construction of knowledge regarding the content, grammar, and mechanics of writing.This process of knowledge construction by itself can lead to the increase at the students' higher-order thinking especially metacognition.This means that they gain knowledge about the process of writing and hence can regulate their writing process.In conjunction with Vygotsky's (1978) social constructivism and Dewey's (1933) concept of practical inquiry which postulates that cognitive development occurs through the social interaction of social presence, it can be argued that collaborative digital writing contributes to students' knowledge sharing which in turn generates a learning community that leads to higher-order thinking and learning.
The result of this study supports the evidence that knowledge sharing processes rooted in collaborative digital writing can contribute to higher-order thinking.As such, online knowledge sharing has a mediating effect in the relationship between attitude to collaborative digital writing and metacognitive knowledge in writing.This has some implications for educational institutions.The first implication is that the emergence of Web One of the limitations of the study is related to the small number of participants.In fact, with more participants, the results would be more generalizable.Another limitation was that the participants were chosen only from the west of Iran which does not represent the whole country.The third limitation was that the students were only from private universities.
Further investigations could replicate the present study with participants from both state and private universities since participants' characteristics may differ in these two contexts.
Finally, the participants of the present study were undergraduate students with an average of intermediate proficiency.A similar study could be conducted on postgraduate students or students with post intermediate and above proficiency levels.
Abbreviations CALL: Computer-assisted language learning; CMC: Computer-mediated communication; CSCL: Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning; EFL: English as a foreign language; FL: Foreign language; ICT: Information and communication technology; KMO: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin; MWQ: Metacognitive writing questionnaire; SCT: Sociocultural theory; SEM: Structural equation modeling; TEFL: Teaching English as a foreign language; ZPD: Zone of proximal development.

A
structural equation model of three latent variables (attitude to collaborative digital writing, online knowledge sharing, and metacognitive knowledge in writing) was developed to analyze data.(2023) 18:5 ZPD theory in that students get to share knowledge and receive help from their peers can help each other move from their actual level to the level of potential development.Another reason for the study's findings may be attributed to the role of Google Docs as a Web 2.0 technology.This was the context in the present study where knowledge sharing took place.In this regard,Roblyer and Doering (2010) note that, "blogs encourage students to think critically when composing and sharing reflections on their coursework and course topics" (p.199).Similarly,Subran (2013) suggests that Web 2.0 tools can support problem solving skills, inquiry skills, creativity, critical thinking, and critical reflection.Letchuman et al.'s (2020)  finding is in tandem with that of the present study since they explored how information and communication technology (ICT) tools

2. 0
technologies such as Google Docs instigates major changes in students' collaboration and their higher-order thinking.An EFL course which makes use of Google Docs can offer teachers some benefits.It frees them from the conventional methods of teaching and introduces collaborative writing effectively.As such, TEFL teachers can make use of Google Docs as a tool for students' writing.The second recommendation is for TEFL coursebook developers.They could assign particular pages in the books to pair work assignments which are related to Web 2.0 technologies.Such assignments in the workbooks could encourage students to collaborate and raise teachers' awareness of the efficacy of technology in TEFL.(2023) 18:5

Table 1
The result of Cronbach's alpha

Table 2
Stages of the treatment

Table 4
Relationship between knowledge sharing and metacognitive writing

Table 5
Summary of model fit indices

Table 7
Decomposition of effects for model