The purposes of this study were to determine what asynchronous electronic discussion (AED) best practices were implemented by first semester online instructors and to determine if there was a difference in AED best practice implementation between AED best practice trained and untrained online instructors during their second semester of online instruction. A review of literature resulted in the identification of six AED best practices. The AED best practices were: the instructor provides clear expectations (An et al., 2009; Arbaugh, 2010; Beaudin, 1999; Dennen, 2005; Dixson et al., 2006; Gilbert & Dabbagh, 2005; Hew et al., 2009); participants are assigned roles (Dixson et al., 2006; Schellens et al., 2005); group discussion size is between three and 12 participants (Bliss & Lawrence, 2009a; Roberts et al., 2006; Schellens & Valcke, 2006); both individual (Dixson et al., 2006) and group (Taylor, 2006) incentives exist for participation; discussion environments promote informal social interaction (Dixson et al., 2006); and instructors play a minor role in asynchronous electronic discussions (An et al., 2009; Arbaugh, 2010; 2003; Beaudin, 1999; Dennen, 2005; Dixson et al., 2006; Gilbert & Dabbagh, 2005; Hew et al., 2009; Mazzolini & Maddison,). These AED best practices were operationalized using both the literature and an expert Delphi panel. Subjects in this study consisted of 30 online instructors who were in their first two semesters teaching at the participating institution. The study used a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design. Subjects were assigned to experimental and control groups using a stratified random sampling procedure. The experimental group was trained on the six AED best practices. Data were gathered using the AED best practice rubric from the institution's learning management system after the online instructors completed teaching their courses. Instructor performance for both the experimental and control group was evaluated during their first semester of instruction. This served as the pretest. Instructor performance was again evaluated for both the experimental and control group during the second semester. This served as the posttest. AED best practice behaviors in the control group were assessed for experience effect. AED best practice for behaviors were also compared between the experimental and control groups to assess the training effect. Instructor minimum participation rate compliance in the control group showed a significant increase between semester one and semester two of the study. Instructor compliance with the discussion group size was significantly higher in the experimental group when compared to the control group. Measures for instructor discussion best practices influenced by the participating institution remained unchanged for both the experimental and control groups. Findings in this study implied that the institution, course design, and ease of implementation influences instructor best practice use. They also implied that training on instructor discussion best practices can contribute to increased best practice compliance. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]