The current study investigates the effects of preparing students for an online debate through a worked example in terms of student perception, participation, and level of cognitive skills. The study found that students prepared for online debate through a worked example participated more frequently, wrote more words or phrases that encouraged the participation of others, and used higher-order thinking skills. This study provides empirical evidence that worked examples can be used to model behaviors for students to emulate in online debates. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)