How is online discussion effective




















You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here. Theresa Capra is a professor of education and clinical supervisor for teacher-candidates. She is the founder of edtapas. Asynchronous discussion forums, or boards, are frequently used in virtual courses to engage students in the content and to assess learning. They are also a great way to kindle student-to-student interactions and build camaraderie. Ask yourself, why a discussion forum? If the goal is to simply have an assignment due, or enforce attendance, there are better methods.

For attendance, create an activity or fun quiz during a specific time frame. If the goal is to ascertain whether or not a student read a textbook chapter, watched a recorded lecture, or completed his or her homework, a discussion board is the wrong tool. Instead, individual assignments or timed quizzes are better choices. Forums that require students to track down sources, analyze and offer different perspectives, and apply concepts to scenarios should be the objective.

In traditional classrooms, instructors tell, students memorize, and then demonstrate their knowledge acquisition in some manner test, paper.

Conversely, in problem-based classrooms , instructors present an issue or pose a problem, necessary information and sources are identified to work through the issue, and finally learning is reinforced through application. This methodology is perfectly suited for discussion boards and can be applied to almost any subject in virtual formats.

Because this method can be time-consuming for instructors and students alike, having fewer, deeper discussions is better than littering your course with a plethora of shallow ones. Simple tweaks in design can make a huge difference, and the big idea is to help students view discussion boards as more than a chore. Finally, the burden of design does not have to fall completely on the instructor—students can take the lead with support.

Place students in teams to tackle a learning module, lesson, chapter, topic, etc. The teams should be tasked with tracking down sources and creating open-ended discussion prompts for their classmates to answer while they facilitate and respond to postings.

Students can work in Google Docs and virtual breakout rooms to collaborate. When students create the discussion boards and identify the sources, the result is a personal connection to the material. If the skills or content are initially too challenging for students to tackle head-on, lead a synchronous session and then task the teams with crafting challenge questions for their peers. In many ways, remote and virtual classrooms provide increased opportunities to empower students, and discussion boards, when used prudently, can lead to more engaged learners.

Taurean Branch is an instructional coach in the Baltimore public schools. He is passionate about empowering teachers with tools and strategies that impact student performace. He also hosts the podcast show Copy Jams, which you can find on your favorite streaming service:. Asynchronous and hybrid models can be effective environments where students can engage in learning.

With coronavirus here, schools are forced to implement some of these best practices with online learning tools. Whether your school district uses Blackboard, Schoology, Edmodo, or even Google Classroom, online discussion boards are great ways to have students engage in these asynchronous conversations.

Online discussion boards integrate several instructional best practices for students and teachers. Here are three of the main benefits of using online discussion boards in your classroom.

All students are required to respond to prompts and respond to their peers. Students then have more time to formulate opinions and thoughtfully respond to others. Students will spend more time crafting grammatically correct responses, which improves their writing. Let us dig a little deeper into each of these benefits.

In most traditional classrooms, teachers do not have enough time to call on every student to respond to a question. The teacher wants to ensure all of the students have an idea, and we often use strategies like think-pair-share or turn and talks.

Online discussion boards allow all students to engage in the conversation by answering the question. This means no student is left out of the conversation. Additionally, introverted students who are less vocal in the classroom can share their answers in a way that does not force them to be more extroverted.

Socio-emotional forums — Discussion forums can have the goal of nurturing a strong sense of community within the course. It is useful to have a separate discussion forum available where students can meet electronically and discuss topics of mutual interest so personal relationships can be developed.

In an online course where students do not have the opportunity to socialize in a socio-emotional forum, socializing leaks into and diverts task-oriented forums. It is also a place where we can hang out and shoot the cyber-breeze about any topic we choose by creating threads and posting messages.

Task-oriented discussion forums — Provide the opportunity for students to interact authentically with contextualized discussion topics, and reflect in forums. For large class enrollments, use group forums rather than class-wide forums. Groups of no more than ten students are recommended; otherwise, the discussion forum can become unwieldy and difficult to grade. The discussion questions should be based on the desired learning outcomes.

Most faculty use approximately two to four discussion questions depending on the course schedule for the week. The questions must be thought provoking and relevant to student learning. Create questions in which there is no right or wrong answer. The questions should enhance higher order thinking skills such as constructing, analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing, and serve as a means for the instructor to assess student learning and understanding of the issues.

Get others thinking and writing by making bold statements or including open-ended questions in your message. Those who post first are most often responded to and cited by others. Remember to check back and see if and how others have responded to your ideas. In general, write one to two meaningful paragraphs because long messages are difficult to read online. Be concise Vonderwell, It can be intimidating to take a stand on an issue at times, especially when you put it in writing, which we associate with permanence.

Remember that you are allowed to change your mind! Simply indicate that with the new information raised in the discussion, you have changed your stance. Learning is about change. It can be frustrating to read through a busy discussion forum with lots of posts and replies. Make sure to create new threads if new topics evolve in the discussion.

Subscribing to receive email alerts of new postings can help participants keep up with a conversation without checking back into the discussion forum repeatedly. You can configure the tool to receive alerts whenever a new post appears, or receive a daily summary of the posts. If the original message is lengthy, cut out what is not relevant to your response. And if the original has many paragraphs, you could place your comments between the paragraphs to give readers the context for your ideas Vonderwell, Ask yourself why you agree and explain your rationale so that others have something else to respond to Vonderwell, To air different perspectives or help others clarify their thinking, you may need to contradict a classmate.

Remember to disagree respectfully no name-calling or obscenities and support your point with evidence, but do not feel bad about offering a different interpretation. Your contribution should help to make the discussion more productive for all involved. Discussions are about group learning. When you function well as a group, you will be more open to all the benefits that this type of learning can offer. Give positive feedback to one another, use light humour, avoid comments that could be taken as insulting, use first names, respond promptly to each other, and offer assistance.

Also remember the lack of nonverbal and vocal cues in the online environment. If you feel very emotional about a message, wait before responding. If you send it to the discussion, the damage is done. Even waiting overnight can give you enough distance to respond in a calmer and more professional manner.

Like Twitter in the classroom, online chats can provide an opportunity to ask questions or make comments during an online lecture. Try to make your comments concise and clear. Remember to be respectful and professional: don't write anything that you wouldn't speak in class.

Also, avoid clogging up the chat with links to extraneous resources. Stay focused and aim to add value to the class experience. Discussion is about hearing what others have to say and working to shape and re-shape your own thoughts and perspectives.

The online environment comes with many benefits, including learning from your peers in addition to your instructor. Use the time productively to hone lifelong skills and refine your ideas about the course content. Roper, A. Educause Quarterly , 1 ,



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