Creating and Facilitating Online Discussions

Agenda

• Discussion Structure• Types of Discussions• Introductory Work Types• Initial Comments• Response Types• Example of Online Discussions• Benefits and Uses of Online Discussions• Strategies for Quality Online Discussions• Facilitation/Participation• Groups• D2L Activity

Discussion Timeline

Intro Work(Reading, Research)

Post(Initial comment)

Response(Read and respond to

others)

Discussion Sequence Structure

Types of Discussions

oGroup collaboration and discussion

oGroup or cumulative projects

oDebates, critiques

oField or practical experience

oCase studies

Introductory Work Types

• Research (from single source)

• Research (from list of choices)

• Research (open – student’s choice)

• Observe/interview

• Observe/interview and identify similar findings

*Research sources could be readings or Websites, or you can provide a list of topics with actual sources decided by the student.

Initial Comments

• Relating to:• Personal experience (current work situation)• Current events • Particular educational field

• Compare/contrast

• Submitted content or Findings

Response Types

• Summarizing unconsidered views and perspectives presented by other classmates

• Review comments of others, reassess own comment, revise/clarify, resubmit

• Critique/Peer Review• Offer suggestions for improvement

Example of Online Discussions

In our example, we see some important things:1. Clear Expectations2. Participation by all individuals3. A list of topics to use in the discussion

Optional, use of the Dropbox inside of D2L to more effectively give feedback. This may not always make sense to do.

Group Project 1One of the group members will serve as the leader of the discussion. If nobody volunteers, your instructor will appoint the leader. The leader will state a problem that falls within the Unit 2 topics by posting a one-page Problem Statement to the group’s discussion area, as well as the Dropbox. The group members, including the leader, will discuss the problem by posting at least 6 substantive posts distributed over at least 4 days during the week to the group’s discussion area. At the end of the week, the group leader will summarize the findings in a Project Outcome Paper (2 pages in length) and post it to the group’s discussion area, the general Discussions forum, and the Dropbox where your instructor will provide feedback and a grade.

Example of Online Discussions cont…

Benefits of Online Discussions

• Discussions activities are the main point of interaction in online learning

• Allow for Social learning, facilitating students in helping one another.

• Engage Students in the topico Introduce opportunities for critical thinkingo Most effective technique for Collaboration

Conceptual Uses for Online Discussions• Experiential knowledge

• Every student comes to the course with a unique set of experiences and learning.

• Reflect on ideas • Reflection helps students clarify concepts and internalize the

information-to-knowledge process.

• Improve critical thinking• Online discussions, afford us the opportunity to compare,

contrast, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate.

Strategies for Quality Discussion• Avoid yes or no answers

• Use conflict to elicit critical thinking

• Provide clear expectations• Example expectation “Two Responses”• Rubrics• Group participation

• Extend individual written assignments

Strategies for Quality Discussion cont…

• Choose topics that are relevant to learners• Challenging, real world applications

• Use practical, problem-solving activities and examples• It is about how they came to the answer not what the

answer is they come to.

• Immediate application• Predict future behaviors

• Create an informal, peer-oriented community

Discussion Facilitation: Know your Role

• Will you participate in the discussions as an equal with the students?

• Will you “lurk” but not post, leaving the discussion to the students?

• Will you participate only to play devil’s advocate or to interject a new idea or to redirect the conversation?

• Do you plan to respond to students individually or to the class as a whole? Whatever role you choose, let students know and then maintain consistency.

Participation Requirements

• Will you establish a minimum or maximum number of response postings per student per topic or per week?o This avoids too little or too much posting and can

prevent discussion domination by a small number of students.

o It also makes the reading manageable for you and the students.

Improving Participation

• Consistency• Routine due dates • Original post every Wednesday• Responses no later than Friday

• Clear expectations• Acceptable responses • yes or no• Amount of content

Using Groups

If a class consists of 15 or more students, you may want to consider creating smaller groups.

A suggestion is to limit students to responding to only 2 other students’ original postings (again, this may vary depending on the class size and your willingness to read).

D2L Follow-Up Activity

• What is our discussion question?

• What are our outcomes?

• What is our structure?• Sources, prior readings

• What are our expectations of our students?• How can we ensure participation?