Engaging Learners in Discussion
One of the greatest challenges I have found in facilitating discussions is that many learners simply post the minimum requirements and once they have met the expectations of the discussion, they disengage and don't bother to come back into the discussion to extend the dialog on the topic.
What will be your role in discussions? How will you encourage substantive participation? What strategies will you use to extend learner’s thinking and keep the discussion focused on the intended outcomes?
My role in discussions would be to certainly read all of my students' posts and attempt to reply to most of them. In my responses, I would encourage substantive participation by perhaps asking a question in response or even further the discussion by asking them to ponder a deeper thought. It is then important to return to the discussion board and see if the student responded to my question/request for deeper thought. If a student doesn't respond after 2 of these attempts to further the discussion, I might contact them individually via email and ask the same questions, alerting them to the fact that I am in the discussion board and following up on their topic. This hopefully discourages the student from simply disengaging from the discussion.
Herbert-
I try to keep my students engaged by asking them to relate the topic of discussion to something that they may have encountered in their professional and personal lives. I even use examples from my career and personal life so that they can see that their instructor is a human being as well, and that we too encounter issues in our lives. I believe a lot of these students feel that we don't endure obstracles in our lives, and that we don't have the same issues that they may have. When reality is presented, they are so intrigued and want to discuss more of how their professor overcame that obstacle. This also gives me the opportunity to build that trust factor with my student's when I open up about my life challenges.
I think my role in discussions is to simply ask more questions. When a student makes a discussion post I will try to drill down on their post and questions specific to their post. Keeping on topic I feel offer the best chance the student will interact more. If I feel their post is was off then I will ask some questions to try to get them back in the right direction.
That's a tough one, because I too behave in this manner - focusing on the end goal as described in the grading rubric for the discussion forum.
Students are motivated by grades, as well as peer evaluations from their fellow students. I would use a combination of the two to motivate through goal setting.
Mr. Brown,
My role will be to ask engaging questions. This will encourage substantive participation. Keep the questions interesting and pertaining to something that interest them.
It's really important to practice what you preach. It is the facilitator's role to model the appropriate discussion. To encourage substantive participation, the instructor should show presence on, but not dominate the discussion board. It is a good idea to highlight student responses and use questions to build provoke additional commentary.
Here's a strategy I've encouraged students to use for years:
Suggested Interactive Reply Technique
Hello all,
Here is one technique that works wonders, and I am encouraging you to try it when forming your interactive replies to your peers on the Discussion Board.
When replying to posts from other learners, seek to structure your interactive reply using the following 5-part typology:
o Salutation to respective peer learner (include your classmate's name to whom you are responding),
o Statement of your position (agree, disagree, neutral, or simply adding information or additional perspective),
o Excerpted "quote" from peer (you need not cut/paste/repeat the entire message, but give enough of peer's post to set the context for your reply),
o Your interactive commentary/reply, inclusive of a summary statement, AND a leading question to prompt a continued response from your peer. Adding a question at the end helps to minimize the tendency for the discussion to drop/close and suggests respect to your peer for his/her reaction to your comments.
o Your closing signature/name
Please use this strategy when interactively replying to your peers on the Discussion Board. It really helps to keep the threads 'less' fuzzy.
:-) Ruby
You are right - this is probably the most difficult aspect of online learning. The student can read the material, power point slides, and the discussion posts but where the "rubber meets the road" is getting the students to engage and exchange ideas. Students are reluctant to "put themselves out there" fearing their view or response is not adequate. This also happens in the traditional classroom. However, it is the instructor's responsibility to follow-up each student's response with a comment that will encourage further critical thinking along that same thread. It is not easy especially when student input is limited to a few words or is off topic.
Elizabeth,
The inclusion of real life stories and situations are very important in assignments in my opinion as well as assignments with enough flexibility for students to customize their work around their personal interests. These elements really motivate the students to engage the content in a deeper more meaningful way.
Herbert Brown III
My role in the discussions is to follow up their post with comments or questions on the topic.
I will also bring up related ideas to the post that are not covered in the text, such as real life situations. In my experience, this has elicited responses and comments from the students. Thanks. Lisa Dunham
The main role of the instructor in the discussion is to provide a lead--to facilitate the conversations going on and encourage feedback. One of the challenges that are faced by instructors is that students just post the minimum requirement, and they no longer visit the discussion. One of the solutions to this is to set clear expectations, and deadlines for the discussion area, such as when the main post should be posted by. Another way that I have found useful is to guide the students as to how often they should be in the discussion area. For example, I let them know that the main post is due by Wednesday, and that they should leave feedback starting on Thursday or Friday, and at least one day over the weekend. The main goal is to open up conversations of the course content.
Another strategy is to reiterate the main point of their post, provide new information and ask questions of learners. I generally try to do this to every other student in a class with two discussions or every student in a class with only one discussion. This prompts students to come back and check out if I left them a response, or even their classmate.
Cheers
Emry
I try not to lead the discussion unless it is heading off track. I try instead to respond to student entries with questions to guide the discussions in a productive manner. I also ask questions to get students to think.
Samantha Eaddy
To help ensure more active participation in the discussion forums, when I respond to students' posts, I always end my response with open-ended questions to help the students think more deeply about what they have written. Doing so requires them to make additional posts in reference to their initial thoughts on the discussion topic.
To help ensure more active participation in the discussion forums, when I respond to students' posts, I always end my response with open-ended questions to help the students think more deeply about what they have written. Doing so requires them to make additional posts in reference to their initial thoughts on the discussion topic.
Nicole,
I like how you give your students very clear and detailed feedback to help them understand what a good post is and how to maximize their grade in discussions. If we give our students that level of detail we can easily expect them to adjust accordingly.
Herbert Brown III
I first start off with my expectations for the posts in the discussion. My role will be to facilitate the discussion as well as move it along when it becomes stagnant, moderate between students and evaluate the discussions for grading and assessment purposes. One thing I have found in online classrooms is that the instructor could post more to keep the conversation going and draw more students in for feedback. This helps bring a meager discussion posting to a substantive one.
What will be your role in discussions? How will you encourage substantive participation? What strategies will you use to extend learner’s thinking and keep the discussion focused on the intended outcomes?
My role in the discussion board is to lead the discussion. To allow the discussion to branch into different subtopics while staying with the initial theme. Allowing the conversation to branch off, opens the students mind to think about different points a views. The first thing I do is set the requirement at the beginning of the class and explain what substantial text is to answer a question. For the first two weeks, I remind the student about what is substantial text to address each question. If it continues, I take off points and explain why. The students will usually understand after points are deducted and will take more time to answer questions.
Faculty must first provide an online presence which is important in online discussions. Making sure that they contribute questions and prompts for the students to keep the interaction going. Recognition of the group discussion from start to finsih would allow faculty to review all contributions to the discussion made by the students. If students are struggling with answering the discussion it is the faculty responsibility to reach out and respond to provide examples and prompt the students for understanding. Faculty also must give students the confidence they need and let them know if they are on the right track and highlight important points that they make. To encourage substantive participation I would build community with an introduction of myself or a welcome video. I would also remind them through announcements when the initial response is due and when the response to peers are due. Making sure that students understand the dynamics of the participation and providing them with a tool that would also help them to manage when they are to be active in the discussions.
Fonzette Smith- Leavell
Once original question is answered, I would require students to reply to at least two classmate's post. This would be used to start a conversation between students.
By helping them feel comfortable about instruction and giving them a sense of understanding. Establishing a sense of purpose and subject matter focus.
Assessing how well students learn or achieve the expectations or outcomes.
