Thomas Milham

I have found that students have attended different colleges and have been given expectations about what is required to be successful in an online course.

It is helpful to have an ungraded practice discussion in the beginning of a class as well as clearly defined policies known as "how to have an effective online discussion," which offers samples and best practices of online discussions.

Posting a rubric is great with discussion items, but many students I teach tell me they're still not completely sure how to have an effective online discussion.

It may also be a good idea to explain ways to improve discussions by introducing the concepts found in Bloom's Taxonomy. Many teachers grade assignments and discussions using this taxonomy whether we realize or not. In discussion, we are trying to foster the use of higher order learning skills such as critical thinking, analysis, evaluation and synthesis. If a teacher takes the time to explain these concepts found in Bloom's Taxonomy, the caliber and depth of discussions becomes richer and more profound because students now have gained a greater appreciation and understanding of the education process and what makes for a better educational experience online.

The online grading policies I've seen usually deduct points if a student begins a discussion later than Wednesday of any given week so that might affect the student's motivation to begin the discussions in a more timely manner.

Herbert Brown III

Joi ,

I certainly use and promote the use of rubrics to provide unbiased feedback to students on all work. As long as the students have the rubrics upfront and understand at least the minimum expectations, they have a better chance to be successful.

Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Joi ,

I certainly use and promote the use of rubrics to provide unbiased feedback to students on all work. As long as the students have the rubrics upfront and understand at least the minimum expectations, they have a better chance to be successful.

Herbert Brown III

Joi Sherrod

Yes, I like the idea of a discussion rubric (overview) and often use this within my classroom. At the beginning of each class I label it "Online Participation" which gives them a full description of what is expected for quality discussion replies. The rubric lightly explains what substantiated means and how to meet the word count. I also give them an idea of what a "true" discussion should look like. I tell them that it should feel like you are in one big circle discussing your thoughts and making sure to be mindful to the other person's opinion in an appropriate manner. I think the rubric is a great idea for students that are just beginning their on-line courses and gives them something to mirror to achieve discussion success. As time goes on hopefully they will be able to perfect the concepts in the rubric and go above and beyond. What do you all think?

Nicole Gulley

I have had varying success in fostering peer interaction in forums. Rubrics definitely help make it clear what the expectations are but I agree that is difficult to get them engaged with one another. One of the things that seem to work is to require a minimum number of posts. The initial post must be made before reading other posts, and part of their grade relies on how many total posts they read and how early in the week they post. This has served to get them to complete the "assignment" but a positive side effect is that the students who read more than 50% of the other posts are more engaged in multiple discussions.

Erin Kingsley

I agree with the responses by Joe and Herbert. I have also found that in my online courses (versus face-to-face), I have to make my directions so absurdly clear that it's almost funny, and also I have to pare them down a significant amount. Online courses can easily get bogged down in details, so I've had to streamline. Therefore, I usually have my students be responsible for only two rounds of discussion: one primary post, and one response to a peer, in which they praise their efforts and offer one question or one point on which they (respectfully) disagree (this is in a literature course). I find that requiring them to do any more than this in online discussions doesn't really work. They just don't want to be engaged with each other; they want to do their work and move on. Requiring them to do three posts a week (two in discussions and one in our informal "chit-chat" forum) is plenty for me--and for them.

Joseph Zeccardi

Diane, I find that clearly articulating recommendations in the comments I leave with the filled-out rubric is the best way to change my students' discussion habits. If I just fill out the rubric and show them how I arrived at their grade, they can see where they're lacking but not necessarily how to improve. On the other hand, if I supplement the rubric with some description of specific steps they can take to improve their grade, I see better results. Rather than depending on them to formulate these steps themselves, I give them a clearly articulated action plan. Indeed, I've recently taken to adding a comment along the lines of "If you make these changes, your grade will improve."

Herbert Brown III

Diane,

Clear expectations is a good start. I have found that I may need to "join" the discussion and provide motivation and encouragement at times to help move the discussion along. Email reminders and deadlines can help as well. I find if I don't put any deadlines for completion of a discussion then it could go on forever and/or never be completed.

Herbert Brown III