HI Melissa - That's an excellent way to stimulate participation. You could also ask students to respond John's post. "That was a great suggestion John! Has anyone tried anything like that?" Best wishes - Susan
Hi Melissa - Thanks for your post to the forum. I too experience the brief flurry of activity on the discussion boards as a module opens online. Then, as you mention, "Where is everyone?" , and then the deluge of responses on the due dates. Oh well...... Best wishes - Susan
I miss the group activities of the traditional classroom. In the online environment there are days of silence in the group assignments, which can be a challenge! This sounds like a great approach for the classroom.
Melissa
While teaching online, I prefer to respond to a student's posting with my thoughts and additional resources. Then, I add a question to the class. For example:
John - You have a great posting here covering psychology and the foundation of the science. I hope you have enjoyed learning more about the specializations in the field.
Question for everyone: After reviewing the information on psychology, how do you see psychology as being related to your career goals?
I find that students like to respond to these "questions for all" since they take the spotlight off of an individual and it seems to keep the discussion going well.
Melissa
Hi Lacey - You are asking your students to apply what they have learned. this requires critical thinking and definitely will improve their retention - great work! Best wishes- Susan
I like to ask for personal examples or for them to come up with scenarios to answer questions. It gets them to think more actively, and they tend to get behind their answer more instead of just getting bored regurgitating material from the text.
My favorite way to question students is to direct them to a website or activity and then have them come back to the discussion and share their thoughts. I often use Mindtools.com as a resource. I will give them and article, case study or quick educational quiz. Then I ask a few specific questions about their learning and have them express it in the discussion forum. This is always very popular!
Lacey Finley
I try to make it personal. I invite them to share experiences they have had with the topic. I also share mine to break the ice. I also find that I try to create comfort in the "silence" that happens after a question is asked of the class by appearing calm and inviting.
HI Donald- Thanks for your post to the forum - a great example of how to draw students into a classroom instruction! Best wishes- Susan
Hi Matt- Thanks for your post to the forum! Your questioning idea is great - much less threatening to get your students relaxed. Best wishes - Susan
small group discussions and problem solving scenarios seem to work well,
HI Jim - You are teching your students to use critical thinking skills - great work! Best wishes - Susan
I try to ask questions early in class where the answer is more opinion based than fact based. That way no one is ever "wrong." This gets students used to the idea of speaking up in class without the pressure of having to be right.
I currently instruct in a healthcare related classroom. I will chose a very generalized area of discussion related to being a patient or a nursing home resident and throw out questions to the students to get them involved and learn from their past experiences. For instance, I will ask the students if they have ever been a patient in a hospital or know someone that has ever been a patient in a hospital or a resident in a nursing home and if so how was the admission process handled. Almost everyone in the class could have some input to this question and it allows room for multiple answers and plenty of room for learning discussion threads.
Hi Jim - Thanks for your post to the forum! You are doing a great job at getting your students involved in " active learning"! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I like to treat all of my lectures as a question and answer session. I don't want to make my students wait to ask a question and I know that if one student has a question chances are someone else has the exact same question. I want to foster participation in all areas of my class room.
Many times I start with a little scenario to set the stage. Then I will ask the students to talk about the subject from their experiences. I can then add variences to the scenario to go deeper into the discussion.
I have asked the students to form groups and give them the question to review with the group. this give them the ability to learn from their peers and also add their 2 cents to the answer. Encourages participation without the fear of failure in front of the entire class.
Ask questions that could lead to further discussion, thereby taking pressure off from having a complete answer.
Hi Tracy - I think that students really enjoy these sorts of questions as well! Best wishes - Susan
