The Dreaded "I agree!" In Discussion Forums
How can we avoid the dreaded “I Agree†in Discussion Forums (Asynchronous Forums)?
Other than mandating minimum length, how can we stimulate quality responses to student posts?
My experience indicates that one of the top things online students HATE to do is respond to each other’s posts.
That said, I ask you. How can we encourage quality discussions on online forums?
Robin,
There should be a word requirement. This will push the student to research the topic a bit more.
Shelly Crider
We establish a word requirement for each online module. Students must have 250, 500, 1000 total word count in all posts (depending on the course). Students are required to respond to the instructor and comment on a given number of student posts, using complete sentences and citing references to support their comments. A rubric is provided to the students at the beginning of the class explaining these requirements- and it works.
Kenneth,
Most students will try to get away with what they can, and they like texting lingo!!
Shelly Crider
Dr. Crider,
Agree regarding no texting lingo and to be professional. One technique I used was to type the post in word and cut and paste into the forum--helps with spelling and adds professionalism to the thread with an opportunity to review to ensure the comment is clear and supports the discussion ongoing.
Kenneth,
I the requirement of a certain amount of posts. There needs to be professionalism as well....no texting lingo!!
Shelly Crider
One of my professors in my doctoral program provided feedback on the quality and content of each post. Requirement was for 3 post of a reading highlighting content and then to also repond to 3 post by others.
Believe this worked and ensured a standard of posting and also adding to the learning experience of all students in the class.
Love these ideas. It is hard to make students write down their thoughts and ideas. You have worded the directions so well.
I believe that the foundation of the assignment must include thought provoking questions. Sometimes the assignments do not lend to more than "I agree."
David, at the school where I teach we mandate that all responses to others must meet a 100 word minimum length in order to receive full credit.
Once you start deducting points for short responses to others, it becomes clear to students that they need to improve and improve they do!!
Too bad that we have to resort to this form of rules but unfortunately there are always those in class, live or online, who always want to do the minimum and expect full credit.
You are doing a wonderful job. Love playing devil's advocate!!! It makes the student think...even if they are not talking about it. You made them think! Good job Susan!
Thank you everyone, for these ideas. Some of them I had never thought to do before. I would say, though, that some students will never give you the I agree and some will only do that.
I agree! Ha! This has been a helpful discussion. A couple of things I do:
1. Have them discuss what their personal experiences have been or how their company handles the issue being discussed
2. Play devil's advocate and try to get them to see the topic from a different perspective.
3. Refer to outside resources or articles I might have seen.
Despite my best efforts, this is still a huge problem and it really makes things dull and boring for everyone.
Thanks to everyone for the ideas!
That's a good idea - having them reference the text when they agree or not and why.
Like others who posted earlier, I also state in the beginning of the course that the agreement-only post is not valid. Although some feel it is a carrot, I do assign points for participation; however, after students use the discussion board properly they often see the value and do not express a problem with it. I see them getting to know each other in personal ways that they may not even do face-to-face.
It is difficult to phrase questions in a way that fosters discussion rather than asking for a 'right' answer. I find that frequent follow-ups to students' posts keeps these threads going.
Clearly state that "I agree" is not a proper response and that each response must be accompanied by an explanation.
I have to do this in my on the ground classes also.
Thank you for posing this question. I currently teach speech in a hybrid situation-half on-ground classes and half-online. There does seem to be an art to creating questions that stimulate thought and conversation, if the topic itself is not perceived as interesting by students. Open-ended questions definitely have helped me. I also ask students to present their evaluation of a speech they will watch from a link they are offered in their assignment. This has also opened conversation between students so that they can agree or disagree---with support for their perceptions!
I agree minimizes roundabouts and long discussions that may not be relevant to the topic. However, it also limits the idea to be imparted in the asynchromous forum
I also often post in the DB to students asking them to expand on "why" they agree or disagree with a topic. This helps me, as an instructor, because my students know that I am frequently monitoring their postings.
Adib Shakir
