My role in online discussion is to engage students. I have found that asking probing questions and getting students to draw from their real life work and education experiences help promote participation. I also try to comment and ask question to every initial post made by each student. This way the student knows that I have read their post and hopefully will participate in a discussion with me.
Terry,
Can you elaborate a little on this statement? How have you gone about this personally? I know I have had to pick up on some of the little elements they might have gotten and guide them with some specific questions, such as "have you thought about this?" or "what if you do xyz, does that have an effect...?"
Herbert Brown III
Ask the student to elaborate or ask questions to get them deeper into a subject.
I find it important to use a combination of comments directed to a particular student, group of students, or the entire class to help pull students back to the discussion. If the topic is applicable, I will provide conflicting ideas in order to get students involved and encourage their thoughts on the reasons behind the conflicting viewpoints. When there is little room for conflicting viewpoints, I will bring in associated ideas. By extending the discussion this allows students the room to explore the concept more fully. I also like to provide a list of resources (articles, Web pages, book sections, etc.) that are related to the topic to encourage students to look beyond the obvious course assigned readings.
My role in the discussion is to engage the students and extract the information they have learned through research, personal experience, or their assigned materials.
I encourage participation by responding to each student in some manner. I ask open-ended questions, typically only one or two so they are not overwhelmed.
I work to revert the discussion back to the topic rather than let it move too far from the stated topic.
I monitor my discussion forums daily so the students know I have a regular presence. I try to post something every 1 - 2 days.
What will be your role in discussions? As an instructor I should not only monitor and reply, I should seek to get students to go deeper into the topic.
How will you encourage substantive participation? In the case of the minimum responder, I would try to find points in the student's response that could be extended and ask for more. I would also send an email to the student to draw him or her back into the discussion.
What strategies will you use to extend learner’s thinking and keep the discussion focused on the intended outcomes? Probing, open-ended questions seem to work best. Appreciation and encouragement for the existing posts also help.
My role in the discussions will be facilitator, possibly connector at times, asking particular students to engage with each other if I see seeds of shared insights building.
Substantive participation online, at least in part, will depend on posting levels of comprehension questions. For example, literal, interpretive, analytic and critical questions would challenge students. Grading could be tied to the levels of questions that students choose to tackle.
The main strategy that I would use to extend learners' thinking would be to adjust the minimum requirement to include more than one submission. Instead, the requirement could require a second response to either the instructor or another student.
David,
Can you add some more detail here. Do you have some examples of what you do to grade in terms of critical thinking and value added?
Herbert Brown III
You bring up a very good point and I too have noticed similar things. After students have completed their posting I think it's important for instructors to continue to pose questions in their responses to the students in hopes to get them to renegade. You may also go so far as writing your response in email form to the student to encourage them to reply in the discussion board area.
Make the topic so intriguing that discussion is easy and engagement is natural. Also, grade in terms of critical thinking and value added.
My role in discussion threads is to keep the discussion moving forward and on topic. I always share with my students a grading rubric as to what qualifies as substantive participation to avoid any misunderstandings as to what will qualify as a substantive contribution and what will not.
The model I use in facilitating online discussions is the "ABC" model:
1. Acknowledge initial post/contribution from each student.
2. Build upon initial contribution by asking probing questions.
3. Conclude or wrap up each discussion thread to ensure the students understood course content discussed for that unit.
Besides the above strategies listed I also add real life experiences to discussion topics as most of my online students are adult learners who are interested in the real world application of concepts that are being reviewed in class. Use of rel life examples and current events appears to work great in keeping students engaged and achieve higher levels of thinking and analysis.
Lisa,
Any time that we can include variety in our instruction, including videos and other multimedia, we are working to connect with the different learning styles of our students. It is always great strategy to "mix it up" in our instruction to connect better with our students.
Herbert Brown III
I like to ask questions following a students post that are open to all students. So that if that one student does not reply back, there can still be other discussions which can occur with other students. I also like to include video clips if available to draw in the interest of the students, and then ask a question from that.
My role in discussions will be that of a Facilitator. I will encourage substantive participation by having personal, synchronous discussions with students via email, phone or instant message. I have noticed in my teaching that when I directly communicate with students, they feel more accountable for their work and more compelled to participate because they feel a sense of importance.
I extend learner's thinking and keep the discussion focused on the intended outcomes by asking students follow-up questions and providing links to current events and hot topics related to the assignment for that particular week. This helps keep the discussions interesting yet on topic.
Oneyma Anene
My role in the discussions is to make sure that the students stay in focus with what the question is asking. My role can then expand further into asking further follow-up questions about what the student has posted for either further elaboration if the content is not clear and ask for examples to support or substantiate any claims made. I also sometime like to take the role of the devil's advocate and post content and a follow up question that gets them to think about the learning material from a different perspective. The learning has to sometimes come from different angels in order to truly appreciate how concepts and ideas can be applied in different ways.
Tina Means
I have experienced this with several students while teaching online. I find that these students disengage at a certain point and there grades suffer as a result. I typically, ask the student questions in the discussion board or ask them to elaborate on topics. If they do not, I mention that in the gradebook comments. I also let them know that their opinions are valuable, and we, as a class, want them to participate and learn from their perspective. If the students grades suffer, I make sure that I mention their participation in my email to them, encouraging their participation and getting them back on track in the class.
Michael,
These are all great ideas to engage learners in discussions and obtain meaningful responses.
Herbert Brown III
Tony,
Examples (yours) and personal experiences (the students) help the students connect their new learning to previous knowledge and experience - thus producing learning (constuctivist approach).
Herbert Brown III
Excellent answer...examples are most important for learning and relational learning by the student.
Questions, Questions, Questions....Keep challenging as time permits and force the answers and dialogue.
