During the discussion board, I am sure to carefully read the student's posting. The communication is key to success of the learning process.
After reflecting upon the student's thoughts, my best effort is given in filling the gaps of understanding of the student, using real world experiences to provide examples for students, and I really try to provide "food for thought" to each student's discussion posting.
I encourage each student to respond to many other student's posts in a professional, caring and meaningful attitude by leading the way in doing these and respecting each student myself first.
Dr. Sidney,
All great components to facilitate the learning process. Guiding the students in their learning is vital to their understanding of the content. Have you found that this level of participation builds any type of "community" among the students?
Herbert Brown III
Deana,
I believe this is more effective than providing students with a detailed list of 20 bulleted items describing what they should do. Describe the expectation, provide a simple sample of what you expect and go from there. Samples go a long way in the learning process. It doesn't even have to be an example of the specific assignment in the course (then they might just copy it) it just needs to demonstrate the expectation.
Herbert Brown III
Yes, I ask them to explain their answer and/or show the math steps they used to support their conclusion. I have also asked for them to create a similar example, of their own.
Sincerely,
Marjorie Thrall Moller
Hello. One way I like to encourage substantive participation is to show students samples of expectations. Many students need to see what a substantive post looks like. This is an easier way for them to learn expectations rather than verbally trying to tell them to add substance.
Deana Plaskon
Promoting participation in online classes is vital to achieving the learning objectives because it is one of several paths through which learner activity can be facilitated which optimizes learning retention. That said, the first step, as is attendant to this training, a minimum participation level is required. I require that not only is a student responsible for developing a primary response to a Learning Activity (discussion thread), but is also required to comment on at least one other student post….this method has been very successful in that it helps to facilitate student self-generated exchanges….another method I use that has been very successful is to ask appropriate follow-up questions in response to student posts that compel a 2nd and 3rd level examination of the learning targets to facilitate greater learning retention.
Karen,
I have also found that a quality example that struggling students can look at will often give them the details then need to adjust their work to meet expectations. Clear expectations are important, but a quality sample clearly demonstrates the application of those expectations.
Herbert Brown III
Joseph,
Do you provide the students with any example of what a good post looks like? I find that sometimes if I don't provide an example of my expectations it is difficult for students to reach that expectation. I can tell them what they should do in great detail, but often it is still not enough.
Herbert Brown III
I feel my role is to pull out the information that the students are trying to post but don't. I do this by asking real questions about the posting. I have good experience with this but still trying to get a good discussion is difficult.
I have heard cases where some students are very good and they are willing to provide help to others who might be struggling on the discussion board. I require that each student must post at least one post by mid-week. The post should have a minimum response of 75 to 100 words. “Good job! Cool! Great! And so on, “are not responses that can be graded? I normally post a discussion forum grading rubric that indicates what percentage of the grade is for their original submission and the percentage for their comments to their peers. If the grade is 100 points, 20 percent will count towards peer participation. I will email students who have not participated after mid-week to encourage them to submit their work. Asynchronous discussion board is the most popular forum with my students and the participation is very high. I maintain my presence on the discussion forums by posting some current issues that are related to the topic periodically. I make a few comments to students’ posts to encourage dialogue. I avoid commenting on everything that students post. I provide general summary of the key concepts and additional resources to help those who might be struggling. I answer questions and I have a separate discussion forum for individual students who might have a question that she or he does not to post on for the general group forum. Thanks, Tom
Some of the strategies I use to increase student substantive participation include-
1) The "round robin" approach to discussion questions whereby I ask students to identify one of five different strategies to xyz and why they chose it. This goes a long way in terms of stimulating student responses.
2) Other strategies I use is to be on the discussion board just about everyday. I've found that if students know I there everyday, students come out more often.
3) I ask students follow up questions to their postings to get them to respond.
4) At the start of the course I do let students know that the minimum and the last day to post doesn't mean to post by then or that minimum but let to most often and early so as to .
Hi Herbert!
I have found that modelling plays a big role in ensuring students are involved in discussion. When I interact with students, I will often times refer them to the post of a classmate that was correctly done and ask that they check it out and ask their classmate questions. Some students are quick to enjoy the attention, while others do not. However, as with any classroom - traditional or online, all "tricks of the trade" will not work with all students. If there is a student that does not enjoy the attention, we discuss it privately and I share the importance of "learning by teaching" which usually brings them over to the positive of this. By the second or third week, this has generally netted a great deal of open discussion with most of the students.
Karen "kam" Maiorano
Marjorie,
Do you have any creative ways you have used to get students to high level critical thinking instead of simple cursory responses?
Herbert Brown III
Marjorie,
In my courses I regularly ask students to expand on their discussion posts. This is especially important if I see that they are just understanding the content at a cursory level. I will give them prompts to encourage a deeper reflection or analysis of the content.
Herbert Brown III
William,
Your final sentence hits on a very valuable factor to success as a teacher, online or otherwise, and that is learning from ourselves, our students, and our practices. This is being a reflective practitioner and allows us to constantly change and improve ourselves.
Herbert Brown III
Dear Jocelyn,
I agree about the posting questions back to the student. Many times this gets the student to a level of critical thinking and not just maybe " copying" or imitating another student's post.
Sincerely,
Marjorie Thrall Moller
I agree that many students only do the minimum in a discussion board assignment. I like to comment on their post and then ask them a follow-up question to try to continue on with the discussion, or have them look at the topic from a different viewpoint.
Did you also ever ask them to further explain a view or idea that the student posted?
Sincerely,
Marjorie Thrall Moller
Hi Herbert
When I first started teaching online I did not actively participate in the discussion forums. I mistakenly assumed that the forum was solely for students. What I received in return was minimum participation among the students as well. I finally adopted a personal policy of posting my own thoughts as well as responses to other students. My minimum was 10 posting per week. What I found was that students (not all but a good percentage) are now posting way past the minimum school allowable. A big difference and a learning experience for me as well.
Bill Becker
Hi
I think one thing that is important is being there. Post every day and keep the student's aware that you are involved. Ask questions. Be sure to be positive, but ask questions and get them to go to the next level.
Also - encourage them to respond to others. Ask questions about the other students and their posts - therefore getting the students to go over and read more posts.
Finally - be sure to give real-world examples. Students respond if they feel the information is relevant.
Jocelyn Dervis
What will be your role in discussions? My role in the discussion process is to oversee them. I make a conscious effort to show visibility in the forum by engaging with the students. I also make sure to respond to every single student posting. I establish deadlines on different dates to get the students to come in.
How will you encourage substantive participation? I post the following note in my forums to students. Participation is very important as it contributes to the overall learning and enjoyment of this class. For full participation credit during participation weeks, you are required to contribute two substantive messages on 2 different days. Please note the group discussions do not count towards participation. You must respond to your classmate’s postings and post substantive messages. For example, "I agree†does not constitute participation because it does not add anything of substance to the discussion. In order to earn full participation points, the messages must be related to the course topics for the week and include new ideas, personal perspectives and examples, or relevant follow-up questions.
I evaluate your participation posts for the quality of your reflections. Reflections are not merely opinions, but rather are thoughtful commentary that should connect what you have read in the class materials.
I assess your postings not only on the value they add to the class discussion, but also that they include good use of class readings and insights.
When I read postings, I give them one of three grades:
Substantial=Meets all aspects of the assignment and brings good support from our readings.
OK =Meets the general criteria but underutilizes course material
Unsubstantial = 0 points Flawed content, grammar, spelling, etc.; or a response that is just chit-chat. I am not against chit-chat!. However, for really valuable posts, I want to see you move away from opinion and talk content.
What strategies will you use to extend learner’s thinking and keep the discussion focused on the intended outcomes?
The strategies I use center around consistent engagement. I post videos, links, articles, new stories, games, etc. I also make an effort to bring the discussions back on track.
