Discussions Strategies

Introduction

In a face-to-face class, we rely on verbal and visual communication to discuss class topics. Some students contribute a lot, while others just listen and take notes (we hope). Participation is not necessarily required or graded. We assume that because they are present in the class, they absorb the information being discussed. Online class discussion needs special attention.

Discussions in Vista take place in what is called a "discussion area." A discussion area is a public forum, sort of like email, but everyone can see the others' comments. Currently, the discussion areas in Vista are the "meet and potato" of online classroom communication. This is where teaching and learning take place.

Online discussions require facilitation on the part of the instructor. Discussions in the online environment need to be structured. For the instructor, this means being aware of the different strategies and techniques to facilitate dialog. This means that every instructor should seek out information about online discussion techniques that suit their needs. This pages offers starting points for thinking about online discussions. Also, after you've read through this page, you can find more information via the "External Sites about Discussions" below.

Initial Thinking about Facilitation of Online Discussions

How do you promote student engagement in a discussion forum? What types of questions do you ask? If you ask questions with only one answer, that is what you will get. Some students will chime in with a "me too," which really doesn't add anything substantive to the discussion. Also, what might take 45 minutes in a face-to-face class might take 3 or more days in an online discussion. The following bullet list is a list of "tips" you might consider when facilitating discussions around a topic.

• Count discussions toward a grade
• Define participation expectations in a guideline, checklist, or rubric (be clear)
  • Provide students a copy to guide them
• State beginning and ending date for contributing to the discussion
• Encourage Netiquette
  • Encourage students to politely disagree with other's comments
• Use different types of questions to further the discussion
  • Promote divergent thinking
  • Promote convergent thinking
  • Do not ask questions that have only one correct answer
  • Ask open-ended questions
  • Ask higher-order thinking questions (Bloom's Taxonomy)
  • Ask probing questions (Socratic method)
  • Play devil's advocate - challenge statements (nicely)
  • Ask for clarification
  • Have them defend their stand or opinions with supporting evidence
• When possible, ask students to relate the material to a personal experience; this increases motivation to participate because they can relate it to something they know, and it connects prior knowledge to new knowledge
• Create extra discussion areas for small group work (Problem-Based-Learning, Case Studies)
  • Have them report findings back to the class in the main discussion area
• Do not feel you have to respond to every student when having class discussions
  • Get the ball rolling for them
  • Stay in the background as much as possible
• Keep them on track if they stray from the topic (facilitation!)
• Summarize their comments toward the end of the discussion period
• When asked a question directly by a student, provide prompt feedback
• Inform students of what you consider timely feedback (12 or 24 hours for example)
• Let the students use the discussion area to review for an exam or quiz
• Have them propose questions that could appear on an exam
  • Have them provide a rational and correct answer

This is a tricky one! You want students to voluntarily participate in online discussions, but this is not always the case! Students need and like structure, so you must provide it. One way to do this (unfortunately) is to require and grade discussion participation. Typically, this is done by stating requirements for discussion guidelines in the form of a checklist or rubric (matrix). Note: making discussion guidelines too complicated can hamper the learning process. Students can become so caught up in trying to understand and satisfy the requirement that they post simply to get the requirement behind them to get the points. There needs to be enough flexibility in the requirements to allow for natural, genuine participation. Examples follow.

Checklist

Assume that you are having students critique an article or controversial topic. You might give them the following guidelines as a checklist before discussion begins.

• You must contribute at least twice a week to the discussion by:
  • contributing new and relevant information
  • challenging a peer's comment (support your reason)
  • Asking for clarification
  • Answer another student's question
• Comments cannot be just "I agree" or "I disagree" (Why agree/disagree?)
• The total number of points for this discussion is 4 points; two points per contribution to the discussion. However, please participate as frequently as you like.
• This discussion topic will close on Friday of this week

This gives the students flexibility in how they will participate. Your role as the instructor/facilitator is to get the ball rolling, and then stand back. You step in only when the discussion falters or needs direction. You might pose a question to infuse new energy or correct misinformation in the discussion.

Rubrics for Grading Discussion

Rubrics are guidelines that are presented in the form of a matrix (table). They can be good, but there is a tendency for them to be very complicated. The reason instructors might want to use a rubric is that rubrics allow for a more quantitative and qualitative approach to grading online discussions. The problem with some rubrics is that they are frequently too complicated and too vague in expectations. Consider the following examples.

Quantitative Rubric

The criteria in this rubric are quite easy to follow. There is clear delineation between the different values (points). Now ask yourself this question: Are you going to actually sit down and tally all of this information for every student? This becomes a writing analysis, and that's fine if you think this level of analysis is what you're really after, but be aware that it could create a lot of work for you. Be careful what you ask for.

Qualitative Rubric

Let's look at another example of a rubric. This time we are going to look at things from a qualitative point of view.

Do you see a problem here? What is "average," "good," and "excellent." If more than one instructor were to use this rubric to grade the same set of students, would they arrive at the same point? Because the definitions for "average," "good," and "excellent" are not given, expectations are vague. There appears to be room for subjectiveness in judgment. This is not to suggest that qualitative rubrics are bad or not possible, but you need to define the terms so that you and the students have a clear picture of what these terms mean. In the example above, what does "substantive" and "demonstrates understanding" mean?

Engage Your Students in Rubric Development

If you prefer to use a rubric with your students, you might ask the class to help you develop one. Getting buy-in from the students on how they will be assessed in online discussions will help raise awareness, and perhaps promote good discussions.

Conclusion

Because discussion grading is so relative to each discipline and situation, it is beyond the scope of this site to address all needs. There are many examples of online discussion guidelines. As an online instructor, you will need to research strategies that suit your needs and discipline. If you are interested in searching for examples, do a search for "online discussion rubrics." The next section lists external sites for topics on online discussions.

Nota Bene: It might be useful for faculty within a degree program to come up with a discussion checklist or rubric (or several versions for different purposes) that could be used in all courses.

If you'd like to discuss discussion strategies with someone in the Center for Online Learning, please contact us here.

Tips and Strategies

Inquiry Strategies

Avoiding Online Discussion Pitfalls

Activities to Promote Online Discussion

Using Online Discussions to Enhance Face-to-Face Classes

Promoting Durable Knowledge Construction through Online Discussion

Evaluating students' participation in on-line discussions

Facilitating Online Learning: Tip and Suggestions

Grading Online Discussions

The Critical Thinking Community