Leading Online Discussions

Pre-Discussion

• Indicate in syllabus multiple ways for the students to reach you beyond email (e.g., telephone, fax, mail).
• Indicate in syllabus telephone # of technical person to call for help.
• In syllabus, clearly state expectations (e.g., "students will post discussion remarks, at least, twice a week"), timelines for discussions (e.g., "all entries must be posted by Friday, 4:00pm of each week"), and evaluation guidelines (e.g., use performance rubric- see appendix #3).
• Pre-survey students to get a sense of their familiarity with online learning generally, and online discussions specifically (veterans can serve as contacts for students experiencing problems).
• Establish online discussion partners (e.g., "are you having problems getting in, too?").
• Pre-assign students to smaller discussion groups (4-7 members)-groups are easier to track and less intimidating for student to participate in.
• Encourage students to link their remarks to the readings and/or the remarks of others.
• Have a contingency plan in case on-line discussion fails.

During-Discussion

• Open the discussion with a welcoming remark.
• Make the first discussion a non-evaluated ice-breaker activity (e.g., discussion of syllabus).
• Use a "prompt" (e.g., reading assignments, case studies, visuals or audio) to drive student response.
• Initiate an online discussion with a sentence completion exercise:

• • "What most strikes me about the text we read to prepare for discussion today is..."
  • "The question that I'd most like to ask the author of the text is..."
  • "The idea I most take issue with in the text is..."
  • "The most crucial point from last week's lecture was..."

• Initiate an online discussion with a contentious opening statement by an authority figure (e.g., "People aren't important to the University. ")
• If using the online discussion to enhance a traditional course, link information during class meetings to online discussions:

• • Provide context-end the class introducing question(s) that will be a part of the online discussion.
  • Reference (sub-reference) discussion points during class meetings-let students know that the issues and observations from online discussions are valued.

• Give constant feedback on postings-let students know you're following the discussion (i.e., 2-10 hours a week reported by instructors).
• Realize need for multiple instructional roles (e.g., coordinator, facilitator, technology professional, guardian of space, administrator, model, mentor, coach, cheerleader).
• Read student discussion points with an eye toward unanswered questions or points of confusion.
• Use directives and first-person in a friendly conversational-tone.
• Avoid the tendency to write simply in bullet-phrases.
• Spell-check your work (e.g., word process your responses and download).
• Create an environment where students feel socially involved.

Post-Discussion

• Use "one minute assessments" to assess the value of the discussions.

• • What is one thing that still needs clarification?
  • What question has been raised as a result of the discussion?
  • How can the online discussions be made more effective?
  • What point that was made by another individual in your discussion group did you find most thought-provoking?

• Evaluate the discussion of students in terms of what you value. Typical (potential) criteria:

• • Clarity
  • Insightful
  • Relevance
  • Respectful of others
  • Timeliness
  • Awareness of discussion points of others
  • Identifies themes, patterns, discrepancies
  • Integrates, synthesizes and/or evaluates the remarks in the discussion
  • Awareness of reading, case study, etc.

Sources

Caffarella, R.S., B. Duning and S. Patrick. (1992). Delivering off-campus instruction:

Chaning roles and responsibilities of professors in higher education. Continuing Higher Education Review, 56, (3), 155-167.

Driscoll, M. (1998). Web-based training. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Fredericksen, E., A. Pickett, W. Pelz, Swan, K., & P. Shea. (1999, August).

Student satisfaction and perceived learning with online courses: Principles and examples from the SUNY learning network. Report issued by The State University of New York.

Hanna, D.E., M. Glowacki-Dudka & S. Conceicao-Runlee (2000).

147 practical tips for teaching online groups. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing.

McIsaac. M.S., J.M. Blocher, V. Mahes, & C. Vrasidas. (1999).

Student and teacherperceptions of interaction in online computer-mediated communication. Education Media International, 36,(2), 121-131.

Meisel, S., and B. Marx. (1999). Screen-to-screen versus face-to-face:

Experiencing the differences in management education. Journal of Management Education, 23, (6), 719-731.

Merisotis, J.P. & R. A. Phipps. (1999). What's the difference? Change, 31 (3), 12-17.

Palloff, R. & K. Pratt. (1999). Building learning communities in cyberspace:

Effective strategies for the online classroom. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Zhang, P. (1998). A case study on technology use in distance learning.

Journal of Research on Computing Education, 30, 4, 398-420.