Many decisions are made when designing discussion activities. The following questions must be addressed in planning the course:

• Should student participation in the discussion be required, or is it optional?
• Will the student receive a grade for participation?
• How many postings will each student be required to make?
• Will the entire class participate in a single discussion or will students be assigned to small groups?
• Should the students be expected to use correct spelling and grammar?

The appropriate answers to these questions depend on several factors: the nature and level of the course, the class size, student characteristics, the instructor’s preferences, and, of course, the instructional objectives of the discussion activity.

Experienced distance educators usually recommend that students be required to participate in discussions and receive a grade for their performance. Small groups are preferred since they help minimize confusion and the chance for “losing a thread.”

Regardless of the parameters that are selected for the discussion, there are five ground rules that instructors must provide to the students for the discussions:

1. Communicate the instructional objectives for the discussion activity. A clearly communicated instructional goal ties the interaction activity to the course content and identifies desired student learning outcomes.

2. Provide specific instructions and guidelines for the discussion. Experienced distance educators know that explicitness is a virtue in Web-based courses. It is better to err on the side of having too much detail in the instructions than not enough. Laurel Branen of the University of Idaho describes how confusion can arise for learners participating in discussions even when things seem clear to the instructor.

Branen on confusion during discussion groups (:48)

Click here for text-only version.

Please remember that we recommend using RealPlayer to open the video files. To find the RealPlayer Web site, click here.

Discussion guidelines should include:

The discussion schedule (e.g., start and end dates)
Deadlines for postings and responses
Grading scheme (value of the grade for discussion relative to the overall course grade)
Rules for etiquette
Guidelines for spelling and grammar
If you assign small groups, provide ground rules for group work

3. Clearly state expectations for student performance. It is essential to communicate standards for student participation in the discussion activities. Specify the required level of participation including the number of original postings and/or responses. Indicate the expected quality of the student’s contribution to the discussion. Explain whether a statement of opinion is acceptable or if supporting data is required?

John Foltz, professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Idaho, conducts a weekly discussion activity in his Agribusiness Management class. In this video, Foltz describes his expectations for the quality of student contributions in discussions.

Foltz on quality of student contributions (:45)
Click here for text-only version.

4. Convey the instructor’s responsibility for the discussion. Announce up front the instructor’s responsibilities and level of direct participation in the discussion. For example, let the students know if the instructor will read and/or respond only to selected postings.

5. Explain the criteria for evaluation (grading) of the student's activities in the discussion. Clearly describe how the students’ postings and responses will be evaluated and graded. However, grading individual discussion postings can be challenging. John Foltz describes how he grades participation in the weekly discussion in his course.

Foltz on grading discussions (:46)
Click here for text-only version.

A grading rubric can be a useful tool for grading discussion message content. (A rubric is a set of rules or directions that guide the scoring of educational activities that are subjective in nature.) A good example of a rubric for assessing student participation in discussion groups is presented by Susan Edelstein and Jason Edwards in their article titled “If You Build It, They Will Come: Building Learning Communities Through Threaded Discussions.” The article and rubric 

worksheet are available online from the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration web site (http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring51/edelstein51.html). We'll talk more about rubrics in Destination 9: Assessment and Evaluation.

Let's put it "all together" by learning how to "run" discussion group.
Or you may review what you've learned.

Destination 5: 16 of 18