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Under this section, we'll look at these topics that pertain to "running" a discussion group:
The Warm-Up Activity
Topic Selection and Questioning Strategies
Working with Small Groups
Peer Evaluations
Summarizing Discussions
ESL Students
Other Discussion Strategies
The Warm-Up Activity
Research conducted by the British Open
University, one of the world’s largest distance education institutions,
indicates that early positive experiences with discussion groups leads to
improved student performance in subsequent discussion activities.
An initial warm-up activity, such as an “ice
breaker,” provides participants an opportunity to learn how to use
the discussion software in non-threatening environment.
A common induction exercise consists of student introductions, where each participant shares some biographical information about himself or herself. The instructor provides the first introduction thereby modeling the desired performance for the students. The instructor should respond to all participants, welcoming them, and encouraging them to develop proficiency with the discussion group software. Warm-up activities help students build confidence and can help users to identify technical problems early on.
The warm-up activity should not be graded. However, the instructor may want to award points to all participants to ensure that they engage in the exercise. Laurel Branen of the University of Idaho describes how she uses a warm-up activity in her online Eating Disorders course.
Branen on warm-up activities (:44)
Click here for text-only version.
Topic Selection and Questioning Strategies
Choose a great topic. The foundation for an effective interactive
learning activity is a relevant and interesting discussion topic provides the
foundation for an effective learning activity.
Select discussion topics from issues that have no correct or obvious answers. Examine the course content to identify unresolved problems, controversies, or wide-ranging areas of concern. Topics that appeal directly to students' life experiences, interests, and ambitions, will help stimulate interest.
In a 1999 study, Bart Beaudin surveyed experienced online educators to identify key methods for keeping online discussions on topic. The 135 participants in the study identified the careful design of discussion questions as the most important technique for keeping discussions focused. (Source: Beaudin, B. P. (1999). Keeping Online Asynchronous Discussions on Topic. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 3 (2), 41-53. Available online at http://www.aln.org/publications/jaln/v3n2/v3n2_beaudin.asp )
Ask stimulating questions. Develop clear and concise questions that relate directly to the discussion topic and the instructional objectives.
Use questions that solicit ideas and information to begin a discussion or dialogue. Open-ended inquiries, such as "how" or "why" type questions, encourage analysis and critical thinking.
As the dialogue progresses, ask questions to encourage elaboration or clarification. The original question may need to be restated or reworded if the discussion starts to move off the topic.
Working with Small Groups
Assembling small groups or teams of students is a strategy that enhances
effective management of online discussions. Discussion group software readily
accommodates the creation of multiple discussion boards.
Establishing a separate discussion for each small group helps reduce confusion and the likelihood of “losing a thread.” The total number of discussion postings in the class will be distributed among multiple discussion boards resulting in fewer messages in the discussion. Group members can more easily focus on their own discussion activity.
Small groups are an effective method for managing the instructor’s workload. The instructor can provide feedback to the group rather than to individual students. Design the group activity so that the group members evaluate each others’ work.
Here are some other considerations when working with small groups:
Group Size: Experienced distance educators recommend that small groups for online discussions have no more than eight members. Many educators suggest that five to six members is the best group size.
Assigning Students to Groups: There are several possible ways to assign class members to groups. Divide the students based on common interests or skills. Combine the more enthusiastic students with the less active participants. Group membership can be retained during the entire term or can be changed several times during the course. Maintaining the same membership will help the group develop routines and consistency. However, rotating group members can help prevent the occurrence of persistently underperforming teams.
Group Activities and Projects: Group members can be assigned roles in a discussion activity. For example, a debate can be structured where individuals or subgroups are assigned pro and con positions. Other group members can critique the arguments. A small group discussion can be one component of a larger group assignment such as a paper or project.
Drawbacks: There are drawbacks to group activities. Poor performance by just one group member can have a detrimental effect on the entire group. The instructor can communicate privately with an under-performing participant. Another disadvantage is that small groups may be excluded from the ideas and concepts generated by other discussion groups. The instructor can synthesize and share the good ideas generated by the other groups.
Peer Evaluations
Students in online courses can review, evaluate, and critique other students'
work. Peer evaluation activities can be conducted using discussion
groups. They are challenging to carry out but provide valuable learning
opportunities. Peer evaluations can save the instructor time by distributing
some of the assessment workload to the class participants.
Although the peer reviews can be conducted using a single discussion forum involving the entire class, it is recommended that they be performed in small discussion groups.
In a peer evaluation activity, selected students
submit or post an assigned paper to the discussion group by a certain date. The other group members read and evaluate the
paper and post their critique to the discussion.
It is necessary to inform students early in the course that they will be evaluating each other. Clearly define the steps involved in the peer evaluation and provide guidelines that specify the student's responsibilities. It is a good idea to conduct an ungraded, practice activity to build understanding of the process and model desired behaviors. This trial can be performed using a single discussion board for the entire class.
The instructor must monitor and moderate the peer evaluations. Most students are unaccustomed to giving grades and they may be wary of assigning a grade to a peer. Suggest that the students use qualitative evaluation terms such as “superior, good, fair, and poor” instead of letter grades.
Some students may need guidance in developing appropriate critiques. The following examples are quoted from You Can Teach Online: Building a Creative Learning Environment, (2001) by Gary S. Moore, Kathryn Winograd, & Dan Lange (p. 11.30).
1. Discuss what is successful in the work using detailed examples from the paper itself to support what you said. Don't just say, “I really like this.” Say: “The reasoning behind this analysis is exceptional because … For example, …”
2. Discuss what is not as successful in the work. Don't just say, “I didn't like it”; “It was confusing”; etc. Give examples, be specific in explaining what you had problems with in reading this piece.
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One of the instructor’s key roles is to monitor and moderate discussions. Regular and frequent summarization of the discussion is necessary to keep discussions active and focused. (Students also can be assigned to take on the role of moderator and summarizer for a discussion group.) A summary and synthesis of student comments helps participants grasp the salient points of the discussion. Summaries also provide an opportunity for “weaving” the ideas generated in discussion to the course concepts, theories, and related readings. A summary also provides an illustrative wrap up at the conclusion of a discussion. An ending summary provides a final opportunity for highlighting and clarification. It is useful to use a summary of the discussion to end. |
To construct discussion summaries, use
conventions from verbal communication practices. For example, include a brief
synopsis of who said what, to whom, and when. Use snippets or excerpts from the
original postings. If the discussion software allows, use text formatting
(bold, italic, underlining, etc.) to differentiate the passages.
ESL (English as a Second
Language) Students
Students whose primary language is other than English can find distance education courses challenging. Courses that require significant amounts of communication through text-based discussions can be particularly difficult for the ESL students.
The asynchronous nature of online discussions is beneficial to accommodating the needs of ESL learners because it allows them more time to interpret conversations and to formulate their responses. One recent study indicated that ESL students were more active in online discussions than in classroom conversations. The ESL learners felt more confident expressing themselves online rather than in face-to-face discussions.
ESL students are likely to have more difficulty performing in online chats because of the synchronous nature of the discussions.
We have covered key strategies for
discussion groups. Here are some variations on these strategies:
Guest Lectures
Informal Discussion Groups
Private Discussion Groups
Anonymous Discussion Groups
Course Announcements
Guest Lectures: Invite guest experts to interact with participants in online discussions. Guest lecturers can lead and facilitate entire discussions or they can be a guest contributor to dialogues. Guest lecturers lead discussions each week in John Foltz's Agribusiness Management course. In the following video, Foltz describes benefits and challenges of working with guest lecturers. As Foltz indicates, involving a guest lecturer in an online discussion takes more time than arranging a single appearance in an on-campus class. The guest must be given an opportunity to access and learn the discussion software and to understand the objectives of the discussion activity. Guest lecture discussions are typically presented in one discussion group for the entire class.
Foltz discusses using guest lecturer (1:15)
Click here for text-only version.
Informal
Discussion Groups: Many instructors create informal discussion
areas for their students. Often labeled with names like "Cafe" or
"Water Cooler," informal discussion boards provide learners with a
casual gathering place where they participate in discussions at will and
discuss any subject they choose.
Private (Students-only) Discussion Groups: Some learning management systems allow the creation of private discussion groups. These are accessible only by students and are not viewable by the instructor. A private, students-only discussion group enables course participants to openly discuss any aspect of the course. Note that because instructors set up the private discussion groups, students may be suspicious as to whether the instructor is actually restricted from viewing the discussion content.
Anonymous
Discussion Groups: Most
standard discussion software enables instructors to allow participants to post
messages anonymously. This feature can be used to gather course feedback from
participants. Anonymous posting can be used to facilitate discussions about
controversial or personal subjects. Laurel Branen at the
Course Announcements: Instructors can use threaded discussions to post course announcements or answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs). These messages can be published on a regular course web page or e-mailed to the students. Placing them on a discussion board offers students an opportunity to respond with questions or comments and provides a public record of the dialogue.
Here is an overall
checklist (review) for discussion groups.
You may want to move on to chat sessions.
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