Planning Courses
Notice:

Many of the samples refer to the Blackboard learning management system.

Planning Online Course Guide

Create Opportunities for Community Building

"A free exchange of ideas, opinions, and feelings is the lifeblood of collaborative learning." - J. McKinley

Threaded discussions can serve as a learning tool that fosters in-depth, academic discussion, an arena in which students work collaboratively or conduct peer analysis, or simply a place where they can virtually communicate with each other. Threaded discussion used well can be an effective learning tool that encourages students to engage in higher order thinking activities.

Creating good questions is one of the most important factors in designing successful threaded discussions. The following are some question possibilities.

  • The open-ended question: Ask for the how’s and the why’s instead of the what’s.
  • The controversial question: That the unpopular stand and get your students riled up.
  • The “naivety” question: Ask the “dumb” question to get your students talking.
  • The “synthesizer” question: Draw from related reading materials, asking your students to determine what “person A” would have to say about “Person B” because of “C”.
  • The peer facilitator question: Have the students sign up for a facilitation week and give each student responsibility for addressing a major point/topical question, soliciting input from their peers, and posting a summary of the discussion at the end of the week.
Sample

Interaction is a very important part of learning, and it is especially integral to online learning. Notice that 40% of your grade is determined by Discussion Room participation and facilitation. I'll be looking for you to make significant contributions to the discussion every week. You get points for answering questions, thoughtful responses, additional questions, useful Web finds, anything that moves the learning forward. This shouldn't be the educational equivalent of spamming. Check in a couple of times a week, and don't fall asleep at your computer. You also don't want to leave the Discussion Room facilitator for the week twisting in the wind, so check to see if they have asked any questions and help them out. They'll do the same for you when it is your turn.

The success of our discussion room is dependent on each student feeling comfortable to share their opinions, wrestle with ideas and concepts, and ask questions in a safe and supportive environment. As J. McKinley so aptly states: "A free exchange of ideas, opinions, and feelings is the lifeblood of collaborative learning." This is the class climate we wish to establish.

If you are not going to be able to participate for some reason, please let me know ahead of time by email or phone.

Another important factor is keeping the discussions on topic. The following suggestions can assist in accomplishing this goal.

  1. Creating well-designed questions that keep students topic focused (see question possibilities noted above.)
  2. Provide a new discussion forum/area for each week or topic. If one forum is used for the entire term the threads may get rather long and hard to follow.
  3. Provide parameters or guidelines for what constitutes an acceptable response (rubrics work very well.)
  4. Revise threaded discussion questions when responses are off-target. If a question is not working well and students are confused, change it immediately and send out an email to students regarding the change o post a new thread with the revised question and associated questions.
  5. Bring a tread to closure by summarizing the issues presented and resolved in the discussion; pinpoint especially interesting and informative responses by your students. This summary can be emailed to the students, posted to the end of the threaded discussion, or posted in the weekly announcements of the course site.
  6. Give clear detailed directions to your students on what you want in their responses at the beginning of each thread.
  7. Provide an informal threaded discussion elsewhere in the course. This can be a good place for students to post non- content related questions or to socialize online.
  8. When appropriate post reminders that students stay on topic. If students begin to stray from the topic, post an item to the discussion pushing everyone back in the right direction. If the direction the students have strayed is a good one, reinforce it and allow the discussion to focus on the new topic.
  9. Provide incentives for students to participate in the online discussions by attributing a discernable percentage of the grade to this activity (can be tied to the rubric noted in item 2.)
  10. Privately reprimand and give constructive feedback to students who make off-topic postings or fail to meet posting requirements.
  11. Delete/hide threaded discussion postings by those students who refuse to play by the rules and then deny them access to the threads and lower their class participation grade.

Click on the following tabs to review guidelines and recommendation for designing discussion questions.

  • General Tips
  • Higher Order Thinking
  • Socratic Dialog
  • Open Ended

Tips for Strengthening Discussions

  • When introducing a new thought/concept/introduction, be sure to start by clicking "Add New Thread."
  • The subject line is important. When starting a new thread, make sure to create a subject line that both clues in the reader and catches the eye of the audience.
  • When replying to a posting, leave the "re:" position of the subject line, but feel free to edit the subject line to express how you are extending the conversation. This way everyone can get a quick glance at the direction of the conversation within a thread without actually opening each posting.
  • Provide an assessment rubric to the students that defines your expectations.
Sample Discussion Posting

Meyer states, and research shows, that the type of trigger question used at the start of a discussion effects the level of response (low/high) from other students and may also elicit students to provide additional information and apply higher level critical thinking skills. It is also stated that posing such questions may mean training and rewarding students to operate at higher levels.

As an instructor, what is your experience with the response level and the level of critical thinking skills that students have applied to questions you’ve posed (either face to face or online)? Please do your best to provide an example and post it to the discussion board to share with your peers.

  • How was the question formulated/presented?
  • What was the response of the students to the question?
  •  What level of student participation did you have? 
  • What role did you play within the discussion? 
  • What would you/did you do differently in this situation?

Plan on adding at least one new topic to the Discussion Board Forum each week. Make sure this topic requires students to formulate an answer and back it up with facts to demonstrate their understanding. Monitor and respond to student threads and encourage student to do the same.

There are several approaches to asking good questions. The following are samples of the types of discussion questions that can be designed based on Blooms higher order thinking taxonomy.

 

Knowledge (remembering): Recall or reorganization of specific information

  • Who, what, when, where, how ____________?
  • Using mind mapping software describe ______________________?
  • Create a bookmark list of ________________ .

Comprehension (understanding): Constructing meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining.

  • Retell _______________________ in your own words.
  • As a group make a timeline of the main events of _____________ .
  • Use a set of symbols and graphics to draw a ___________ condition, method, or sequence.

Application (applying): Ability to use learned material in new and concrete situations

  • Design a presentation explaining how is _______________ an example of _______________ .
  • Develop a series of charts noting how is ________________ related to _____________ .
  • Create a podcast discussing why ___________________ is significant to __________ .

Analysis (analyzing): take concepts apart, break them down, analyze structure, recognize assumptions, and evaluate relevancy

  • Survey peer group to determine what are parts or features of ________________?
  • Develop a sharable web-based spreadsheet classifying __________ according to ____________ ?
  • Outline/ diagram/ mind map ____________________ ?
  • How does ________________ compare/contrast with _________?
  • What evidence can you present for ___________________?

Synthesis (evaluating): making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing.

  • Design a blog noting what would you predict/ infer from ______________ ?
  • Facilitate a peer based video conference discussing ideas that can be added to _____________?
  • How would your create/ design a new _____________?
  • What might happen if ___________ were combined with _________ ?
  • As a team brainstorm solutions for _____________ ?

Evaluation (creating): putting element together to form a coherent or functional whole

  • As a team develop alternatives or hypotheses based on ________________________ .
  • Devise a procedure for accomplishing ________________ .
  • Create a product, give it a name and plan a marketing campaign within ___________ parameters.
  • Prioritize ________ according to ____________ .
  • Write and produce a documentary about X defining 5 impacts on Y.
  • What criteria would you use to assess ___________ ?

The following are are four types of questions that are useful in probing and extending student thinking in Socratic fashion. (Paul, 1993)

 

Origins

  • How did you come to think this?
  • Can you remember the circumstances in which you formed this belief?

Support

  • Why do you believe this?
  • Do you have evidence for this?
  • What are some of the reasons why people believe this?
  • In believing this, arn't you assuming that such and such is true?
  • Is that a sound assumption do you think?

Conflict with Other Thoughts

  • Some people might object to your position by saying... How would you answer them?
  • What do you think of this contrasting view?
  • How would you answer the objection that .... ?

Implications and Consequences

  • What are the practical consequences of believing this?
  • What would we have to do to put it into action?
  • What follows from the view that ... ?
  • Would 't we also have to believe that ... in order to be consistent?
  • Are you implying that ... ?

Open-ended questions with no single right answer work well with small groups. These type of questions assist students in clarifying their thought processes. Some examples of short, one-two week small group projects are:

 

  • Compare the usefulness or reliability of course-related internet resources (instructor should provide a list of URLs).
  • Prepare both sides of a debatable issue.
  • Predict what will happen if...
  • Recommend two alternatives to solving problem X.
  • List 5 significant questions not addressed by the assigned readings and select the top two, explaining their importance.
  • Apply the principles that apply to case X in the textbook to this new situation (case Y); how are the two cases similar and different?
  • How would you establish the reliability of procedure X?
  • On what grounds could you oppose the theory that....?
  • A problem in our society is X; what are some good ways to investigate its causes?

 

Resources & Tools

Books
Articles/Websites/Blogs
Icebreakers and Group-Building Activities
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