Description Discussion forums are commonly used in online courses because benefits are multiple. However, instructors and students may find it daunting to read tens or hundreds of posts. One way to make online discussions less overwhelming is to allow alternative means of expression. Instead of writing, students may be encouraged to use images, voice, and …
Continue reading “Support Students to Use Multimedia in Discussion Forum”
Related Tags:
Accessibility,
Assessment,
Discussions,
Multimedia,
Video
Description In order to build the scaffolding for learning, students need to acquire knowledge to build from. Lectures and chapter reading assignments can make current Instructional Designers cringe, but often times it is a time-efficient strategy to deliver content. What the authors of Make it Stick illustrate so well is that often when learners listen …
Continue reading “Use a Reflective Online Discussion Activity to Help Students Solidify Learning”
Related Tags:
Active Learning,
Assessment,
Constructivism,
Discussions,
Feedback,
Lecture,
Peer Learning,
Piazza,
Questioning,
Reading,
Reflection
Description As faculty, we are always trying to both stimulate student engagement and assess learning. One method for increasing student engagement that has been gaining in popularity is engaging students in role play activities. These activities can vary in scale from large, multi-day events (such as Reacting to the Past) to smaller activities contained within …
Continue reading “Use Role Play to Increase Student Engagement in Online Discussions”
Related Tags:
Collaborative Learning,
Discussions,
Engagement,
Interaction,
Role Play
Description Asynchronous discussions are often utilized in online courses and while they can be effective toward creating and sustaining a learning community, they are not effective if not optimally designed. It can sometimes be difficult for students to converse in a way in which knowledge is co-constructed, and a way in which students can constructively …
Continue reading “Implement Tuning Protocol to Improve Online Discussion Peer Replies and Assignment Quality”
Related Tags:
Assessment,
Course Protocol,
Discussions,
Interaction,
Large Classes
Description Peer review is a strategy steeped in the social interaction proposed as essential to cognitive development by scholars such as Bruner and Vygotsky (Price, O’Donovan, & Rust, 2007; Hughes, Ventura, & Dando, 2004). Peer review involves small groups or pairs of students sharing work with one another, creating an environment where students can develop …
Continue reading “Foster Peer Review Using Online Discussion”
Related Tags:
Cognitive Theory,
Discussions,
Expertise,
Interaction,
Peer Review,
Scaffolding,
Social Learning
Description One of the major challenges in higher education is for students to find relevance and value in the content they are learning in the classroom (Ambrose, 2010). This extends to the online discussion, where students sometimes do not see the value in actively participating the discussion and do the bare minimum to complete the …
Continue reading “Encourage Authentic Learning in Online Discussions through Photovoice”
Related Tags:
Anthropology,
Authentic Learning,
Discussions,
Interaction,
Photovoice
Description Reading assignments are often the basis for understanding much of the information and material content delivered in class. It can often be challenging – and overwhelming for students – to encourage reading and assess comprehension in the absence of traditional face-to-face class discussions. Utilizing student created discussion prompts as a means for peer review …
Continue reading “Use Student Created Discussion Prompts for Peer Review”
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Assessment,
Discussions,
Feedback,
Peer Review
Description Supporting college students to develop critical thinking skills is an overarching goal in higher education. Students with developed critical thinking skills have the ability to evaluate their own arguments as well as others, resolve conflicts, and generate well-reasoned resolutions to complex problems (Behar-Horenstein & Niu, 2011). Given that there is an exponential increase in …
Continue reading “Use a Guided Approach to Support Critical Thinking in Online Discussions”
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Assessment,
Critical Thinking,
Discussions,
Facilitation,
Interaction,
Rubric,
Social Connection
Description Selecting an effective discussion topic is important, but does not guarantee an interactive, fruitful discussion. It is crucial for instructor to set the stage and establish clear expectations for how students should participate in the discussion. Learning Objectives Before designing an online discussion, think about what you want your students to learn from the …
Continue reading “Set Discussion Expectations”
Related Tags:
Course Protocol,
Discussions,
Expectations,
Facilitation,
Interaction
Description While students may express a desire for more student-centered collaboration in the discussions, they may not fully understand the responsibility required to achieve it (Kanuka et al., 2007). Along with a thoughtful discussion prompt, facilitation during the discussion is often necessary to support students to engage in critical discourse (DeSmet et al., 2008; Maurino …
Continue reading “Select a Discussion Facilitator”
