ONLINE Discussion: Expectations and Interventions

1. ONLINE Discussion: Expectations and Interventions Marc Thompson, Ph.D., Instructional Designer, Academic Outreach, University of Illinois

2. Your Experiences? • What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from your experiences with online discussion? • What interventions or adjustments did you make as a result of what you learned?

3. Background • Introduction to Fiction--online redesign of F2F course • Summer 2000 development timeframe • Average class enrollment = 25-30 students

4. Faculty Perceptions and Concerns • lack of interaction • one-sided interaction • missing the spontaneity of F2F exchange • lack of student motivation to participate actively

5. Initial Plan for Online Discussion • WebBoard for discussion board with WebCT LMS • 4-8 discussion questions per week + Open Forum • Weekly deadline (midnight Sunday) • Posting Requirements: 2 direct responses, 2 replies, 2 Open Forum postings • Posting Criteria: a well-developed paragraph with clear thesis and support

6. Results and Interventions

7. Legitimizing Interpretation • No “right or wrong” answers per se • Responses are often an expression of personal judgment about some aspect of the stories read • Not testing factual knowledge but the ability to think critically and creatively about the stories read • Impressionistic responses are distinguished from informed judgments on the basis of how well judgments are supported and illustrated

8. Using Sample Postings with Commentary • Examples that lack detail, clear purpose, or support • Examples with purpose that are detailed and well supported • How to move beyond head nodding and back patting • How to extend another student’s line of questioning or interpretation • How to express a difference of opinion respectfully • How to raise questions that advance discussion or provoke further thought

9. Online Discussion Criteria • PURPOSEDoes the thesis express a clear and specific purpose? Are responses to the questions specific or do they veer away from the question and lose focus? • SUPPORTDoes the posting use specific and carefully chosen details and examples from the text to help support or illustrate the comment or question? (NOTE: Vague or largely impressionistic responses will receive no credit.) • DEVELOPMENTDoes the posting exhibit an organized progression of thought that advances a particular judgment, claim, or question raised in the thesis? • ORIGINALITYDoes the comment or question merely echo what other classmates have already said in that discussion thread, or does the posting acknowledge what others have said thus far and use that information as a point of departure for further exploration.  • CORRECT FORMIs the comment or question free of distracting typos, misspelled or missing words, and grammatical problems? If quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing, does the author of the comment or question refer readers to the relevant page number(s) in the text?

10. Rubric

11. Rubric (continued)

12. What I Learned about Facilitating Online Discussion • Resist the temptation to intervene too frequently. • Summarize key points where appropriate. • Highlight particularly effective postings. • Offer individual guidance privately by e-mail, rather than via the discussion board. • Reorient discussion if focus has drifted off topic. • Choose questions and activities that invite further discussion rather than a finite response.