Communication Plan - Part II: Discussion Forum Strategies

Part II:  Discussion Forum Strategies

Below are strategies to use in discussion forums, including guidelines for students to follow.

Strategy #1:  Icebreakers

During the first week of class, begin with an icebreaker.  This can be a discussion, game, or other type of activity where the purpose is for the instructor and students to get to know each other a little more personally.  This sets a positive tone for future discussions in the class, and may release tension for those who are nervous about participating in online discussions.

Example Activities (taken from University of South Alabama's Icebreaker page):

Memory Lane. Since so many online students are so diverse in age as well as other things, such as ethnicity, it is good to close or expose the generation gaps that might exist. Ask the students to list three major world events that happened the year in which they were born, then have the other members guess the year and post a short response on whether they remembered the events or had never heard of them.--Sarah Odom

My post for such an activity would be this:  During the year I was born, 1) U.S. troops were withdrawn from Vietnam and the Paris Peace Agreement was signed; 2) The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York were complete; and 3) Watergate hearings were held in the U.S. Senate.

Here is another example:

Two Lies and A Truth. My activity for my students is for them to list three interesting things about themselves. (I own two iguanas; I once shook hands with Tom Cruise; and I love to waterski.) Two must be lies and one must be true. Other students must vote to determine which interesting thing is a lie. The student with the most incorrect votes wins. --Suhana Chikatla

My post might be like this:  1) I have two brothers and three sisters.  2) I speak Spanish and French.  3) I love to play the wii more than my son.

Please check out the link above to find more icebreaker activities.  You can find so many more of them online, and you can even adapt face-to-face icebreakers into online activities.


Strategy #2:  Discussion Forum Guidelines

It is important that students know what is expected of them.  It is not enough to post discussion questions and set due dates.  As a discussion facilitator, the instructor should set guidelines for participating in the forums.  Guidelines should include a rubric (please see the example in Part 3 of this Plan); rules of netiquette; and the purpose of discussion boards.  This will show students the value of online discussions and how to maximize their potential for creating effective communication at a distance - and, for using higher order thinking skills.

Example Guidelines for a Course

Every two weeks, we will begin a new module, and each module will contain a new discussion forum.  The purpose of the forum is for all of you to express your ideas on the current topic; discuss and synthesize the readings and other resources over the course of the term; and generate new ideas from each other.  Everyone has a unique perspective, and if everyone shares their perspectives and keeps their minds open to new ones - that's when new ideas emerge, and previous ideas evolve.  It gives all of you the chance to look at things in a fresh way and learn from each other.

Please refer to the rubric so you will know what is expected of you as far as word count, references, due dates, and substance.  If you have any questions or suggestions about the rubric, please contact me at my email address, or begin a new thread on the main discussion forum.

It is always a good idea to refer to the rules of netiquette.  For this course, please respect the following rules:

1. Be polite in expressing your ideas and be respectful of others' ideas.  Do not put anyone down no matter how strongly you disagree.
2. When you find yourself upset by someone's post, give yourself time to calm down.  Ask a clarifying question to be sure of what he or she meant.  Sometimes things come across a different way than what was intended.
3. Keep your posts relevant to the topic.  If you want to discuss something else, post it in the appropriate discussion forum (social, FAQ, technical, etc.).
4. Give credit to others' ideas that you use in your posts.  Link to the resource so your classmates have the option to view them.
5. Use appropriate language, and do not overuse emoticons, and chat abbreviations like "lol" (it's okay to use them a little bit; we don't have to be too formal).
6. Do not post in all caps; it is likened to shouting. I think most people know this by now, but sometimes an all-caps post will sneak into the forums.

Finally, I want you to understand how discussion forums encourage you to be critical thinkers.  Practicing this skill in discussion forums will benefit you in all subjects you study/research/write about.  Most of you have heard of Bloom's Taxonomy.  Red River College has a page that breaks down the application of Bloom's Taxonomy to the Pledge of Allegiance.  Please click here to review it.  Then, think about how discussion forums help you to use analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, which are at the higher end of the skills set.  In discussion forums, you will analyze the readings in their context, apply them to the concepts of the module, and evaluate their merit.  This is more valuable than simply remembering what you've read, and using the reading to come up with an answer to the question.  This is not about getting a good grade, or telling the instructor what you think he or she wants to hear.  This is for your benefit and learning.  You will truly get out of the discussion forums what you put into them.


Stategy #3:  Student-Facilitated Discussions

Give students first-hand knowledge of what it means to be the facilitator in a discussion forum.  They will gain a different perspective and a new appreciation for the instructor role.  Post a set of guidelines for developing a question, and show them a list of different facilitator roles that they can assume.

Example Assignment for a Course

You are the instructor/facilitator for this discussion.  Please read about the different facilitator roles and decide which one is the most appropriate for you assume.  The reading will give you strategies for effectively implementing that role to get the most out of student participation.

Be clear about your expectations for student posts.  Keep your discussion question(s) concise and relevant to the learning objectives for the module.  After posting the question, do not be surprised if only a few students initially respond.  This is your chance to implement strategies to keep the discussion moving forward.  Acknowledge the ideas already posted, and synthesize them in a short post.  Use the ideas to propel further discussion by asking a clarifying question.

Do not reveal your own ideas - remember, you are a facilitator.  You want the students to generate their own ideas.  You plant the seeds and keep the ideas growing. 

At the end of the discussion, reflect on your facilitator role.  How well did you embody the role?  Was it successful?  What other strategies could you have used if it didn't seem successful to you?  What insights did you gain into discussion forums?  Will it change your approach to being a participant?


Strategy #4:  Subject-Matter Experts

Walker (2005), as cited by Dawley (2007), provides a suggestion to promote critical thinking in discussion forums.  "Read about an expert in a content area and conduct a real or mock interview." (p. 76). 

Find an expert and ask him or her to be a part of the dicussion forum for a week.  In a political science class, ask a local politician to participate in the discussion.  Let the students come up with a list of questions that relate to the learning objectives for the module, and the politician's own agenda or political practice.

In a literature class, ask an author to participate in a discussion forum after the class reads his or her book.  Let students analyze the book in the forum, and ask only clarifying questions of the author.  This would give them a live resource of accurate information.  At the end of the discussion, the author may add more insight.

With a dead author, like Shakespeare, you could split the class into smaller groups and assign one person from each group to personify the role of Shakespeare.  That student could not add his or her own perspective in the discussion, but only what he or she thinks Shakespeare would say.

Using subject-matter experts to facilitate discussions creates a sense of authenticity (by having a live resource), interaction, and opportunity for deeper understanding.  The idea is not to get all of the answers just because you have an expert at your disposal, but to make the discussion more meaningful by having a human element to relate to the course material.


Strategy #5:  Practice!

Ask students to practice different strategies in their discussions.  Separate students into five groups.  Group 1 would participate in the discussion as usual, by posting their initial threads that answer the instructor question.  Their strategy would be to support their points with evidence and details.  Group 2 would purposely seek and make connections between ideas among the students, and between other materials (class readings, outside resources).  Group 3 would purposely present contradictory viewpoints to the discussions presented, also using evidence to support their ideas.  Group 4 would build upon others' ideas with their own set of resources.  Group 5 would have the most facilitative role, by raising questions from everyones' posts to keep the discussion moving forward.

This idea was taken from Gao, Putnam and Wang, who developed this approach and published in in their paper, "Promoting Online Discussion through the Use of Discussion strategies."  As with Strategy #3 (Student-Facilitated Discussions), it gives students a chance to understand the myriad ways of engaging in effective online discussions.  They should understand this from both the student and instructor point-of-view.


References

Dawley, Lisa.  (2005).  The Tools for Successful Online Teaching.  Hershey, PA: 
     Information Science Publishing.

Gao, Fei, Putnam, Ralph, Wang, Hequn.  (2008).  Promoting Online Discussion Through
     the Use of Discussion Strategies.  Retrieved from
     https://www.msu.edu/~gaofei1/research/08aera.pdf.