Discussions are an impactful way to build engagement and discourse in asynchronous online courses. When properly designed, discussions can encompass the three pillars of engagement: student-content, student-student, and student-instructor. Asynchronous discussions allow students time to reflect prior to participating, which can lead to deeper insights and richer discourse. Moreover, when participating in discussions, students have the opportunity to collaborate with others, participate in an online learning community, and gain insights from others’ unique experiences and perspectives (Ransdell, Borror & Su, 2018). Facilitating multiple types of engagement in an online course can improve student motivation, satisfaction, and achievement (Dailey-Hebert, 2018).
Despite the many benefits to discussions in online courses, potential challenges need to be considered when designing discussions. One challenge is a lack of motivation that may arise if students perceive that discussions are not a good use of time (Ransdell, Borror & Su, 2018). This may lead to students providing shallow responses or completing the bare minimum requirements. It is important to thoughtfully design discussions to ensure they are perceived as a valued and worthwhile part of the online course experience.
Course Design Considerations
In order to create an optimal environment for discourse, you'll want to establish a sense of community and set expectations for participation. A welcome discussion offers students an early opportunity to establish connections with their peers and instructor. Much like a face-to-face environment allows for chit-chat at the beginning of class, a welcome discussion allows students to bond over commonalities. By participating in a welcome discussion yourself, you introduce valuable instructor presence, which can increase student engagement in future discussions.
When designing discussions, carefully consider the discussion prompts; the questions posed significantly impact student engagement. Avoid closed-ended prompts, such as comprehension check questions, as these types of questions can elicit highly similar student responses. It is challenging for students to have a sustained discussion when the prompt is too narrow or restrictive. If you are inclined to ask a yes/no question, be sure that the question allows for a range of potential responses, and consider adding a "why" that asks students to explain their thinking.
Successful discussion prompts allow students to share diverse perspectives. Students may be more motivated to participate when they are able to learn about their classmates’ ideas and real-world experiences (Ringler et. al, 2015). Whenever possible, provide opportunities for students to co-create learning. This might mean asking students to alternate roles within discussions. When having students lead discussions, you might invite them to share resources that connect to that module’s topics and ask their classmates probing questions.
Discussions provide an opportunity to increase student engagement and agency with the course material. Consider the following discussion variations, which support a range of learning goals:
- Provide students with a case study and ask them to examine, critique, and/or respond to the situation.
- Ask students to share a current event or personal experience that connects with the course topics.
- Give students the choice to respond from a list of several possible prompts.
- Ask the class to work collaboratively on a complex problem to determine how it can be solved.
When finalizing your discussion forums, be sure to review the discussion settings to confirm they align with the desired student experience. “Users must post before seeing replies” can be an effective setting when you want students to post without having any input or guidance from other students. You might want to enable this setting when soliciting a first draft, a first attempt at solving a problem, or opinions on a complex topic.
Student Success
- Include all the information students need to complete the discussion on the assignment page (suggestions below). During the term, you can use course announcements to provide helpful reminders.
- Outline acceptable behavior for posting in discussions. This is especially important when discussions cover sensitive or personal topics.
- Offer guidance around timing, including when the first post is due and when any additional posts or responses to classmates should be submitted (such as by the end of the module, or on a specific number of days).
- In addition to specifying how many posts students are expected to make, clearly define the expectations for responses to peers. Encourage students to provide counterpoints to arguments made by other students or examples from their experiences or the course materials; and tell students how to direct their responses. For example, you might ask them to select a classmate's post with few or no replies, the most recent post(s), or a post that has a different topic or perspective than their own.
- Indicate if students must post before seeing replies. Include language such as “Please note you will not be able to see your classmates’ replies until you submit your initial post.”
- Share your expectations and guidelines for grading. Consider using a rubric to help clearly communicate expectations to students. For more on rubrics, see the Envision piece, Rubrics as a Tool to Support Equity and Inclusion.
Faculty Foundations
- Determine the appropriate settings for discussions based on the intended goals of the discussion.
- Provide any resources students need to complete the discussion on the assignment page.
- If you are not the sole instructor (if you have GTAs or there is a possibility that someone else will teach your course in the future), provide instructions that will help other instructors effectively facilitate discussion. This includes any suggestions for questions the instructor can post in the middle of a module to spur additional conversation in discussions.
References
Dailey-Hebert, A. (2018). Maximizing interactivity in online learning: Moving beyond discussion boards. Journal of Educators Online, 15(3), 1-26.
Ransdell, S., Borror, J., & Su, H.F. (2018). Users not watchers: Motivation and the use of discussion boards in online learning. Distance Learning, 15(2), 35-39.
Ringler, I., Schubert, C., Deem, J., Flores, J., Friestad-Tate, J., & Lockwood, R. (2015). Improving the asynchronous online learning environment using discussion boards. I-Manager’s Journal of Educational Technology, 12(1), 15-27.