Online forums are valuable learning tools: they merit the time and thought it takes to create them, but they must be well-designed to be effective for instructors and students. Baker and Ahlegren (2022) note that instructors may start out with the best of intentions and a desire to achieve multiple goals, such as promoting critical thinking and fostering a community of authentic learners. However, discussion boards often become just another writing assignment, a missed opportunity to “elicit debate, inspire meaningful ideas, and fully engage . . . learner[s]” (Blakely et al., 2022, p. 3). When this happens, students can view discussions as transactional, not transformative (p. 3).
To counter the transactional mindset, Baker and Ahlegren (2022) advocate reinventing the discussion board and positioning instructors as facilitators, not graders: “[t]hey could jump into a discussion, connecting students with one another and challenging them to struggle through different perspectives and ideas based on the discussion prompt or topic." In Baker and Ahlegren's discussion forum, instructor involvement and feedback remain critical elements promoting student participation and inquiry: “to support new and higher-level critical thinking by the learner, instructors must participate, ask thought-provoking questions, and engage the learning community.” When instructors challenge students to provide reasons for their opinions and utilize references in their posts, students report higher levels of engagement.
Students and content also play a significant role in creating effective discussions. When discussions are layered with meaningful exchanges among students, content, and instructors, then engagement is achieved on three levels, and students find the discussion assignments more worthwhile. Hsaio, Chen, and Hu (2013) note that “students benefit from online discussions by being able to construct their own knowledge, reflect the knowledge of the real world, and learn from others by exchanging thoughts or ideas” (p. 15).
The strategies below will help you to optimize your discussion forum for the online or hybrid modality.
Employ intentional design. Maximize the potential of discussion forums by clarifying the purpose, goals, and expectations of the activity. You might also consider what approach is best for the topic—Socratic seminars, debates, written responses, and live sections all have optimal use cases (Blakely et al., 2022, p. 3).
Incorporate diverse perspectives. To further enrich discussions, include resources such as include journal articles, Ted Talks, videos, simulations, and field experiences (p. 3).
Give students choices. To promote critical discourse, consider giving students the option to choose a relevant discussion topic. Open-ended questions allow students to approach a topic based on their own context, perspectives, and lived experiences. You can also let students decide how they want to participate in the discussion forum, allowing them record a video, deliver a short presentation, or write an essay response.
Leverage discussion groups. Students can feel more comfortable participating in smaller discussions. Canvas does not allow members of different discussion groups to view each other's posts. By participating across forums and sharing post-discussion recaps in announcements, you can not only motivate students to elevate their thinking, but also extend the conversation, allowing students to benefit from other viewpoints (Baker & Ahlegren, 2022).
Participate actively. Students report that they benefit most from discussions when instructors are present, attentive, and encouraging.
Center outcomes, not grades. If the assignment feels transactional, students may participate simply to get a grade (Baker & Ahlegren, 2022; Blakely, J. et al., 2022, p. 3). For graded discussions, provide instructional rubrics to ensure that expectations are clear and accessible to all learners. If logic/reasoning is the most important criteria, include it in the rubric and allow students multiple opportunities to develop their thinking. To support growth over time, highlight examples of well-reasoned posts and insightful replies.
References
Baker, J., & Ahlegren, J. (2022, July 14). More than busy work–utilizing discussions for transformative education. [Instructure Con 2022].
Blakely, J., Jazzar, M., & McCraney, M. (2022, July 20). The discussion board: How faculty can make discussions authentic and not transactional. Faculty Focus.
Hsaio, W-Y, Chen, M, & and Hu, H-W. (2013). Assessing online discussions: Adoption of critical thinking as a grading criterion. The International Journal of Technology, Knowledge, and Society, 9, 15-25.