The Discussion Board Book

Discourse:
You may have looked at the Discussion Board Decision Tree and said to yourself, "That doesn't look all that much like a tree." I would need to point out that you will need to look at it from a different perspective. You are not looking at it straight on, but as if you are on a cloud looking down. Discourse is the trunk, and all the items that feed the tree are spread out from discourse. One is not higher than another. They do not form the same pattern of branching. They are what they are. You, too, are what you are. You bring special strengths and weaknesses to methods you use to teach. My suggestion is that you climb up the the tree. Follow the branches and pick the fruit that will nourish your aspirations.
Those of you who are new to the use of Discussion Boards might be surprised at the depth and breadth of postings by students. Student responses don't just happen, they are carefully planned for by the instructor to illicit the well formed responses. This means that instead of having a student write a ten page paper for the midterm and final, what you will expect is that the student create a series of focused, defendable position papers on specific topics. For you that might mean instead of shaking your head while reading a mid term paper from a student who didn't understand most of what was happening in the course from the beginning, you've had the opportunity to see your student's learning in action as they modify their thoughts through the exchange of information in the community. See John Bransford's movies on Assembly Learning vs. Lifecycle of Learning. In the learning cycle, he posits that smaller, focused response from students allow you to correct misconceptions earlier. This support allows the students to move from the novice stage towards being an expert.
Once you determine the scope of what you hope to accomplish, you can then set the tone by providing a safe community where students feel free to state their views with out fear of being chastised. Students must be provided with quality content that is level appropriate so students can reflect, synthesize and then formulate their own written conceptions of what is to be discussed. The technique to form a written statement employs vastly more cognitive processing than that which is used in an oral statement.
An excellent overview of instructional strategies and considerations for the Discussion Board can be found at Developing a Learning Community by Susan Colaric, Faculty Online Resource Center (FORC), East Carolina University.

Community:
The community that you build serves as a foundation for the student's ability to communicate with their peers. In this section, I will talk about three strategies that you can use up front to set the tone for the Discussion. Throughout the rest of this document, you will find more examples of how you can create community as the students work their way through your course.

  • Cyber Cafe: This strategy comes under several names, Cyber Cafe, Tea Room and Chat spot to name of few. The purpose of this space is to provide the kind of interchange students might have before and after class. Participation is generally not required in this space, therefore, it is important for the instructor to "seed" the room with topical threads like the weather, sports, campus activities. One colleague started a thread about the student's opinion on song swapping that generated a lengthy discussion Threads posted in this area allow the students time to practice talking to their peers. Your active participation in this space not only helps the students build a relationship with you and other students, but it also serves as way for you to model the kinds of behaviors, both scholarly and socially. The instructor needs to carefully monitor this open space to head off any potential conflicts amongst the students. . Controlled controversy might be a good moniker for the types of conversations held in this space.The Cyber Cafe is usually put at the top of the Discussion Board.

  • Help Area: The help area is focused on building trust. They usually start out with students populating threads with links to good information. As community forms, students will feel more comfortable about admitting a lack of knowledge, and requesting assistance. As an instructor, you can go two ways. By answering immediately, you show your willingness to be available. By standing back, you allow the students to start to become to view each other as supporting and a source of accurate information. The postings in the help area are generally non controversial and not graded.

  • Introductions: Having the students introduce themselves is a great ice breaker. Students can create their own profiles in many course management systems, but keeping the information in the community where communication is paramount is helpful. For instance, if a student reads a post from their peer, they can easily get to the information on that peer while staying within the Discussion Board environment. I send out a brief questionnaire and request that the students put the answers in the Discussion Board. Generally there are must answer questions, and then questions that are optional. Any questions that reveal personal data, like addresses, are optional. As you build your own questionnaire brainstorm about what things the students might have in common. Examples might be age, county and state they live in, or workplace. Less common might be questions about certifications received for those in the medical field, what sports do you participate in if those in recreational studies or samples of portfolios for art students. As a bonus to you, consider asking questions like: how do you connect to the internet?, have you ever taken a online class before?, where do you generally access the class? The answers to these questions will help you customize any content or delivery methods. In one of my classes, a student who had been trying to get hired by Company X found out that another student worked there. They started a conversation about how to get hired.
    Danilo Baylen, Florida Golf Coast University, offers this tip to get the participation ball rolling: Request all students to respond to three other participants using these three comments: 1. Talk about what you have in common. 2. Talk about what is different about you, and how that difference might effect your communication. 3. Ask a question.

Deeper Learning: The ultimate goal of the Discussion Board is for students to experience deeper learning.

Expectations: Before the students type their first posting, they need to know the rules that apply to its use. This benefits not just them but ultimately you. Defining the boundaries of scholarly intercourse and appropriate behaviors let the everyone will know they have protection within the Discussion Board environment.

  • Behavior: The behavior of everyone in the Discussion Board should be clearly defined. Even then, there will, in the heat of discussions, be those who cross the line. No matter what way you choose to control the discussion as a leader or as a facilitator, it is your responsibility to step in and contact the offending member. Effective practices dictate that the discussion is between just you and the offender. If you have written clear guidelines in the course information section of your classes, your ability to help the student correct their mistake has a foundation. Here are Susan Colaric's Behavior Guidelines from FORC.

Some students are not sure how to behave in an online environment. Other students are used to being online chatting with friends or playing interactive games. In either case, students will benefit from hearing what you expect for appropriate behavior in your class. Etiquette for the online world is often call Netiquette.

Guidelines for acceptable behavior in discussion forums should be provided at the beginning of the semester. While you will want to customize the list to fit your particular class, some items you may want to include are:

  • students should "listen" to others respectfully

  • online learning is devoid of physical cues that often support communication; students should strive to utilize language that is thoughtful, respectful, and collegial when communicating with fellow students

  • sometimes students may disagree with one another, which is perfectly acceptable; strive to critique ideas in a respectful and constructive manner, not criticize an individual

  • direct comments to fellow students, rather than to the professor

  • try to understand other people's behavior and perspectives rather than simply criticizing them

  • avoid stereotypes and humor that are disparaging of others

  • intervene politely if someone is being disrespectful or unfair to others

  • use language, spelling and grammar that is appropriate to an educational setting; do not use slang or Internet shorthand, and remember to proofread work prior to posting it for the class to read.

Ethics: Students might assume that since the Discussion Board is not a "paper" the rules for citing sources or the illegal use of other's work does not apply. It is vital that you include information about the importance adhering to all rules of attributing other's work. For inspiration in crafting your own statement of ethics, you might want to read the ethics statement by Mercury News.

Grading Rubric: Discussion Boards do not have to be graded, but he amount and depth of participation will increase if you do. The question then becomes, how much of your course will the Discussion Board command? If you use the Discussion Board solely as a community space, then assigning a grade may not be necessary. Participation can be kept up by using the tips found under Community above.
However, to assist the student in understanding what is expected of them, it is best to use a rubric. Beyond the use of the rubric to assess the student's ability to synthesize information, it also helps the student to become comfortable with their role within the class, and therefore helps create a safe atmosphere for the student.
Below, you will find an example of the rubric that is based on Bloom's Taxonomy. It awards more "points" for moving beyond parroting information towards synthesis. As you modify this example, keep in mind the amount of time and energy you want the students to expend in the Discussion Board. This Grading Rubric is from Susan Colaric's FORC.

Class Participation Grading
(class participation for this class was worth 25 points out of a total of 100 points for the semester).

Level 1 - 20-25 points

  • provides concrete examples from the readings to support postings
  • integrates prior readings in postings
  • integrates personal observations and knowledge in an accurate and highly insightful way
  • presents new observations
  • constructively responds to classmates postings
  • participates in all module discussions
  • organization of post is very clear and presented in a logical sequence
  • word choice and sentence structure are suitable for undergraduate level work

Level 2 - 14-19 points:

  • provides some examples from the readings to support postings
  • integrates some personal observations and knowledge
  • presents new observations
  • constructively responds to classmates postings
  • participates in all module discussions
  • organization of post is clear and presented in a logical sequence
  • word choice and sentence structure are suitable for undergraduate level work

Level 3 - 7-13 points:

  • alludes to the readings to support postings
  • integrates personal observations and knowledge in a cursory manner
  • does not present new observations
  • constructively responds to classmates postings
  • participates in 6 of 8 module discussions
  • organization of post is unclear and not presented in a logical sequence
  • word choice and sentence structure are not suitable for undergraduate level work

Level 4 - 0-6 points:

  • alludes to the readings to support postings
  • does not integrate personal observations or knowledge
  • does not present new observations
  • responds in a cursory manner to classmates postings
  • participates in less than 6 module discussions
  • organization of posts are unclear and not presented in a logical sequence
  • word choice and sentence structure are not suitable for undergraduate level work


Interactions: Interactions support community building. The four major categories of interactions are Instructor - Learner, Learner - Learner, Learner - Content and Learner - Interface. The use of the discussion board allows opportunities for students to experience each of these interactions. As the leader or facilitator of the Discussion Board it is important that you provide opportunities for students to interact.

Open Questions: Creating open questions is the most observable form of providing opportunities for interaction. The best open questions are crafted to allow students to display their command of the knowledge of the topic, allow for the opportunity for the student to state an opinion, yet not so controversial that the student could get ganged up on with other student's responses.

Learner as Leader: It is important for you let your students take the reins from time to time. Some instructors like to let the students run the Discussion Board, while others like more control. The extent to which you let the students lead is up to you. Keep in mind that ownership is an important component of building community. Allowing students to lead will increase their sense of community.

Safe Community: No one wants to find themselves out on a limb, and if your support system for the students is not clear, they won't even want to climb the tree. Be sure to be up front about your efforts. Examples can be, but are not limited to: setting parameters for behavior, providing students with instruction adequate for then to participate in the dialogue, clearly defining their role within the Discussion Board and being available.

Instructor Availability: As mentioned above, being available to your students will make them more willing to participate in the Discussion Board. You serve as a safety net for them. Does this mean that you need to be available all the time? No. What is does mean is that you have to let the students know when they can expect to get up with you. Posting your office hours, setting expectations for replies to email and even letting the students know when your personal time starts and stops.

Reflective Learning: I am going to recommend you read he "Teacher's Role in Developing Interaction and Reflection in an Online Learning Community" by Dorit Maor from Taylor and Francis Group. You have to have access to the site, but you should be granted access if you are on the ECU network. Dorit Maor gives an excellent account of the importance of reflection in the Discussion Board. The goal is to move beyond commenting on other's works, to challenging the student to rethink what they have written.

Create Connections, Collaborate, Personal Experiences, Ownership: In the beginning, you will probably see your students test their abilities creating connections, rather than challenging each other. This is characterized by commenting on behavior. It allows the students to collaborate and share common personal experiences. Students will begin to feel a sense of ownership with what they have written about themselves as well as others. This is a building step towards discourse, but your students will move on beyond this stage. In the following assignment, stress the need for students to question what each others are saying. Once they feel comfortable about questioning, they will move towards critiquing and defending.

Question, Critique and Defend: Students need to learn these important skills. While they are familiar with their use in conversations, they may not have much practice commenting in a writing format, and certainly even less when it comes to confronting other's scholarly work directly. Modeling methods of couching a critique of others by you would help, but if you start commenting on all student's work, other students will hang back. An email or posting to the announcements page is a gentle way of letting the students know it is "OK" to engage in civil discourse of their peer's work.

Dialogue and Negotiate: Once the initial contact is made between students, they will move towards more scholarly dialogue and then to collaborate to negotiate. Students who do this well will provide a sound foundation for their argument, while student's with lesser ability will rely solely on personal opinion.

 

Control: Management of the Discussion Board can be carried out in several ways. You can choose to run all of the sessions, or you can pass that responsibility onto to your students. This can run from assigning a student to monitor a specific forum to keep interest lively to allowing students to create their own forum, and populating it with research based evidence. You will find that your Discussion board does not fall neatly into any category, but changes from category depending on the experiences of the students, the level of cognition and the amount of usage.

Instructor: You may want to read, "Influence of Non-Moderated and Moderated Discussion Sites for Student Success", from JALN, Kashy, Albertelli, Bauer and Thoennessen.

Expert: The expert is an instructor that is involved in the daily activities in the Discussion Board. This might be done when students are providing inaccurate information or calming threads out of control. Remember that every time you comment on the Discussion Board, students will hang back .

Guide: An instructor who comments only occasionally might be perceived as more of a guide. Stepping back allows students to resolve their own conflicts and generate their own thought. If you are trying really hard to remain a guide, but see something that must be commented on, try to send it in an email to the group first.

Time: The big complaint about Discussion Boards is that it takes a lot of time. It can if you are lucky. If you spend your time up front providing great content, exacting guidelines and open questions, you will find that the posting are interesting and enlightening. If you see reading the postings as a way to grade the students a little bit every week rather than reading term papers at the end of the semester, it puts the workload into perspective. Please read, "Teaching Courses Online: How Much Time Does it Take?" from JALN by Lazarus. She used a stop watch to time all her activities.

 

Learner: Here is a good article by Bill Pez, recipient of the 2003 Sloan-C award for Excellence in Online Teaching called, " (My) Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy." While the scope of the article extends beyond the Discussion Board, he provides good commentary on how to work with students to take responsibility and actively participate in their learning process.

Ownership: When students run their own Discussion Board, they develop a sense of ownership.

Peer Assessment: Peer's assessment is great rehearsal for the real world, where the students will be commenting on their co-workers. It also allows the student to take in other's comments, reframe them in according to their personal knowledge to check to make sure that they have understand what their peers are saying.

Interdependence: The greater the dialogue, the more students will look to each other for information. While it does make your workload lighter, more importantly it teaches the students to look beyond you and the book for information to form their thoughts.

Assessment: We talked about how you can assess the student's performance above, this area will focus on the assessment of the Discussion Board itself. Here are items to look for to determine if you Discussion Board is humming.

Respect and Tone: Students should be treating each other with respect. This is developed by setting the tone in your stament of behaviors and the way you treat the students. There will, no matter how respectful you are, be someone with an axe to grind, or who is too flip. Gently "speak" to the offender and help them to reshape their comments.

Give and Take: If you can catch the students teasing each other, you've reached a higher state of community. Increased give in take moves the students beyond commenting and even critiquing to the point where students begin to work collaboratively to create something bigger than they could have created by themselves.

Learner as Expert - Ease - Instructor as Student: I'm going to inject some personal thoughts here. I've been an instructor and a student in Discussion Boards. It might be easy for the instructor to see themselves as a student, but near impossible for the students to see you in that role, with them as instructor. The ability to illicit this idea is centered in you. If you respect your students, comment on how their thought changed what you thought and are willing to admit your own errors you will have a good start.

This guide is meant to be a living document. Please feel free to comment and provide your own personal tips in an email to me.