Online Mentoring and Facilitation for Online Communities and Cross Cultural Exchanges

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Online Mentoring and Facilitation for Online
Communities and Cross Cultural Exchanges
Dr. Curtis J. Bonk Indiana University CourseShare
http//php.indiana.edu/cjbonk cjbonk_at_indiana.edu

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What Roles of Online Instructor???

• facilitator, hostess, chair, host, lecturer,
  tutor, facilitator, mediator, mentor,
  provocateur, observer, participant, assistant,
  organizer
• (Paulsen, 1995 Selinger, 1999)

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Masons (1991) 3 Roles

• Organizationalset agenda, objectives, timetable,
  procedural rules
• Patience, vary things, spur discussion, invites
• Socialwelcome, thank, provide feedback, and set
  generally positive tone
• Reinforce good things, invite to be candid
• Intellectualprobe, ask qs, refocus, set goals,
  weave comments, synthesize comments
• Know when to summarize and to leave alone

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Four Key Hats of Instructors

• Technicaldo students have basics? Does their
  equipment work? Passwords work?
• ManagerialDo students understand the assignments
  and course structure?
• PedagogicalHow are students interacting,
  summarizing, debating, thinking?
• SocialWhat is the general tone? Is there a
  human side to this course? Joking allowed?
• (Ashton, Roberts, Teles, 1999)

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Lets Explore These Hats Again With Specific
Examples!

• Technical
• Social
• Managerial
• Pedagogical

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Technological Hat

• Address tool/system familiarity
• Require early assignment to test technology
• Have orientation task, early training
• Be flexible, smooth out problems
• Plan, test, support

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Social Hat

• Create community, set tone, motivate
• Welcome, thank, invite, reinforce positives
• Foster shared knowledge
• Support humor and conversational tone
• Use tools such as cafes, profiles, pictures
• Invite to be candid

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Managerial Hat

• Set agenda, timetable/calendar, assignment page
• Set objectives, clear times, due dates,
  expectations
• Explain rules, assignments, intended audiences
• Assign teams and coordinate meeting times
• Monitor discussions and track logins
• Provide weekly feedback and class updates
• Manage gradebooks post grading rubrics

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Pedagogical Hat

• Use PBL or inquiry environment
• Refer to outside resources and experts
• Coordinate student interaction, team
  collaboration
• Assign roles, set goals, foster peer feedback
• Ask probing questions, refocus, nudge, instruct
• Scaffold, give advice, mentor
• Weave, synthesize, link ideas, provide overviews
• Know when to intervene and when to leave alone

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How to Combine these Roles?
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E-Moderator

• Refers to online teaching and facilitation role.
  Moderating used to mean to preside over a meeting
  or a discussion, but in the electronic world, it
  means more than that. It is all roles
  combinedto hold meetings, to encourage, to
  provide information, to question, to summarize,
  etc.
• (Collins Berge, 1997 Gilly Salmon, 2000) see
  http//www.emoderators.com/moderators.shtml.

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E-ModeratingE-Moderating The Key to Teaching
and Learning Online, (Gilly Salmon, (1999) Kogan
Page)

• Know when to stay silent for a few days.
• Close off unused or unproductive conferences.
• Provide relevant and purposeful conferences.
• Provide a variety of conference topics.
• Deal promptly with dominance, harassment, and
  excessive lurking.
• Summarize and archive often.

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eModerators.com Web Sitehttp//www.emoderators.co
m/moderators.shtmlmod
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Pedagogical Recommendations(Berge, 1995, The
role of the online instructor/facilitator)

• Dont expect too much/thread
• Draw attention to conflicting views
• Do not lecture (Long, coherent sequence of
  comments yields silence)
• Request responses within set time
• Maintain non-authoritarian style
• Promote private conversations

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Social Recommendations(Berge, 1995, The role of
the online instructor/facilitator)

• Guard against fear or public ridicule
• Be accepting of lurkers
• Do not ignore bad discussant behaviorprivately
  request change
• Use introductions
• Limit use of humor and sarcasm
• Praise behavior you seek

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Managerial Recommendations(Berge, 1995, The role
of the online instructor/facilitator)

• Distribute lists of participants
• Provide timely administrative infobooks,
  enrollment, counseling, etc.
• Change procedures that are not working
• Change misplaced subject headings
• Decisively end discussion sessions
• Dont overload

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Other Hats
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Personal Learning Trainer

• Learners need a personal trainer to lead them
  through materials and networks, identify relevant
  materials and advisors and ways to move forward
  (Mason, 1998 Salmon, 2000).

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Online Concierge

• To provide support and information on request
  (perhaps a map of the area) (Gilly Salmon, 2000).

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Online Conductor

• The pulling together of a variety of resources as
  people as in an orchestra to produce beautiful
  integrated sound or perhaps electrical current
  conductors if your conferences are effective and
  flow along, there will be energy, excitement, and
  power (Gilly Salmon, 2000).

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E-Police

• While one hopes you will not call yourself this
  nor find the need to make laws and enforce them,
  you will need some Code of Practice or set
  procedures, and protocols for e-moderators (Gilly
  Salmon, 2000).

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Convener

• A term that is used especially with online
  conferences and courses where there is a fairly
  side audience (Gilly Salmon, 2000).

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Online Negotiator

• Where knowledge construction online is desired,
  the key role for the e-moderator is one of
  negotiating the meaning of activities and
  information thought online discussion and
  construction (Gilly Salmon, 2000).

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Online Host

• The social role of online working is important so
  there may be a need for a social host or hostess.
  They do not need to run social events online
  (though they may) but ensure everyone is greeted
  and introduced to others with like-minded
  interests (Gilly Salmon, 2000).

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Other Hats

• Weaverlinking comments/threads
• Tutorindividualized attention
• Participantjoint learner
• Provocateurstir the pot ( calm flames)
• Observerwatch ideas and events unfold
• Mentorpersonally apprentice students
• Community Organizerkeep system going

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Still More Hats

• Assistant
• Devils advocate
• Editor
• Expert
• Filter
• Firefighter
• Facilitator

• Gardener
• Helper
• Lecturer
• Marketer
• Mediator
• Priest
• Promoter

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How form a community???
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• A learning community is a group of individuals
  interested in a common topic or area, who engage
  in knowledge related transactions as well as
  transformations within it. They take advantage
  of the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn
  collectively.
• (Bonk Wisher, 2000
• Fulton Riel, 1999)

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Factors in Creating any Community

• (1) membership/identity
• (2) influence
• (3) fulfill of indiv needs/rewards
• (4) shared events emotional connections
• (McMillan Chavis, 1986).
• History, stories, expression, identity,
  participation, respect, autonomy, celebration,
  team building, shape group, Schwier, 1999)

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Help Categorize the Degree of Online Community
(Chao, 1999)

• (1) self-disclosures, time, energy
• (2) refer to norms, rules, others
• (3) give and receive info, express need, thank,
  criticize, suggest
• (4) special stories, symbols, events, identify
  spiritual bonds

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How Facilitate Online Community?

• Safety Establish safe environment
• Tone Flexible, inviting, positive, respect
• Personal Self-disclosures, open, stories telling
• Sharing Share frustrations, celebrations, etc
• Collaboration Camaraderie/empathy
• Common language conversational chat space
• Task completion set milestones grp goals
• Other Meaningful, choice, simple, purpose...

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Web Facilitation Advice from Vanessa Dennen San
Diego State University
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Research on Nine Online Courses

• 9 case studies of online classes using
  asynchronous discussion
• Topics sociology, history, communications,
  writing, library science, technology, counseling
• Range of class size 15 - 106
• Level survey, upper undergraduate, and graduate
• Tools custom and commercial
• Private, semi-public, and public discussion areas

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Goals, Needs Extrinsic Motivation

• Participation was higher in cases where students
  had a clear goal or need and extrinsic motivation
  to participate
• Sample instances
• Required assignment with feedback/grade
• Need help
• Need to understand material
• Few students participated merely because they
  could

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Unique or Perspective-based Discussion

• Greater dialogue was generated when students were
  encouraged or required to share their own
  perspectives or unique examples
• Fact-based questioning strategies did not work
  well
• Students used perspectives and examples to make
  meaning of material

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Guidelines and Feedback

• Qualitative discussion guidelines and feedback
  helped students know what their participation
  should look like
• Quantitative discussion guidelines and feedback
  comforted students and was readily understood by
  them
• Feedback of both varieties was needed at regular
  intervals, although the qualitative feedback need
  not be individualized

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Deadlines

• Deadlines motivated participation
• Message counts increased in the days immediately
  preceding a deadline
• Deadlines inhibited dialogue
• Students posted messages but did not discuss
• Too much lag time between initial messages and
  responses

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Modeling

• Instructor modeling increased the likelihood of
  student messages meeting quality and content
  expectations
• Modeling was more effective than guidelines

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Motivation and Presence

• Instructor must find balanced presence in course
  to truly motivate students to learn and perform
  their best
• Too little instructor presence can cause low
  levels of student involvement
• Too much instructor presence can cause
  perfunctory and/or uninspired student involvement

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Poor Instructors Good Instructors

• Little or no feedback given
• Always authoritative
• Kept narrow focus of what was relevant
• Created tangential discussions
• Only used ultimate deadlines

• Provided regular qual/quant feedback
• Participated as peer
• Allowed perspective sharing
• Tied discussion to grades, other assns.
• Used incremental deadlines

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More on How to Facilitate...

• Find common ref pt--mission, purpose, need
• Guide to negotiate/co-construct meaning
• Establish some common practices or rituals
• Hold regularly scheduled events--chats, tours
• Create opportunities to contribute/develop
• Apply course to lived experiences
• Keep simple, give choice, build respect tension

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Facilitating Electronic Discussion

• Provide Guidelines and Structure
• Weave and Summarize Weekly
• Be patient, prompt, and clear
• Assign Due Dates, Times, and Points
• Constantly Monitor, Converse not Dictate
• Assign Buddies/Pals or Include Mentoring
• Extend Beyond Class with Peers/Practitioners

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Online Mentoring and Assistance Online
Twelve forms of electronic learning mentoring and
assistance(Bonk Kim, 1998 Tharp, 1993 Bonk
et al., 2001)
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1. Social (and cognitive) Acknowledgement
"Hello...," "I agree with everything said so
far...," "Wow, what a case," "This case certainly
has provoked a lot of discussion...," "Glad you
could join us..."
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2. Questioning "What is the name of this
concept...?," "Another reason for this might
be...?," "An example of this is...," "In contrast
to this might be...,""What else might be
important here...?," "Who can tell me....?," "How
might the teacher..?." "What is the real problem
here...?," "How is this related to...?,, "Can
you justify this?"
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3. Direct Instruction "I think in class we
mentioned that...," Chapter X talks about...,"
"Remember back to the first week of the semester
when we went over X which indicated that..."
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4. Modeling/Examples "I think I solved this sort
of problem once when I...," "Remember that video
we saw on X wherein Y decided to...,"
"Doesn't X give insight into this problem in
case Z when he/she said..."
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5. Feedback/Praise "Wow, I'm impressed...,"
"That shows real insight into...," "Are you sure
you have considered...," "Thanks for responding
to X...," "I have yet to see you or anyone
mention..."
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6. Cognitive Task Structuring "You know, the
task asks you to do...," "Ok, as was required,
you should now summarize the peer responses that
you have received...," "How might the textbook
authors have solved this case."
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7. Cognitive Elaborations/Explanations "Provide
more information here that explains your
rationale," "Please clarify what you mean by...,"
"I'm just not sure what you mean by...," "Please
evaluate this solution a little more carefully."
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8. Push to Explore "You might want to write to
Dr. XYZ for...," "You might want to do an ERIC
search on this topic...," "Perhaps there is a URL
on the Web that addresses this topic..."
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9. Fostering Reflection/Self Awareness "Restate
again what the teacher did here," "How have you
seen this before?," "When you took over this
class, what was the first thing you did?,"
"Describe how your teaching philosophy will vary
from this...," "How might an expert teacher
handle this situation?"
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10. Encouraging Articulation/Dialogue Prompting
"What was the problem solving process the teacher
faced here?," "Does anyone have a counterpoint or
alternative to this situation?," "Can someone
give me three good reasons why...," "It still
seems like something is missing here, I just
can't put my finger on it."
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11. General Advice/Scaffolding/Suggestions "If I
were in her shoes, I would...," "Perhaps I would
think twice about putting these people into...,"
"I know that I would first...," "How totally
ridiculous this all is certainly the person
should be able to provide some..."
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12. Management (via private e-mail or
discussion) "Don't just criticize....please be
sincere when you respond to your peers," "If you
had put your case in on time, you would have
gotten more feedback." "If you do this again, we
will have to take away your privileges."
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TICKIT Staff Mentoring (IU Study) (direct
instruction and explanations 0)
(Bonk, Ehman, Hixon, 2000)
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Mentoring in COW
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Bill Brescias (2000) Doc Research on Online
Mentoring

• Simple feedback vital, student clarification too
• Want professor opinions resource suggestions
• Modeling useful at start summing at end of
  semester
• Most students saw value of reflection, not all
• Student resistance to reading long posts
• Students resistant to weekend posting continued
  posts
• Changing subject link impt to facilitating
  discussion

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Conferencing On Web (COW)

• Three Basic Levels
• 1. Conference (public or private)
• 2. Topic (e.g., special education)
• 3. Conversation (e.g., reading rewards)

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Justified Statement (Finnish)

• 3. Author Kirsi
• Date Mar. 6 811 AM 1998
• Why not let the student study math further by
  himself and the teacher could help him whenever
  the teacher has time. At least some of the math
  study books are so designed that one page has
  examples that teach you how to solve the problem
  and then on the next page there are exercises. I
  personally hate being said 'wait' since when I'm
  interested in something I want to go on and learn
  more and not wait. This way I think the child
  learns to be responsible of his own learning. If
  I quote dear mr Vygotsky here again, the teacher
  should be sensitive to see where the child's
  proximate zone of development is and to help him
  'over' it. The teacher's task is not to try to
  keep the child on the level he has reached but to
  help him learn more if he is interested

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Unjustified Statements (US)

• 24. Author Katherine
• Date Apr. 27 312 AM 1998
• I agree with you that technology is definitely
  taking a large part in the classroom and will
  more so in the future with all the technological
  advances that will be to come but I don't believe
  that it could actually take over the role of a
  teacherbut in my opinion will never take over
  the role of a teacher.
• 25. Author Jason Date Apr. 28 147 PM 1998
• I feel technology will never over take the role
  of the teacher...I feel however, this is just
  help us teachers out and be just another way for
  us to explain new work to the children. No matter
  how advanced technology gets it will never be
  able to...
• 26. Author Daniel Date Apr. 30 011 AM 1998
• I believe that the role of the teacher is being
  changed by computers, but the computer will never
  totally replace the teacher... I believe that the
  computers will eventually make teaching easier
  for us and that most of the children's work will
  be done on computers. But I believe that there
  will always be the need for the teacher.

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Vertical Mentoring Examples

• 9. Author Jerry Cochey ( Mentor) Date Mar. 11
  146 PM 1998
• To shift from teacher centered classrooms to
  child centered classrooms and learning takes
  time, patience and a commitment to the idea that
  students are responsible for their own learning.
  Even in this age of enlightenment(?), we think
  that a quiet, teacher controlled classroom shows
  learning, while research shows that active,
  talking, sharing of learning experiences with
  peers is more productive. Be patient, it takes a
  long time to have students change to being
  responsible for their own.
• 8. Author Jerry Cochey ( Mentor) Date Mar. 11
  154 PM 1998
• As each of you have noted, teachers need to
  continue to supervise/coordinate learning. How
  much freedom is given to students depends on what
  you know they can accomplish without direct
  supervision. Master teachers select what methods
  are appropriate and effect for a given student or
  group of students.

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Horizontal Finnish Mentoring

• 12. Author Leena Date Mar. 30 1152 AM 1998
• This case is something I feel very close to. I
  have been trying struggle with finding ways to be
  a teacher in a new way, trying to think
  everything from the students' perspective, to
  challenge my own old traditions of teaching and
  try to seek ways which the I could find ways of
  studying things together with the students. What
  really puzzles me is that these different
  "projects" have had such extremely different
  lives. I definitely loath the idea that a teacher
  would "send the students to the library and come
  back with a mind map" with the only purpose of
  having an easy time. But, the problem is that
  even the simplest thing such as a mind-map, which
  I've used quite often myself, can lead to so many
  different kinds of results. I've learnt during my
  short stay in the Department of Teacher
  Education......What I really don't know yet is
  how to be a proper supporter of these processes
  for students. I have succeeded in many contexts
  but feel that there are so many areas to achieve.
  In the end, finding the "right" path is really a
  matter of mutual understanding between students
  and teachers, open discussion, with mutual trust.
  Without such dialogue, nothing can be developed.
  - Leena

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Frequent Case Topics
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Problems Solved By COW

• Student isolation in field experiences
• Lack of community/dialogue among teacher
  education participants
• Disconnectedness between class and field exper
• Limited reflective practices of novice teachers
• Need for appreciation of multiple perspectives

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Overall Major Findings

• COW enhanced student learning
• provided a link between classroom and field
• encouraged learning about technology
• COW extended student learning
• students got feedback from outside their
  immediate community
• students saw international perspective
• COW transformed student learning
• students took ownership for learning
• students co-constructed knowledge base

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Qualitative Themes Continued...

• Students were attracted to cases that
• had interesting titles
• were on familiar topics
• were on controversial topics
• they had opinions about
• Peer feedback was appreciated but not deep
• Mentor feedback was apprec. motivating

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Types of Online Mentoring(Vince Rowe (2000),
e-learning, 1(2), pp. 42-43.

• Live interactive chat
• Delayed/async Discussions
• E-mailQA, interviews, etc.
• FAQslibraries of previous qas
• Message Boardspost tips, titles, sources, etc.
• Assignments/Assessment with expert review
• Staged Eventsonline conferences, online
  speeches, impersonalizations, mock trials, etc.

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Sample Free K-12 Online Mentoring
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Mentoring in the Military (AC3-DL)
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So, what will you do now?