June 12,

1
Crafting Threaded Discussion Questions

• Techniques for Focusing Critical Thinking
• Myron Feinstein
• Anna E. Story

2
Benefits and Outcomes

• more productive in-class discussions
• deeper and more reflective student responses
• improved participation and accountability
• all members of the class benefit from dialogue
• an accessible record of the discussion thought
  processes
• time for personal student contact

3
Types of discussion questions that...

• extract factual knowledge
• query student understanding
• analyze information
• apply knowledge and understanding
• synthesize information
• evaluate content

4
Extract factual knowledge

• Target factual info needed for recall or
  restatement of concepts.
• Use
• Draw out factual answers
• Test recall
• Recognize critical info
• Tactic and rationale
• Online quiz, short answer, Q A in chat
• Immediate dexterity

5
Query student understanding

• Translate information, extrapolate ideas or
  interpret information
• Use
• Identify pieces of content information
• Translate info into new form
• Tactics and Rationale
• Paraphrase important concepts of an assigned
  reading
• Conveying perception of the material validates
  comprehension

6
Analyze Information

• Targeting relationships among concepts, ideas and
  information
• Use
• Make the learner conscious of learning process
  and the rules that led to a valid conclusion
• Tactics and Rationale
• Email, chats and discussions
• To require students to form assumptions and
  identify relationships

7
Apply knowledge and understanding

• Problems that approximate real life situations
• Use
• Taking the knowledge and applying in a new and
  practical way
• Tactics and Rationale
• Synchronous or asynchronous
• Apply what they know to a new situation

8
Synthesize information

• Encourages creative and original thinking
• Use
• Incorporate integrated knowledge and combining
  elements to create new patterns
• Tactics and Rationale
• Sharing ideas, opinions, on websites, listservs
  and discussion boards
• To create new solutions by integrating
  alternative possibilities and perspectives

9
Evaluate content

• Assessing, appraising and defending information
• Use
• Justifying belief based upon evaluation of
  information according to a set of criteria
• Tactics and Rationale
• Online discussion rather than chat
• Time to reflect and gather resources to support
  position all can participate equally defuses
  argumentative discourse

10
Strategies for the teacher...

• Focusing discussions
• Identify direction and themes
• Prioritize thoughts
• Identify main points
• Deepening discussions
• Question for inquiry
• Connect points of order
• Encourage multiple points of view

11
Tactics...

• Provide a link (article) and respond to
  questions
• Provide hypothetical case and have groups discuss
  and post
• Have online discussion generate in class
  discussion
• Students generate discussion questions and then
  moderate the discussion
• Assign experts on a topic or section and they
  lead the discussion
• Post a model answer to the discussion question as
  a conclusion to the thread
• Have an assigned starter, facilitator and wrapper
• Divide class into 3 groups and each discusses a
  differing perspective of the same topic

12
Differing Perspectives
13
Considerations for teacher and student

• Time factor for students and professor
• Managing the discussion
• Difference between online and face-to-face
• Knowledge of technology used
• Group collaboration

14
Creative Ideas for Online Discussion

• Develop incentives for regular student
  participation
• Base class quizzes on discussion content
• Require student groups to use chat or TD to
  formulate a group response
• Require TD on a controversial topic
• Use provocative titles for TD
• Us Guest moderators/content experts
• Cross pollinate between in class and online TD
• Assign students roles in responding to TD
  questions
• Ask students to submit questions or TD topics

From http//cac.psu.edu/training/outlines/discuss/

15
Handouts and Practical Aids

• Specific examples for crafting questions
  http//www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/ctac/blooms.h
  tm (handout)
• Netiquette for Electronic Discussions
  http//www.osu.edu/education/ftad/Publications/ele
  cdisc/pages/netiq.htm (handout)
• Tips from Instructors with experience
  http//www.osu.edu/education/ftad/Publications/ele
  cdisc/pages/tip.htm (handout)