Structuring Communication to Build Online Communities

1
Structuring Communication to Build Online
Communities
_________________________________

• Andrew N. Carpenter, Ph.D.
• Jon Eads, Ph.D.
• Ellen Manning, M.A., Ph.D.
• Melinda M. Roberts, Ph.D.
• Kara VanDam, M.A.

2
Building Community Online

• Community and cohesion are not spontaneous
  occurrences
• Each part of an online course must be structured
  to create a cohesive online community

3
Five Approaches to Building Community

• Structuring small group interactions in distance
  education (SSG)
• Breaking down the barriers of student isolation
  (BSI)
• Using real-time tools to build community (RBC)
• Structuring discussions that promote mastery of
  content while fostering community (SDFC)
• Empowering student communication through
  anonymity (ECA)

4
Structuring Small Group Interactions in Distance
Education

• Pedagogical Advantages
• Major Challenges
• Best Practices

SSG
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Pedagogical Advantages

• Richly-structured and expertly-facilitated group
  work provides students with challenges and
  skill-building opportunities not found in other
  on-line learning activities.
• There are significant academic benefits and
  direct benefits in adult students professional
  lives.

SSG
6
First Area of Concern Design

• Major Challenges
• Creating a rich-structure
• Identifying team-roles
• Providing effective student instructions
• Providing effective faculty instructions

SSG
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Challenge Creating Structure

• Online small-group learning activities need a
  rich structure that provides students with
  meaningful challenges and skill-building
  activities.
• Every aspect of the group learning activity needs
  to be planned to be cohesive.

SSG
8
Challenge Team Roles

• Small groups need to be organized around a
  well-defined set of team roles, each
• associated with a set of clear and appropriate
  responsibilities
• suitable for a diversity of student skills,
  interests, and time availability
• contributing to the team effort and yet
• having meaningful independent implementation.

SSG
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Challenge Student Instructions

• Clear explanation of the groups task and roles
• inspires students to work hard
• alleviates the anxiety about group work
• Extensive logistical support
• informs students of when, what, and how to
  contribute to the teams success
• provides a procedure to follow when problems
  arise.

SSG
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Second Area of Concern Facilitation

• Major Challenges
• Establishing grading standards
• Managing group membership
• Promoting responsible group behavior
• Managing student anxiety and frustration
• Promoting deep reflection

SSG
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Challenge Grading Standards

• How does one
• strike an effective balance between evaluating
  individual and collective performance?
• grade free riders who contribute little to a
  successful team effort?
• assign grades when a team member drops the ball
  and makes others work harder or fail to complete
  its task?

SSG
12
Challenge Group Membership

• Should groups be assigned randomly or on the
  basis of specific criteria?
• How should one handle adds or drops in the middle
  of a group project?
• If a course has multiple small group learning
  activities, should group membership vary?
• Are membership changes effective means to resolve
  intra-group conflict or to manage unequal
  achievement between groups?

SSG
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Challenge Promoting Responsible Behavior

• How can an instructor best manage conflicts
  within a group?
• To what extent should an instructor actively
  manage the tone, content, and pacing of each
  groups interactions?
• What policies, instructions, or interventions
  best serve to encourage groups to work on a
  sequence of tasks in a timely manner?

SSG
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Challenge Student Anxiety and Frustration

• What can an instructor do to
• alleviate anxiety that most students feel about
  group work?
• respond to frustration expressed by conscientious
  students about team members who do little work?
• manage guilt felt by students who let their team
  down?

SSG
15
Challenge Promoting Deep Reflection

• What can an instructor do to
• help students learn from the problems and
  failures that arise in the group?
• promote reflection on the relevance of the
  small-group interaction to students professional
  lives?
• help students perceive group work as an
  opportunity to hone conflict resolution and
  interpersonal skills?

SSG
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Challenge Faculty Instructions

• Facilitating group projects is difficult, so an
  on-line learning activity needs to
• include incisive and extremely clear explanations
  of the activitys pedagogical design.
• (if designed for others) provide best practices
  for overcoming common problems.

SSG
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Best Practices

• Handout contains practices used in a mid-level
  Ethics class at Kaplan University
• This course has four two-week units
• First week is small-group discussion of a case
  study
• Second week is big group discussion of small
  groups reports.
• Handout addresses group project evaluation, team
  roles, student instructions, faculty instructions.

SSG
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Breaking Down the Barriers of Student Isolation
No Man is an Island, entire of itself
John Donne (1624). Devotions

• Everyone has a need for meaningful communication
• It is easy to feel isolated, especially in the
  online community
• We need to go beyond the barriers of space and
  create a sense of unity and teamwork

BSI
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Need to Think out of the Box

• Develop new techniques to create a sense of unity
  and teamwork
• Encourage communication beyond the classroom
• Set up smaller learning groups
• Use peer partnering as much as possible

BSI
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Apply NCTEs Assumptions about Learners and
Teachers

• Every person is a learner.
• Teachers and students are a community of
  learners.
• Learners are aware of the uniqueness of each
  other's backgrounds, and value this uniqueness.
• The community of learners values experience as
  the stimulus for growth and change.

BSI
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NCTEs Assumptions (contd)

• The classroom is an extended community.
• The classroom setting contributes to the climate
  of the learning
• Knowing is active and ongoing, a process of
  interactive learning.
• Knowledge is more than a mastery of facts and
  processes
• National Council of Teachers of English, Working
  Paper Developed by the Elementary, Secondary, and
  College Sections, 1988-89, for Planning and
  Articulation by Council Constituencies

BSI
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Best Practices

• Set up a Coffee/Tea House for anytime chats
  (asynchronous)
• Set up smaller group (by major, geographical
  location, profession) discussion areas
• Exchange AIM addresses to continue the
  communication
• Set up a place of rest and relaxation add
  positive affirmations, quotes
• Encourage participation you participate as well

BSI
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Sample Coffee/Tea House Posting

• I hope your father-in-law's recovery is swift
  and that your children get well soon.
  Prioritizing is what we humans have to do. 
  Enjoy your family and be there for them.  I have
  come to realize how temporary my children really
  are lately as they prepare for college now. 
  Before we know it our children fly from the nest
  and when they do, we hope their hearts are filled
  with memories of love and caring.  Be there
  for them now, so they can take it with them in
  their hearts forever.
• Get some rest and we'll all be waiting for you!

BSI
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Sample Response

• You have a beautiful and warm heart, I can just
  tell by your words! You actually brought me to a
  new realization about my children and for that I
  thank you. You are so right, I am working on some
  stuff for school now and hope to get some of it
  submitted tonight and by tomorrow night the rest
  of it. UGH! It has been stressful around here to
  say the least. Thank you so much for your support
  -- it really means a lot!
• Thanks also for a new lesson in life,

BSI
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The Result

• Both students developed an online friendship and
  support group that continues to this day
• Our students are more than just numbers and names
  on a roster. They are human beings who need to
  share a human experience while in an educational
  setting.

BSI
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Real-time Tools for Building Community

• Social Isolation in Distance Learning
• Live component in distance learning may help
  overcome isolation and increase student
  satisfaction.
• Bullen (2003) found that isolation was one of the
  biggest causes for students dropping out of an
  online program
• Bullen, M. (2003). E-learning emergency, CGA
  Magazine. 37 (4) 14-16

RBC
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Synchronicity

• Kaplan University uses a weekly seminar real
  time chat and live office hours
• Promotes real understanding and active learning
  
• Improves student learning
• Bridges students and combats feelings of
  isolation
• Increases student satisfaction

RBC
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Benefits to Students

• For students in the online environment
• Students can collaborate on projects or work in
  groups
• Instructors can use live chat to hold virtual
  office hours
• Tutors can provide one-on-one instruction

RBC
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Benefits to Faculty and Staff

• Idea sharing and brain storming
• Course content review
• Training purposes
• Presentations and Conferences
• Bridge distance learning faculty and staff
  Develop cohort groups of online communities

RBC
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Technology

• Two-way audio
• Direct messaging
• Live Webcam
• Application sharing
• Interactive whiteboards
• Breakout rooms

RBC
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Free Tools

• AOL Instant Messenger
• Yahoo groups
• MSN Chat
• Net Meeting

RBC
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A Real Advantage

• Real-time tools can take the essence of
  face-to-face learning and apply it to distance
  learning.

RBC
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Structuring Discussions that Promote Mastery of
Content while Fostering Community

• Online or in a traditional classroom, there are
  subjects students
• dread taking
• have never had a positive experience with

SDFC
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The Solution

• Creating well-written discussion questions
  builds a positive support network that gives
  students a better opportunity to master course
  concepts.

SDFC
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Context

• Students often
• Dread math courses
• Are unsure how to be successful in the course
• Have never had a positive experience
• Feel alone in their insecurities
• Need additional support and encouragement to
  overcome challenges

SDFC
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How do you address these concerns and issues?

• Structure discussion questions that enable
  students to naturally share these difficulties
  and provide support to each other.
• Structure discussion questions that enable the
  instructor to encourage and support students.

SDFC
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Sample Discussion Question

• Post a problem from the Lesson practice problems
  that you found challenging. State both the page
  and problem number.
• If you were able to solve the problem, share the
  strategy you used to find the correct answer.
• If you were unable to solve it, share approaches
  you used and how far you were able to proceed.

SDFC
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Student Posts

• Initial response to this question by a student
  (two choices)
• Student has successfully solved a problem. She
  clearly posts the solution and steps to get the
  solution.
• Student posts where he is stuck with a problem.
  This still allows the student to get full credit.

SDFC
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Student Responses

• A student responds to another student by
• Thanking the student for posting the steps to a
  problem that she was stuck on.
• Encouraging the student to stick with it.
• Affirming that she is stuck on the same concept.
• Identifying the next step and working through the
  rest of the problem.

SDFC
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Instructor Responses

• Instructor also has been given an easy in with
  a well-written discussion question.
• Instructor responses can
• Encourage
• Affirm
• Validate
• Correct and expand

SDFC
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Summary

• Well-written discussion questions
• Build a positive support network
• Promote mastery of the content
• Enrich the classroom experience of students and
  faculty
• Provide opportunities for both students and
  faculty to easily interact

SDFC
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Empowering Student Communication through Anonymity

• Students and faculty new to online education
  often see anonymity as a barrier to making
  meaningful connections

ECA
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Anonymity Can

• On the contrary, anonymity
• Breaks down psychological barriers
• Improves student learning
• Eliminates many traditional classroom barriers
• Improves teacher collaboration

ECA
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How Does It Break Down Barriers for Students?

• Requires active participation
• Provides a sense of protection from rejection
• Encourages students to take risks they might not
  take in a traditional classroom

ECA
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How Does It Break Down Barriers for Faculty?

• Removes competitiveness found in many
  institutions, replacing it with collaboration
• Provides a sense of protection from rejection
• Encourages faculty to take risks they might not
  take in a traditional classroom

ECA
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In Traditional Classrooms, Students and Teachers
are Pre-judged
AGE NATIVE LANGUAGE WEIGHT,
CLOTHING HAIR COLOR
RACE SEX ETHNICITY PHYSICAL ABILITY
ECA
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Online Learning Removes Barriers

• In the online classroom, those cues are gone
• Students and faculty are judged on the quality of
  their work alone
• Capitalizing on this anonymity can foster vibrant
  student discussions and increase student learning

ECA
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Take-away Points

• Online interactions are most effective when
  structured consciously and deliberately
• Pitfalls can be avoided through careful planning
• Vibrant communities support student success

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Contact Information

• Andrew N. Carpenter, Ph.D., acarpenter_at_kaplan.edu
  
• Jon Eads, Ph.D., jeads_at_kaplan.edu
• Ellen Manning, M.A., Ph.D., emanning_at_kaplan.edu
• Melinda M. Roberts, Ph.D., mroberts_at_kaplan.edu
• Kara VanDam, M.A., kvandam_at_kaplan.edu