Asynchronous Discussion Topics

1
Asynchronous Discussion Topics Collaboration

• Adapted from
• Dr. Vanessa Dennen
• San Diego State University
• Dr. Rena Palloff Dr. Keith Pratt
• Capella University

2
TOC

• Definitions
• Pros/Cons
• Instructor Complaints
• Problems Encountered
• Solutions
• Examples
• Guidelines Tips
• Resources

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Definition

• Asynchronous - "not occurring at the same time" -
  The Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
• Messages are exchanged over an extended length of
  time rather than back and forth simultaneously.

4
Defining Collaboration

• Assists with deeper levels of knowledge
  generation
• Promotes initiative, creativity, and critical
  thinking
• Allows students to create a shared goal for
  learning
• Forms the foundation of a learning community

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Some Teaching Techniques that Promote
Collaboration can Include

• Asking participants to become knowledgeable
  on a topic within the scope of the seminar and
  then presenting that topic to their peers
• Papers posted to the course site with mutual
  feedback provided
• Rotated facilitation and leadership
• Asynchronous discussion of the topics within the
  scope of what is being studied

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Asynchronous DiscussionPros and Cons

• Cons
• Must motivate students to read and participate
• Message posting can occur in lieu of
  conversation
• Number of messages can become overwhelming

Cons

• Pros
• Can hear all voices
• Can follow multiple threads at once
• Can reflect before contributing
• Can review discussion

Pros
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Common Instructor Complaints

• Students
• dont participate
• all participate at the last minute
• post messages but dont converse
• Facilitation takes too much time
• If they must be absent, the discussion dies off

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Reasons why

• Students dont participate because
• It isnt required
• They dont know what is expected
• Students all participate at the last minute
  because
• That what was required
• They dont want to be the first

Students dont participate
Students all participate at the last minute
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Reasons why(2)

• Students post messages but dont conversebecause
  they
• must post a minimum of messages
• think the instructor wants to see how much they
  know
• havent been taught to value conversation
• dont know how to have an online conversation

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3 Common problems with online discussion prompts

• 1. Too vague
• Learners have no idea how to respond
• 2. Too fact-based
• Only one or two persons need to respond
• 3. Lack directions for interactions
• Learners dont know what acceptable participation
  looks like

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What you need to do

• Set the Stage
• Create the Environment
• Model the Process
• Guide the Participants
• Regular Feedback

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Elements of a good prompt

• Specifies the desired response type
• Allows for multiple correct answers (perspective
  sharing, unique application of knowledge)
• Provides guidance for peer interaction

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Prompt/Topic Process

• Initial topic or idea generation
• Initial response
• Response to peers (can continue for as long as
  desired)
• Wrap up question
• Reflect

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7 Types of Questions

• Questions that Ask for More Evidence
• Questions That Ask for Clarification
• Open Ended
• Linking or Extension
• Hypothetical
• Cause-and-Effect
• Summary and Synthesis

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Questions that Ask for More Evidence

• How do you know that?
• What data is that claim based on?
• What do others say that support your argument?
• Where did you find that view expressed in the
  materials?
• What evidence would you give to someone who
  doubted your interpretation?

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Questions That Ask for Clarification

• Can you put that another way?
• Whats a good example of what you are talking
  about?
• What do you mean by that?
• Can you explain the term you just used?
• Could you give a different illustration of your
  point?

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Open Ended Questions

• Sauvage says that when facing moral crises,
  people who agonize dont act, and people who act
  dont agonize. What does this mean? (Follow-up
  question Can you think of an example that is
  consistent with Sauvages maxim and another that
  conflicts with it?)
• Racism pervaded American society throughout the
  20th Century. What are some signs that racial
  discrimination still exists in hiring?
• Why do you think many people devote their lives
  to education despite the often low pay and poor
  working conditions?

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Linking or Extension Questions

• Is there any connection between what youve just
  said and what Rajiv was saying a moment ago?
• How does your comment fit in with Nengs earlier
  comment?
• How does your observation relate to what the
  group decided last week?
• Does your idea challenge or support what we seem
  to be saying?
• How does that contribution add to what has
  already been said?

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Hypothetical Questions

• If you were presented with the following question
  in an interview, how would you respond Was your
  previous job full of purposeful play or drudgery
  and work?
• You only have 2years to live and will do so with
  your usual energy and vitality. What will you do
  with your last 2 years?
• You just won a 100 million lottery jackpot.
  What will you do with the rest of your life?

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Cause-and-Effect Questions

• What is likely to be the effect of changing from
  a 1-1 mode of working to a group mode?
• How might delivering our courses using the
  Internet impact our students learning process?

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Summary and Synthesis Questions

• What are the one or two most important ideas that
  emerged from this discussion?
• What remains unresolved or contentious about this
  topic?
• What do you understand better as a result of
  todays discussion?
• Based on our discussion today, what do we need to
  talk about next time if were to understand this
  issue better?

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Tips
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Make Discussion an Activity

• Debate a topic
• Search for and share resources
• Learn about a topic
• Build a study guide
• Expand on a topic
• Find real-world cases

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Require Peer Responses

• A form of providing feedback
• Lessens the instructor load
• Forces students to read and consider each others
  work

25
Use incremental deadlines

• Incremental deadlines force conversation
• Lazy students have several ultimate deadlines to
  guide them
• Eager students know when to expect messages they
  can respond to
• Forces students to visit the forum regularly
• NOTE state deadlines in the prompt

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Getting timing right

• Allow a few days for each part or required
  response
• Make sure students know when new discussions will
  be posted
• Try to maintain a regular schedule
• E-mail the class to remind them
• Dont forget about extra time around weekends and
  holidays
• May want to mimic a 3-day a week class

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Provide Interaction suggestions

• Tell students what types of interactions would be
  OK

• Questioning?
• Sharing experiences?
• Finding outside resources?
• Making connections?
• Summarizing points?

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Provide guidelines (their postings)

• How long should messages be?
• How many messages should students write
  (minimum)?
• Should students reference course materials?
• Do grammar and spelling count?
• Should students expect an instructor response?
• How often should students check the discussion
  board?

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3-sentence rule

• Avoid overwhelming I agree type messages
• Require that all students post messages of 3
  sentences or longer
• The result
• I agree with you.
• Thats a good idea.
• Umm I have to actually say something now!

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Dont talk over students heads

• Your messages should demonstrate critical
  thinking skills
• Your messages should tie together concepts from
  the text with real-world experiences. Look
  beyond the obvious, surface-level connections.

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Model desired interactions

• Provide students with a sample message
• Share an archived discussion from a previous
  course (perhaps on a related, but different
  topic)
• Exhibit desired communication style in all
  messages to students

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Provide feedback

• Set expectations (tell learners how they will get
  feedback)
• Provide quantitative feedback (numerical grade,
  rubric, count /length of messages)
• Provide qualitative feedback

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Evaluate and refine

• See what topics generate the greatest response
• Look at both quality and quantity of messages
• Ask the students why they (dont) respond
• View student discussion contributions in light of
  their other work
• Reflect on your own experiences

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Closing thoughts

• You wont get the perfect prompt the first time
• Refine and revise endlessly
• Save archives of old discussions for models

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Resources

• http//www.lts.uwstout.edu/webcamp2003/handouts.ht
  m
• Successful Strategies for Using Asynchronous
  Discussion Boards
• Interaction
• Instruction
• Crafting questions http//tlt.its.psu.edu/suggesti
  ons/online_questions/

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Resource

• Enhancing Online Discussion
• http//tlt.suny.edu/discussion.htm
• Keeping Online Asynchronous Discussions on Topic
  http//www.aln.org/alnweb/journal/Vol3_issue2/beau
  din.htm

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Resource

• Steps to Achieving Successful Discussion
  http//www.umuc.edu/facdev/resources/discussion.ht
  ml
• Stern Ed Tech Asyn-Sync Learning Links
  http//www.stern.nyu.edu/Faculty/edtech/resources/
  synch.html