ONLINE DISCUSSION: EXPECTATIONS AND INTERVENTIONS

Marc Thompson, Ph.D., Instructional Designer, Academic Outreach, University of Illinois

Your Experiences? What is the most valuable lesson you’ve

learned from your experiences with online discussion?

What interventions or adjustments did you make as a result of what you learned?

Background Introduction to Fiction--online redesign of

F2F course Summer 2000 development timeframe Average class enrollment = 25-30

students

Faculty Perceptions and Concerns lack of interaction one-sided interaction missing the spontaneity of F2F exchange lack of student motivation to participate

actively

Initial Plan for Online Discussion WebBoard for discussion board with

WebCT LMS 4-8 discussion questions per week +

Open Forum Weekly deadline (midnight Sunday) Posting Requirements: 2 direct responses,

2 replies, 2 Open Forum postings Posting Criteria: a well-developed

paragraph with clear thesis and support

Results and InterventionsResults Adjustments

Student concern over grades and quality of posts

Weekly assessment & individual feedback as needed via e-mail

“Clumping Effect” near posting deadline Bi-weekly posting deadlines to facilitate replies

“Capstone Effect” in some threads Restraint, attentiveness, and nerves of steel

Lack of substantive reply postings (roughly 40%)

Guidelines with sample postings and commentary

Lack of originality (roughly 25%) Clear criteria and grading rubric

Legitimizing Interpretation No “right or wrong” answers per se Responses are often an expression of

personal judgment about some aspect of the stories read

Not testing factual knowledge but the ability to think critically and creatively about the stories read

Impressionistic responses are distinguished from informed judgments on the basis of how well judgments are supported and illustrated

Using Sample Postings with Commentary Examples that lack detail, clear purpose, or support Examples with purpose that are detailed and well

supported How to move beyond head nodding and back

patting How to extend another student’s line of questioning

or interpretation How to express a difference of opinion respectfully How to raise questions that advance discussion or

provoke further thought

Online Discussion Criteria PURPOSE

Does the thesis express a clear and specific purpose? Are responses to the questions specific or do they veer away from the question and lose focus?

SUPPORTDoes the posting use specific and carefully chosen details and examples from the text to help support or illustrate the comment or question? (NOTE: Vague or largely impressionistic responses will receive no credit.)

DEVELOPMENTDoes the posting exhibit an organized progression of thought that advances a particular judgment, claim, or question raised in the thesis?

ORIGINALITYDoes the comment or question merely echo what other classmates have already said in that discussion thread, or does the posting acknowledge what others have said thus far and use that information as a point of departure for further exploration. 

CORRECT FORMIs the comment or question free of distracting typos, misspelled or missing words, and grammatical problems? If quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing, does the author of the comment or question refer readers to the relevant page number(s) in the text?

RubricCRITERIA

Needs Much Improvement (0 points)

Needs Improvement(1 point)

Good--Room for Improvement

(2 points)

Meets Expectations for an A(3 points)

ExceptionalWork(4 points)

Purpose Main point is not clear

Vague in places; does not respond fully or directly to the prompts

Purpose is evident; responds directly to prompt with only minor loss of focus

Purpose is clear and specific; responds fully and directly to the prompt

Purpose is exceptionally clear and specific; responds fully and directly to the prompt

Support Claims are not supported

Details, examples, and personal experiences are seldom used to support observations and judgments

Details, examples, and personal experiences are used but could be more clearly related to the observations and judgments

Uses details and examples from the texts and/or personal experience to support clearly all observations and judgments

Exceptional use of telling details and examples from the text and/or personal experience to support and illustrate all observations and judgments.

Originality

Merely echoes what one or more students have already said without advancing the discussion

Several similarities with other postings; does not acknowledge what others have said thus far

Occasional similarities with other postings; some effort made to acknowledge and build upon others’ ideas

Builds on what others have said and uses that as a point of departure for further exploration and discussion

Builds on what others have said and uses that as a point of departure to introduce a new, relevant idea or perspective in the discussion

Rubric (continued)CRITERIA Needs

Much Improvement (0 points)

Needs Improvement(1 point)

Good--Room for Improvement

(2 points)

Meets Expectations for an A(3 points)

ExceptionalWork(4 points)

Development

Ideas are not developed to any degree

Does not exhibit an organized progression of thought that advances a specific judgment or claim.

Overall progression of thought is evident, though not always clear at every juncture

Exhibits an organized progression of thought that advances a specific judgment or claim in response to the prompt

Exhibits a highly organized progression of thought that leads readers to valid conclusions in the broader discussion context of the entire thread

Form Difficult to read or understand owing to the number of typos, misspelled words, and/or grammatical problems.

More than 3 distracting typos, misspelled or missing words or grammatical problems. Quotation, paraphrase, or summary does not give the relevant page number(s)

No more than 3 distracting typos, misspelled or missing words or grammatical problems. Quotation, paraphrase, or summary does not always give the relevant page number(s)

Free of distracting typos, misspelled or missing words and grammatical problems. Quotation, paraphrase, or summary always refers readers to the relevant page number(s)

Free of distracting typos, misspelled or missing words and grammatical problems. Quotation, paraphrase, or summary always refers readers to the relevant page number(s). Careful word choice and sentence structure help make your point engaging and provocative.

What I Learned about Facilitating Online Discussion Resist the temptation to intervene too frequently. Summarize key points where appropriate. Highlight particularly effective postings. Offer individual guidance privately by e-mail,

rather than via the discussion board. Reorient discussion if focus has drifted off topic. Choose questions and activities that invite further

discussion rather than a finite response.