Discussion Boards for the Rest of Us Cynthia B. Sosnowski, MFT, EdD

Discussion Boards - As many students currently experience them Discussion Boards – As many instructors

Formula for a Deadly Boring Discussion Board: Discussion question Instructor who Focus on how with one or few students write “goes home” “right” answers instead of what they write

Two fundamental questions: What IS an OL Discussion Board? A classroom conversation 2. What do we as instructors want from this tool? Engagement Learning to discuss Learning to write Amassing points Assessment of content How do we get there…

Assessing Using Creating Conceiving

Conceiving Stay grounded in the Major Instructional Goals (MIGs) Get past the conceptual, the factual, and the textbook Connect to the world /reality of the students (or at least the world/reality in which the students SHOULD be involved)

Creating When is a question a discussion starter and when it is a test? If you want them to give you more than “I agree” and “great post”, you need to provide the ingredients for that recipe. Discussion starters have: More than 1 “right” answer, or have NO right answers Can be answered along a continuum Are at least a little edgy or have “edgy potential” component Are about something “real”, something the students can get a handle on. Ask questions that require the students to… Know, Think, Feel, Believe Examples…

Ideas: Provide a quote from the text or other source with which they are working. What does it mean? Why did the author write it? How does it apply to …? Does it apply? What to you think of this - is it true? Is it biased? Is it junk? Why do you think this way? Create a scenario, then: Referring to the concepts in ch. 3 of our textbook… If you were in charge…? If this happened to you…? If you were asked to comment or consult…? How would you…?

Examples What you think makes a "community"? Don't try to mimic the textbook's definition; put your definition into your own words based on your understanding of community. Give an example of a community that reflects your definition, and explain how your example describes a “system” as defined in our textbook. *** If Experiential Family Therapy relies on the personality of the therapist instead of techniques (or along with techniques because certainly tying people together with ropes is a technique - oh my), then what personality traits or styles might make for a good experiential therapist? Is it about charisma and charm, empathy, being quick on your feet and clever, a combination, or something entirely different? Do you think there might be gender differences in what families might consider to be a "good" therapist?

Examples I once heard someone say that a leader does not have to be liked in order to be a good leader, they only need to be respected for their ability to get things accomplished. What do you think of that statement? Does a leader need to be liked in order to have influence and power in a group or is garnering respect sufficient? Feel free to share any examples on either side of the coin. *** Describe a situation where a team or work group you were a member of had an organizational conflict and how you managed it, whether effectively or ineffectively. How could you have improved it according to this week's Readings & Resources? *** So what did you think of the film? What happened and why? What concepts from the text did you recognize impacting the decision process of the jury? Which juror do you think you would have been most like if you had been in the situation?

Encourage boldness and kindness. Using Setting guidelines for the student participation: Let them know what you expect. What a “good” post is, What an insufficient post is, How often they are expected to participate (minimum), When their participation is expected. Encourage boldness and kindness. After you have posted your initial thoughts, you will be able to see and respond to the posts of your colleagues. Your initial post is due by Tuesday night, Jan. 3, and your thoughtful response to at least 2 of your colleagues is due by Monday before class.

Using Setting guidelines for the your participation (MY participation – WHAT???): Don’t disappear Don’t show up only to correct Balance between too much and too little, too often and too seldom. Conversation prodders vs. conversation stoppers. Use boldness and kindness. HINT: Create a spreadsheet to track your responses to each student.

Wrap - up the conversation at the deadline, and bullet the key concepts/points brought out. Send an announcement that points to the now closed and wrapped up Discussion Forum.

Assessing Circling back around: Questions… What do you want to accomplish with your DB? What MIGs are you attempting to address? Strategies… Create a rubric that matches what you want to accomplish. Bring out MIG accomplishments in the wrap-up and let students know that the key points will be included on an assessment. Only assess what you have good reason to assess.

Thank you!