Active Learning – Using Discussions Online Center for Distance Education Instructional Design Services Dr. Prasanthi Pallapu Welcome. Thank you for joining us. I am Prasanthi Pallapu, the Lead Instructional Designer at the Center for Distance Education, Upper Iowa University. Some of you already know that I have 14 years of Instructional Design experience and was an adjunct faculty for 4 years. At this moment, I would like to take the opportunity to introduce Ms. Teaira Cooksey, who is our Instructional Designer. Please note that a recorded session will be made available on our Faculty Resources website. Within the next few days, you will receive an email containing a link to the recording and this PowerPoint presentation. Please submit your questions using the Q&A feature in Zoom. I will respond to them either during this session or at the end. Note that when you submit a question, every one who is attending will see your question.

Objectives Active Learning Interaction in an online course Online Discussions

Definition Active learning A process Engages students in learning activities reading, writing, discussion, or problem solving Promotes analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of course material. According to the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, Active Learning is http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tsal

Benefits Active Learning allows students to engage with course material participate in learning activities collaborate with each other analyze an argument apply a concept to a real-world situation etc….. According to Teaching Commons from Stanford University, Stanford, California, https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/resources/learning-resources/promoting-active-learning

Student-Student, Student-Content & Student-Instructor Interaction Student-Student, Student-Content & Student-Instructor Synchronous Interaction Real time Chat, Audio or Video Conferencing Asynchronous Interaction Not occurring at the same time or not in real time Discussion Forums Email, Announcements, etc. Content items in an online course In an online learning environment active learning happens through Interaction - synchronous and asynchronous. Student-Student, Student-Content & Student-Instructor interaction. Chat and Classlive tools right in our learning management system and Zoom for audio or video conferencing are some tools for synchronous interaction. For asynchronous interaction, we can use Email, Discussion Forums and other content items.

Why? for Students Do not feel left out - A sense of belongingness Creates a learning community Increases motivation and performance Promotes independent, critical and creative thinking Encourages effective collaboration Why interaction is important to students?

Why? for Instructors Good return on the time invested to design the course When students succeed - it is well worth the time as it is all about student learning….. Immense opportunity to get to know your students through interaction Do not feel disconnected with students We no longer design instructor-centered courses and moving towards student-centered where the focus and responsibility of learning is more on students. They build their knowledge and learn based on their prior experiences.

Know your students Get to know them Connect and develop a professional relationship with your students Know each individual student Respond to each student in the Student Introductions forum They need to know – you care and listen to them As they miss the in-person connection Share personal experiences as you interact for them to know that You are a real person You value their contributions Just like instructors connect and develop professional relationships with their students in a face-to-face class, as a moderator and facilitator in an online learning environment, we need to know your students.

Instructor Presence Be Present Helps students feel that you are there for them Engage or participate in some discussion They need to see you are there with them during the discussions Encourage students to interact with each other Make sure that students are responding to their peers In a face-to-face class, when students have questions, we are right there to address them. If they are discussing a topic, we will walk around and answer or clarify any questions that the students might have. But in an online environment, the only way that the students feel that you are there for them is when they feel your presence. Hence, in an online course, Instructor Presence is very important.

Instructor Presence Be Present Clarify any information timely – provide examples Facilitate conversations This determines how students participate Make sure that your presence does not inhibit student-student interaction

Roles Student - Self-Learners Instructor Interact with the content material Learn from Others - Interact with other students Learn from the Instructor - Feedback Instructor Moderator Facilitator We have several options to make our online course an active learning experience for our students. But as our goal for today’s presentation is ‘using Online Discussions for active learning’, let us jump right into online discussions. First of all, let us remember the roles of a student and an instructor in online discussions.

Expectations Set and share expectations Netiquette Rubrics Guidelines As an instructor, when designing the course, it is important to set and share expectations for the discussions.

Item III. 3 – Discussion and Participation UIU Expectations Item III. 3 – Discussion and Participation As UIU instructor, you might have received the Guide to Develop Online Course Syllabus. I would like to draw your attention to Item III.3 for the essential standards on Discussion and Participation.

Discussion and Participation – Initial Response UIU Expectations Discussion and Participation – Initial Response More detailed information is provided in the sample syllabus template that you receive. As you are aware, the syllabus template has locked and unlocked areas. Under Discussions and Participation, the locked area has standard information with unlocked area for your input with a sample. On this slide, I would like to draw your attention to ‘Include 2-3 thought provoking topics each week’ and ‘that the students cannot view unless they submit they post first’.

Discussion and Participation – Participation UIU Expectations Discussion and Participation – Participation The same thing for Participation – locked and unlocked areas. On this slide, I would like to draw your attention to ‘participation in discussion on 4 of each 7 day online academic week’ Participation posts does not include Initial Response Participation posts should be substantive So in order to accommodate the 4 of 7 days participation requirement, the sample indicates very clearly that the students have to post to 2 peers on 2 different days for each DQ

Questions Select good topics for discussion questions Reflection Interpretation Analysis Problem-solving Thought provoking Real life Personal Opinion So in order to accommodate the essential standards set for UIU online courses, it is our responsibility to select good topics for discussion questions – higher order thinking skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy http://www.mcm.edu/elearning/Tutorials/PDF/Discussion_Questions_That_Work.pdfA

Questions Avoid asking questions that has Compound questions??? Yes / no responses Facts Regurgitation from textbook Compound questions???

Samples Using the information from chapters 7 & 8 on emotional intelligence, give your own example that illustrates at least three of the author’s main concepts. You may use a personal experience or you may create an example. Discuss three advantages and three disadvantages of xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. http://www.uwosh.edu/d2lfaq/teaching-resources/discussions/discussion-question-tips-and-pointers

Personal Experience

Personal Experience

Personal Experience

Demonstration uiuonline.com

Resources Mastering Online Discussion Board Facilitation https://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/stw/edutopia-onlinelearning-mastering-online-discussion-board-facilitation.pdf Outcomes of Chat and Discussion Board Use in Online Learning: A Research Synthesis http://www.thejeo.com/Archives/Volume9Number2/BlackmonPaper.pdf Engaging students in learning through online discussion: A phenomenographic study http://www.ascilite.org/conferences/hobart11/downloads/papers/Parisio-concise.pdf

Resources e-Coaching Tip 3: Developing Effective Questions for Online Discussions http://www.designingforlearning.info/services/writing/ecoach/tips/tip3.html

CDE Professional Development Schedule Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University www.uiu.edu CDE Professional Development Schedule Please visit this website for more information on our sessions. CDE Professional Development Schedule

Center for Distance Education UIU CDE Faculty Tutorials Website Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University www.uiu.edu Center for Distance Education Education Services cdefaculty@uiu.edu Invitations to teach and course assignments eLearning Team elearning@uiu.edu Faculty training courses, academic course access, students enrollments Instructional Design Services idservices@uiu.edu Online course design and development. UIU CDE Resources Website UIU CDE Faculty Tutorials Website